Proxy Access- FAQ (Parent/Guardian)

Proxy Access provides an opportunity for current matriculated students to grant online access to their student academic, financial aid and student account information using Student Self Service.  This is called granting "proxy access", and the other person is referred to as the proxy.  The most common scenario is granting a parent/legal guardian access to a student's information.  Access is granted by the student, who must provide a valide e-mail address for the designated proxy.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS BY PARENT/GUARDIAN                                       

How do parents or legal guardians gain access to Proxy Access?
Users gain access by being granted permission by the student. Once the necessary steps are completed by the student, a designated proxy will receive an e-mail indicating the account has been created. The e-mail will provide a temporary link and action password to complete the authentication process.

What is a PIN?
PIN is an acronym for Personal Identification Number and is a “password” that must be made up of at least six numbers and is used to log in to Proxy Access.

What should be done if a proxy forgets the PIN?
Go to the Proxy Login page. Enter the e-mail address used to establish your account and click on the Forgot PIN button. An e-mail will be sent to your e-mail address with a unique link and temporary password. You will use this temporary password as the “Old PIN” in the PIN reset process.

Why would only one child’s name appear as a selection for a proxy with more than one child attending Skidmore?
For each student that has identified a person as a proxy, there will be a tab with that student’s name.  When you select a name, you will see the listing of the items that student has authorized you to see. To be in compliance with FERPA, the student has complete control over what information can be viewed by each user. If the student’s name does not appear, that student has not granted access to the account information. The parent should contact the student with questions regarding access.

When a proxy is given access to multiple students, can the access granted be different for each student?
Yes. Each student who grants proxy access to an e-mail address has complete control over the access for their account, including the Start and Stop dates and permission levels.

Can Skidmore staff provide the PIN to a proxy who has forgotten it?
No. College staff and the Help Desk cannot send the PIN. The student who authorized the proxy can log into Banner Self-Service, access the Proxy Access menu, and can click the Reset PIN link. This will resend a link to their proxy allowing them to reset their PIN. Or, the proxy can request a new PIN by selecting “Forgot PIN” from the Proxy login page.

A proxy used to be able to see the information, but now cannot. What happened?
The student is in control of the information that a proxy can view. If the proxy can no longer see information, the proxy should contact the student.

Can Skidmore staff make updates to what a proxy can view for a student?
No. College staff and the Help Desk cannot change the permission settings for proxies. Only the student granting the proxy access can change the permissions that are granted.

A proxy received an e-mail saying the proxy had initiated an e-mail change, when the proxy had not initiated the change. What happened?
When a person changes their email address, the system will send two e-mail messages. The first e-mail is sent to the old address to inform the proxy that a request for a change from this address has occurred. If it was done in error, there is a unique link to click to cancel the change. The second e-mail is sent to the new e-mail address indicating that a change to this address was initiated and a unique link to click confirming the change. If a proxy did not initiate the change, the proxy should click the link to cancel the request. 

A proxy is changing that proxy's e-mail address. What steps should the proxy take?
On the Proxy Access profile page, update the e-mail address and click save. The system will then send two e-mail messages. The first e-mail is sent to the old address to indicate that a request for a change from this address has occurred. The second e-mail is sent to the new e-mail address indicating that a change to this address was initiated. The second e-mail contains a unique link which the proxy should click to confirm the change is correct.

Why doesn’t the Exit link on the Proxy Access home page work?
The reason for this is because you are in Proxy mode. You need to click on the Profile Tab to use the Exit link, or close the browser to exit.