FERPA Waiver
What is a FERPA Waiver?
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 is a federal law that establishes the rights of students with regard to education records and ensures students of the right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to those records. If a student gets accepted to a college and decides to attend that college, the high school letters of recommendations become part of a student’s record. A student who is accepted and is attending, under FERPA, has the right to view these letters if one chooses to do so.
PLEASE NOTE: If you DO NOT get accepted to a college, you will not have access to any letters whether you check YES or NO!
To Waive or Not to Waive?
It is the student’s choice; however, after receiving feedback from colleges we recommend that a student clicks YES and waives his/her right. Please consider:
Not waiving your right may raise some red flags to the colleges
Not waiving your right may appear as though you have something to hide
Colleges may feel your letter has more integrity if you waive your rights
Please trust that a teacher or counselor will not write a letter for you if they feel they cannot represent you in the best way possible
How do I sign the FERPA Waiver?
If the student is applying via Common App, the FERPA will be waived through that site.
"My Colleges" tab > select ANY school you have added to your account > Recommenders and FERPA > Complete authorization
If you are not using the Common App, you will need to sign the FERPA through Naviance
About Me > Surveys From My School > FERPA and Transcript Release Authorization