Claiming a Student as a Tax Dependent

If a student is claimed as a dependent on the student’s parent’s federal income tax return, either of the student’s parents may obtain access to the student’s education records without the student’s prior written consent.

To be eligible to receive information under this section, parents must:

• Complete a Parent(s) Certification of Student’s Dependent Status for Federal Income Tax Purposes (PDF) form and submit it to the Office of the University Registrar.
• Submit a copy of their federal income tax return for the tax year in question to the Office of the University Registrar.

Because tax dependency can change from year to year, parents who wish to establish eligibility to receive information from their student’s education records must complete a new certification and submit their most recent federal tax returns each year.

• When the Office of the University Registrar receives a completed certification and attachment, it images the documents and indexes them so they can be retrieved.