• Section 1 - Purpose
• Scope
• Section 2 - Policy
• Section 3 - Procedures
• Section 4 - Guidelines
• Transcript / Academic Record
• Proof of Status
• Research
• Wholly Owned Subsidiaries
• Exceptions
• Section 5 - Definitions

Section 1 - Purpose

(1) To provide examples to staff and students about when student information may be released / accessed, and when it is not appropriate to do so.

Scope

(2) This Guideline applies to all student records, regardless of format, held by or on behalf of the University.

Section 2 - Policy

(3) Refer to the Release of Student Information Policy.

Section 3 - Procedures

(4) Nil.

Section 4 - Guidelines

(5) Information about a student is not to be provided to such people or organisations as parents, spouses, work colleagues, friends, employers or credit bureaus without the written consent of the student. Information is to be provided to the police and other law enforcement agencies where there is a legal requirement to do so. You must contact the University General Counsel when a request is made by a law enforcement agency.

(6) A staff member who:

1. is also a student must not use their staff privileges to access their student record;
2. has a family member who is also a student must not use their staff privileges to access their family member’s student record;
3. has a friend who is also a student must not use their staff privileges to access their friend’s student record; or
4. has a work colleague who is also a student must not use their staff privileges to access their work colleague’s student record.

(7) For a student to access information about themselves, they must provide photo identification.

(8) A staff member must not use their staff privileges to access a student record where an applicant for a position at Macquarie University is also a current or previous Macquarie student. In these cases, if the applicant’s Macquarie records are relevant to the position selection process, then the applicant is to be requested to provide a copy of their academic transcript to the selection panel as part of the selection process.

Transcript / Academic Record

(9) A staff member may print out an internal student transcript to advise a student about their program of study. They may give the transcript to the student for no charge.

(10) A student who wants a copy of their official transcript may purchase a copy via the Academic Transcripts webpage.

(11) A student who wants access to their official grades can do so via eStudent.

(12) A past student may contact a staff member about enrolling in another program of study, and the staff member may wish to access that student’s record in order to give advice.

(13) A past or present student may ask an academic for a reference, and the academic may wish to access the student’s record in preparing the reference.

Proof of Status

(14) A student who needs to prove they are a student at Macquarie University for employment, visa, accommodation or similar purposes is to provide the organisation with a copy of their transcript or a Status Letter. The University will not provide proof of student status directly to an organisation, except where the student has provided written authorisation for the release of this information to the specific organisation.

Research

(15) In conducting research, researchers may wish to access student records to contact past and / or current students in a particular program. This would require ethics committee approval.

(16) Aggregated student data may be used for internal purposes (i.e. not for publishable research purposes) such as evaluating programs, reviewing correlations between educational background and mode of study, performance on the basis of English-language level on entry and so on. In these cases, individual students will not be identifiable.

Wholly Owned Subsidiaries

(17) There are limited occasions where student information may be released to wholly owned subsidiaries of Macquarie University, such as Campus Life. In these cases:

1. the information request must be for the purpose of conducting the business of the University; and
2. there must be an agreement between Macquarie University and the wholly owned subsidiary binding it to the University's Privacy Policy and guidelines.

(18) An example is the provision of limited student information to Campus Life for their student online academic dress ordering system.

Exceptions

(19) There is a very limited number of specific exceptions – refer to the Release of Student Information Policy for details and the conditions that must be met.

Section 5 - Definitions

(20) Nil.