UMass Boston

FERPA

Submit a FERPA Waiver through this DocuSign link

A federal law called the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 establishes that the access to UMass Boston student records has requirements designed to protect the privacy of parents and students regarding review or release of records. The Act permits current or former students to review certain documents such as permanent academic records and disciplinary records but prevents the University from releasing such information without written permission. When completing the FERPA release form, it must be signed by the student and submitted to the Dean of Students Office. Please review this website for more information on FERPA.

Dean's Certification

Submit all Dean’s Certification and College Report requests through this DocuSign link

Submitting Your Request

The Dean of Students Office maintains all student disciplinary records. We do not accept Dean’s Certification or College Report requests through email or through electronic submission links from other schools. To obtain information on your disciplinary history, please submit our Dean's Certification form through this DocuSign link along with forms from any program or job to which you are applying that require the clearance. The forms that you attach to your DocuSign submission should have your portion filled out and be in PDF format. Incomplete submissions will delay your request. If there is missing information or forms, we will email you to let you know what is missing and instruct you to resubmit your request. After we receive your request, we will send you a notification to your UMass Boston email with information regarding next steps. Before we begin processing your request, you must have an Exit Interview with a Dean of Students staff member. This process does not withdraw you from the university. To formally withdraw from the University of Massachusetts Boston, please consult your academic advisor.

Form Process

When completing your forms, the Dean of Students Office provides information pertaining only to your disciplinary history, but will forward forms to the Registrar’s Office for completion of any academic information requests. Once the forms are completed, we send your request to the destination(s) you listed on the Dean’s Certification form. If your form must be mailed to the institution, we will email you your completed form to the email address you listed for yourself on the Dean’s Certification request and you can print and mail it to the institution directly.

Processing Time

Please allow a minimum of 10 business days for processing all requests. The Dean of Students Office processes forms on a first-come, first served basis and we are unable to expedite records processing.

Notice of Absence Request

Submit a Notice of Absence form with documentation (Please note the Dean of Students Office will not send a Notice of Absence during the Final Exam period. Please work directly with your faculty should you miss a final exam for any reason.)

The university recognizes that there are legitimate and verifiable circumstances that may occasionally result in a student’s absence from class. Reasons could include: religious observance, jury duty, military obligations, personal illness/health procedures and/or serious Illness or injury of an immediate family member, death in the family. The notice of absence form is intended for students looking to receive a notice of absence for one or more courses. It is the student's responsible to provide all necessary information and documentation prior to an notice of absence being granted. Completing this form accurately will ensure your faculty is notified as soon as possible.

Please note: A meeting with a Dean of Students Office staff member may be necessary prior to a notification being sent to faculty.

Additional information on the Notice of Absence Policy.

Secure Document Submission

Submit a document to our office using our Secure Document Submission form at this DocuSign link. Please do not submit excused absence or college report requests through this link.