Why Can't I See My Student's Grades? FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law intended to protect the privacy of student education records accumulated from early childhood through college.

FERPA provides parents with certain rights with respect to their children’s education records up until entry to the University. When a student enters the University, the rights parents previously held transfer exclusively to the student. The University considers students to be adults, regardless of age or financial dependence. Ordinarily, parents of UC Merced students obtain information about their students’ records directly from their students. 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 education record. Questions regarding these procedures can be directed to the Office of the Registrar at registrar@ucmerced.edu. For more information about FERPA, visit www2.ed.gov/ policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa.