The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) as amended is a federal law intended to protect the privacy of student educational records accumulated from early childhood through college. FERPA provided parents with certain rights with respect to their children’s educational records. However, once a student reaches the age of 18 or enters college, the rights previously held by the parents transfer exclusively to the student.
Students have the option to delegate information through Shared Access. Shared Access allows a student to grant, up to two individuals, access to view their student information. The student can grant access to information such as: Academics, Admissions, Financials, Financial Aid and To Do List. To set up and authorize the release of information, please review the Shared Access page. The Office of the Bursar representative would be able to discuss specific account details with the individuals the student has authorized the release of financial information.
Furthermore, FERPA restriction guidelines will not allow the Office of the Bursar to disclose the existence of the account if the account has been flagged as “non-disclosure.” You may change your non-disclosure status with Registration and Records, or go online via MyNIU. If you do not change your non-disclosure agreement, you will need to come to the Office of the Bursar with a photo ID.
To Change/Update FERPA Restrictions: After logging in to MyNIU, select the "MyNIU Self Service Quick Links" tile, then click on "FERPA Restrictions" from the left navigation.