Supervisors may occasionally be asked to provide references for current or former student employees. Because student employment information is protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), written consent must be obtained from the student before a reference can legally be provided.

This page summarizes the requirements and provides links to the necessary consent forms.

Consent Forms

• Current Students: Online Reference Request Webform
• Former Students/Alumni: Reference Request Form (PDF)
  • Unless this form is received from a uoregon email address, the form must notarized or include a picture of an approved government ID. 

Students must complete the appropriate form in order for a supervisor to provide a reference.

Key Requirements

• Consent is required for all student employees and similar positions.
  • Applies to all student positions contingent upon enrollment, regardless of how the student is compensated (hourly, stipend, internship, unpaid, lump sum, one-time payment, etc.).
  • This requirement also applies to Graduate Employees (GEs). However, departments may confirm a student’s GE status and GE title without written consent.
• Verbal or implied consent is not sufficient.
  • A student naming a supervisor as a reference is not enough.
  • FERPA-compliant consent includes a written release which outlines:
    1. To whom information may be disclosed
    2. What specific information may be disclosed
    3. For what reason disclosure is permitted
• All employment-related information is protected.
  • All information pertaining to someone’s employment is protected information.
  • Even confirming that a student worked in a department falls under FERPA-protected information.
• Faculty and staff are held to the same standard.
  • Professors writing academic references and supervisors writing employment references both require a student’s written consent.

Supervisor Responsibilities

• Supervisors must not provide a reference for a student employee (past or present) without first receiving confirmation of a completed consent form.
• If a student has not submitted the form, the supervisor should decline to provide the reference until the student does so.
• Once consent is provided, supervisors may only share the information that the student has explicitly authorized.

Questions?

For additional questions about FERPA and student employee reference requests, contact:

Office of the Registrar
Email: registrar@uoregon.edu
Phone: 541-346-3184