Hello, I have a relative who is attempting to verify whether her son graduated from college. The reason being is she has never seen his diploma or received notification from the school. I was under the assumption that graduation dates, diplomas received and honors bestowed were public information. How would one go about finding out the information? The school is JMU (james madison U).
call the registrar You are right-- generally the registrar at the school is allowed to answer the question "Did your school award a degree to this particular person in this particular range of possible graduation dates?" without needing an explanation for the provenance of the request. G
The parent will need to contact JMU and ask for verification. He/She will most likely need to know the date of graduation, student name and SS# or Student ID which in many cases are one in the same. My guess here is someone didn't pass a class and is embarrassed to tell there parents.....
Yep. That'll do it. The information is "directory" information and not protected under FERPA. A name and a social security number ought to do it. The school can verify the degree, the major area of study, and graduation date.
I would add that a student can submit a written directive to a school not to release directory information. The school is required to honor that and release no information whatsoever without the express consent of the student.
Not that it really matters, but imho if the parent is paying for it, they have a right to know if the kid even finished.
Federal - it's the Family Rights-Something-Or-Other Privacy Act (a long time since I looked at it), known informally in education as the "Buckley Act." Note to aic712: I'm surprised no one mentioned this previously, but the department you want to call at JMU (or any other school) to verify a graduation is the Registrar's Office.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Applies to institutions that receive funds administered by U.S. Dept. of Education.
Federal and I have done it. It has to be renewed each year (the law allows this but does not require schools to make you renew every year). Being a former LEO I really don't want anyone knowing about me w/o my permission.