Letters of Reference for Students

Students and former students often ask faculty and staff to complete a reference form or to provide letters of reference.  The University of Oregon Student Records Policy and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) require authorization from the student before information can be released from education records.  Authorization can be given by the student in two ways:

1) The student or former student can complete the two-page Student Reference Request Form. This form, when completed, meets all the criteria for authorization to release information.  The form can then be mailed, FAX’d, or made into a PDF document and e-mailed to the faculty or staff person giving the reference.  FAX and pdf versions of the signed, completed form are acceptable as original.

2) The student or former student can make a request in writing; written requests must include all of the following elements:

• What information is to be released
• To whom the information is to be released
• The purpose for which the information is to be released
• The student signature with date

Requests that do not contain these four elements are not in compliance with FERPA. The request for a reference and the authorization to release information need to be retained as long as the record used to write the reference is retained. For information on retention, please consult the University Archives UO Record Retention Schedule.