Healthcare.
Who may receive information, and who should decide if the student cannot participate?
Make sense of your choices
Your student is becoming an adult.
Three permissions to discuss before college.
The short version.
Money.
Which financial powers, if any, does the student want to grant?
College records.
FERPA permissions differ from healthcare privacy. Paying tuition does not automatically provide access to every record.
A practical example.
More detail, if you want it.
Open the explanation and sources
For an adult student, paying tuition or being an emergency contact does not automatically grant financial or healthcare authority.
Separate three permissions
- Healthcare: who may receive information and who should decide if the student cannot participate.
- Finances: whether a power of attorney is appropriate and which powers the student wishes to grant.
- Education: school information-sharing under FERPA, which is different from healthcare privacy.
FERPA rights generally transfer at age 18 or postsecondary attendance at any age, with exceptions. Campus health records have separate privacy questions. One authorization may not cover everything.
Plan for real use
Decide where documents will be kept and how decision-makers can find them. Review out-of-state needs. A minor’s situation requires separate consideration of parental or guardian authority.
Include proposed NIL opportunities
Review an NIL offer’s work, compensation, rights, and school requirements before counting it as available money. Coordinate contract, tax, compliance, and estate questions.
Read the source
Reviewed October 15, 2026. Examples are illustrative.
General education, not advice for an individual matter. Applicable law and the relevant facts control. Discuss your circumstances with qualified counsel.
Still unsure? Let’s talk it through.
Tell us what you’re deciding. We’ll explain the next step.
Let’s talk about your plan