Parent Notification Policy

In keeping with its holistic educational mission, Wheaton College seeks to treat students as young adults. The College must receive proper documentation before it shares non-directory educational records with a requesting parent or guardian. Such documentation may include student consent forms, verification of tax dependent status, or other acceptable documentation indicating the College’s authority to release the requested record(s). In an effort to treat students as young adults, the College defers, in most cases, to students’ decisions regarding contacting a parent(s) or guardian(s) with non-directory educational records.

Students’ educational records at Wheaton College are managed in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), which is designed to protect the privacy of educational records, to establish the right of students to inspect and review their records, and to provide guidelines for the correction of inaccurate or misleading data through informal and formal hearings. The Registrar’s Office provides students with an annual notification of how to access the College’s FERPA policy as well as student rights under FERPA.

Definitions 

The term “health” in this policy relates to physical and psychological dimensions.

The term “safety” in this policy refers to the protection of one’s physical body and/or psychological wellbeing as well as that of other persons.

The term “emergency” in this policy refers to a threat to one’s physical and/or psychological person and/or to someone else’s physical and/or psychological person.

The term “urgent” in this policy refers to a College circumstance that is directly affected by a student’s health and/or safety emergency or disciplinary matter.

The term “education records” is defined by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (1974) as those records that are: 1) directly related to a student; and 2) maintained by an educational agency or institution, or by a party acting for the agency or institution.

Health and/or Safety Emergency Notifications 

FERPA allows the College to share students’ educational records with others, including but not limited to students’ parent(s) or guardian(s), where the College determines that knowledge of the information to that individual is necessary to protect the health and/or safety of the student.

If a student is unwilling to give authorization to release non-directory educational records to a parent(s) or guardian(s) in connection with a health and/or safety emergency, a Student Development Dean, or designee, may offer to contact the parent(s) or guardian(s) on the student’s behalf.

If a student is unable, due to incapacitation, to give authorization to release non-directory educational records to a parent(s) or guardian(s) in connection with a health and/or safety emergency, the College will initiate sharing and/or requesting pertinent information with a parent(s) or guardian(s) if it is believed they can provide information and/or support in order to effectively assist a student in a health and/or safety emergency.

Urgent Academic, Financial or Disciplinary Notifications 

When a student’s health emergency, safety emergency, and/or disciplinary matter is likely to affect the student’s academic, financial and/or disciplinary status at the College, Student Development staff will strongly encourage students to communicate this academic, financial, and/or disciplinary information to a parent(s) or guardian(s) to seek their support. Such situations include, but are not limited to, when such a student:

• Is failing a course and is close to a course drop date in the academic calendar that could lead to a “F” on the student’s academic transcript;

• Is failing a course and is approaching tuition reimbursement deadlines; and/or

• Is placed on disciplinary probation, suspended, or expelled for misconduct.

If such a student is unwilling or unresponsive regarding the authorization to release non-directory educational records to a parent(s) or guardian(s) in connection with an urgent academic, financial and/or disciplinary matter, a Student Development Dean may offer to contact the parent(s) or guardian(s) on the student’s behalf. The College may also initiate sharing and/or requesting pertinent non-directory educational information with a parent(s) or guardian(s) if it is believed they can provide information and/or support to effectively assist a student in an urgent academic, financial and/or disciplinary matter.