Access to SPIRE 3.0
If your job requires you to work with student records, you may need to access SPIRE in a ‘for staff’ role. To gain access to SPIRE for Staff, you need to complete three steps:
1. Apply for Access
Fill in the Information & Authorization Form. Make sure you sign the form and obtain the appropriate signature(s) from your supervisor(s).
- Information & Authorization Form [PDF, 114 KB]
Mail/deliver this form to SPIRE Training & Support, OIT SIS Project, A249 Lederle Lowrise .
Note: Because the Registrar's Office requires the original signatures, we cannot accept faxed forms.
We will process your application and send it to the Registrar’s Office for approval. Please remember that the average processing time for any request is about two weeks.
2. Complete the FERPA Certification
FERPA (the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act) is a federal law protecting the confidentiality of student records. As of June 2006, all applicants for SPIRE for Staff must become familiar with the FERPA law and earn a FERPA Certification. By completing our FERPA tutorial and quiz, you will learn more about the FERPA provisions and how they are applied at UMass Amherst.
You have the option of getting your FERPA Certification while your application is being processed, or on the same day of your SPIRE training.
3. Get SPIRE Training
Once we know the type of SPIRE access for which you have been approved, we will send you an invitation for the appropriate training. You must attend the training before getting access to SPIRE for Staff. Check our monthly training schedule and pre-register at sis-train@oit.umass.edu for the session most convenient for you.
If you do not see the type of training you need, drop us a line (sis-train@oit.umass.edu) and let us know how we can help.
