The 1998 Congressional revisions to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and clarification to the revisions in July 2000, permit institutions of higher education to notify parents/guardians of students who are under the age of 21 if their student has been found responsible for violating institutional policy related to alcohol and other drugs. In keeping with these guidelines, Davenport University has adopted the practice of Parent Notification. Parent Notification is a judicial sanction assigned to a student, under the age of 21, who is found responsible for violation of the Drug Policies contained in Davenport University’s Student Code of Conduct.
A letter may be sent home to the parents or guardians of any student found in violation of a drug violation. The intent of this letter is to ensure that the student, parent, and institution are able to work in partnership regarding individual student success. The parental notification letter informs the parent or guardian of the following:
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A student has been found responsible for a violation of Davenport University’s Drug Policies found in the Student Code of Conduct
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A student's relationship with the University is tenuous and may be severed if the student's behavior is not altered
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The student has been encouraged to communicate with his/her parent or legal guardian regarding these matters and their use of alcohol or other drugs as a means of developing supportive strategies to realign current behaviors with local, state and Federal laws as well as University policies
The goals of Parental Notification include:
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Reducing drug use by Davenport students
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Engaging parents in dialog about their student’s behavior related to alcohol/drugs
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Ensuring students and the Davenport community that Davenport University takes underage alcohol/drug use seriously
Please note: Davenport University does recognize that unique circumstances wherein the notification of parents may be incongruent with the goals listed above. Should such circumstances in a student’s personal relationship with or the current status of a parent arise, Davenport University will make special determinations on a case by case basis.