Privacy Policy (FERPA)

Marymount University complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as amended (Public Law 93-380).  This Act is designed to protect the privacy of students by giving them rights concerning their educational records.

The University may release information to the parents of a student, without the student’s written consent, only if the student is a dependent as defined in Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.  The payment of a student’s tuition by the parent does not, by itself, give the parent the right of access to a student’s record.

The University may disclose information to parents or legal guardians of dependent children if one of the following procedures is met:

1. Submission of the student’s written consent.  This would be in the form of a simple letter authorizing the Student Accounts Office to disclose financial information to his or her parent.

2. Submission of a copy of the first page of a parent’s or legal guardian’s income tax return, which shows that the  requesting parent or legal guardian did claim the child/student as a dependent on the most preceding year’s  U.S. federal income tax return.  We need to see only the front page of the federal 1040 tax return that shows the student as a tax dependent.  You may cover the actual financial information.  When the parents or legal guardians are divorced, we will accept a copy of a court decree (or a Settlement Agreement incorporated into the court decree) that gives one party or the other the right to claim the child/student as a dependent for federal income tax purposes.

Students may allow the University to disclose information to other parties (i.e. spouse, non-custodial parent, and employer) by providing the appropriate office with a written authorization. The FERPA form can be downloaded here. When completed, please return to the Registrar’s Office located in Rowley Hall.

You will be asked to supply this information once during each academic year.