Daemen College : Offices & Services : Cooperative Education and Career Development : Information for Alumni : Credential Forms and Information
Credential Forms and Information
To open your file: 
Credential (Form A)
Adding letters to your file: Reference Letter (Form B)
Requesting your file: Credential Release (Form C)
Credential File Status (If your file is over twenty years old): Credential File Status
Credential Information
Opening a File:
Fill out and return the Credential Request (Form A). This immediately opens your file. When reference letters are received, they will be dated and placed in your file.
File Contents:
A file contains references written by persons who have supervised you in either work or academic settings. You may have as many references kept in a file as you desire. Resumes and Transcripts are not housed in the file. This information is provided to employers by the job candidate. For education majors – student teaching evaluations.
The Reference Form:
Give the Reference (Form B) to all persons from whom you are requesting a reference.
The Buckley Amendment:
The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 states that candidates have the right of access to any references filed for them after January 1, 1975. This includes seeing them or having copies. This law also provides for WAIVER of this right by offering the option of having confidential references if a candidate so desires. All references written before January 1975 by law are considered confidential.
Confidential References:
All confidential references MUST be written on the Co-op/Career Development Reference form and must include your signature. To be considered confidential, references written on official company stationery must be attached to Reference Form B. The forms must be mailed or hand delivered by the person writing the reference. If you are submitting the reference, it must be in a sealed envelope with the signature of the author written across the seal. If you waive the right to access, the contents of the letter cannot be read or given to you at any time.
Non-Confidential References:
Non-confidential references must be written on the Co-op/Career Development Reference form or official company stationery, with the waiver of confidentiality statement unsigned. You or the author may mail or hand deliver the letter to our office. You have access to read the contents of any non-confidential references written and receive one unofficial copy.
Checking On File Contents:
All materials submitted to our office will be recorded and dated when received. You may check the contents of your file at any time during operating hours of the office by calling or stopping in. You may read any of the non-confidential letters in your file by stopping in the office. You must show identification. No letters will be read over the phone. References submitted to our office are owned by the college and cannot be removed. You do, however, have complete control over how your file is utilized. You may add reference letters at any time. If you wish to remove a reference, you must do so in writing and it will become inactive but still remain in your file.
Sending Files:
Fill out the Credential Release for (Form C) or submit the request in writing. Phone requests will not be taken. You may send a maximum of eight (8) documents which may be a combination of reference letters and student teaching evaluations. Please indicate the names of the references you want sent. If you do not specify, all references in your file will be sent or the eight (8) most recent. We attempt to mail all reference requests within a 24-hour period.
Fee:
Students and alumni can send out 12 credential file requests at no charge. These requests can be made at any time, with no final expiration date. After twelve (12) free requests have been utilized, students and alumni will be charged a $3.00 fee per each request. ( Please note: credential requests using an on-line application system such as WNYRIC may be subject to higher fees- please ask staff ) Checks can be made payable to Daemen College . Our office will not process requests made without payment or requests made for students with an outstanding bill.
Keeping Files:
Reference letters are considered outdated after five (5) years. We strongly urge you to use updated letters in your file, should you wish to use your credential file and keep it active. The term "activity" means that you have updated your file with letters of recommendation or have had your file sent out for employment or graduate school purposes in the last 20 years. If the credential file has had no activity for a period of 20 years, your file is considered inactive and will be destroyed.