Contact: Leah Barbour
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State University opened a new Parent Portal on Monday [Nov. 10] for the parents and guardians of students who allow their families access to their educational records.
"We believe that a balance of student independence and parental engagement is very important in building the student experience," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. "The Parent Portal demonstrates our commitment to making the student-parent partnership an accessible priority."
MSU's Parent Portal will connect students' myState Banner accounts to their families, which will allow them, in turn, to go online and check class schedules, course progress, class attendance and account information.
Only parents and guardians listed by students who waive the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, or FERPA, will have access to the portal.
Students may log into their myState account, click on the Banner tab and select "FERPA Release & Parent Portal Access" under the "Academic Records" column to enable parents or guardians to view student-specific educational information.
After the student signs the electronic FERPA waiver, the parent or guardian will be able to log into the portal website.
"Mississippi State University recognizes the parent as a partner who is an important influence in the student's life, and studies show that parents are the most important home-based influence on a student's education," said Cat Walker, director of parent services. "The portal's intent is to help the parent assist the student in navigating success at the university. It's just another tool that Mississippi State is offering to help keep parents informed and engaged."
Students who have already signed a FERPA waiver and provided parents' or guardians' email addresses have automatically enrolled them in MSU's Parent Portal, said John Dickerson, registrar and interim executive director of enrollment.
"It is our intent to partner with parents in encouraging student success," said Jerry Gilbert, MSU provost and executive vice president. "The Parent Portal will present student educational information to parents once a student has granted them permission. This is an exciting new service that we are now offering as part of our commitment to student degree completion."
When parents and guardians emphasize the importance of good study habits and consistent class attendance, students listen, said Rodney A. Peason, coordinator of student success and professor of management and information systems.
"Students with excellent class attendance--fewer than two absences in a semester--have the highest chance of being successful in their classes," said Pearson, also an MSU Robert Keil Fellow and Richard Adkerson Notable Scholar. "We want every student to achieve optimal success, and this parent partnership will help us improve degree completion through increased engagement with students."
Gilbert said universities throughout the country are committing to parent-engagement strategies as part of student success initiatives, and MSU's new Parent Portal is similar to the one already in place at Auburn University. MSU administrators are already making plans to expand the portal to deliver campus-specific information to parents and guardians, he added.
To discuss academic performance with faculty or staff, Dickerson said families with permission to view students' records must still provide extra information, including the parent or guardian name of the person allowed access, along with the student's name, birthdate and the nine-digit MSU ID number.
Dickerson, along with Mike Rackley, MSU's chief information officer, and the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President worked together to design the portal's layout and information presentation.
For more information about MSU's Parent Portal or FERPA waivers, call MSU's Office of Parent Services at 662-325-3611 or email parents@msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippi's flagship research university, available online at www.msstate.edu, facebook.com/msstate, instagram.com/msstate and twitter.com/msstate.