Deans, Directors, and Department Heads,
A few people have asked for clarification regarding scenario 4 in the previous ‘Admissions Confidentiality Policies and Third Part Inquiry Log’ memo. It is important to distinguish that Scenario 4 is not a violation of the Admissions Firewall; however, other policies limit how you may respond to the inquiry.
Scenarios
SCENARIO 4
A parent of an admitted or current student calls or emails to check on financial aid, course registration, housing, etc.
Responses
RESPONSE 4
You are free to discuss this inquiry with the appropriate personnel because the student is already admitted and is no longer an applicant.
If a parent of an admitted or current student calls and asks for assistance, you are able to discuss the decision to enroll and assist the parent with contacting the relevant offices. Appropriate personnel in the respective areas of the Office of Student Financial Aid, the Office of the Registrar, and University Housing are limited with how much information they can share with staff and faculty outside of those with related job duties.
Office of Student Financial Aid – The Privacy and Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) guidance from the U.S. Department of Education limits financial aid staff from sharing information with other university staff who do not have the administration of student financial aid as a part of their assigned job duties.
Office of the Registrar – The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) limits the ability to discuss specific course registration information with a third party (including a parent), beyond if the student is currently enrolled as a student. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, FERPA begins once a student enrolls in courses.
University Housing – University Housing is not allowed to discuss a student’s housing status with a family member or someone outside the university unless the individual is designated as an “authorized contact” by the student.
Thanks to those of you who asked for clarification regarding this scenario. We will be removing this scenario from the System Office’s policy website as an example, but we felt that it is important to provide additional clarification before it is removed. Please feel free to reach out if you have additional questions.
Sincerely,
Andrew Borst, Director of Undergraduate Admissions
Elizabeth Spark, Assistant Dean of Graduate Admissio