Parent / Guardian Records in openSIS help institutions manage the responsible contacts connected to students. These records may include parents, guardians, emergency contacts, custody-related information, portal access, communication details, and student associations.
This article explains the key terms used in openSIS when managing parent and guardian profiles, associated students, family information, custody settings, portal access, contact details, and parent-student relationships.
A Parent is a user or contact linked to one or more students in openSIS.
Parents may receive school communication and may access student-related information through the Parent Portal, depending on portal access settings, association with the student, custody rules, and institutional policy.
A Guardian is a responsible contact associated with a student.
Guardians may be used for communication, emergency contact, custody-related access, parent portal access, or student record management.
In some institutions, a guardian may have the same access as a parent. In others, access may depend on the relationship type and permissions configured by the school.
A Parent / Guardian Record is the saved profile of a parent, guardian, or responsible contact in openSIS.
It may include name, contact information, relationship to student, associated students, emergency contact status, custody settings, portal access status, and login credentials.
A Parent Profile is the main record page for a parent or guardian.
It helps administrators manage contact details, student associations, portal access, and other parent-related information from one place.
Family Information is the student record section where parent, guardian, sibling, and other family-related relationships are managed.
It may include parent/guardian names, relationship to student, contact details, primary contact setting, custody information, emergency contact status, and portal access options.
An Associated Student is a student linked to a parent or guardian account.
This association allows the parent or guardian to view student-related information through the Parent Portal, depending on access settings and custody rules.
Example:
If a parent has two children enrolled in the institution, both students may appear as associated students in the Parent Portal.
Student Association is the connection between a parent or guardian record and a student record.
This connection determines which student information the parent or guardian may view or manage, based on permissions and portal access settings.
Link Existing Parent is an option used when a parent or guardian already exists in openSIS and needs to be connected to another student.
This prevents duplicate parent records and helps maintain clean family data.
Example:
If a parent already has one child in openSIS and a second child enrolls later, the existing parent record can be linked to the new student instead of creating a duplicate parent profile.
Sibling Association refers to the connection between students who share the same parent or guardian record.
When siblings are linked through the same parent or guardian, administrators can manage family relationships more consistently.
Sibling associations also help parents view multiple associated students from one Parent Portal account, if portal access is enabled.
Relationship to Student defines how the parent or guardian is connected to the student.
Examples:
Mother, Father, Guardian, Grandparent, Aunt, Uncle, Sponsor, Emergency Contact.
This helps the institution understand the contact’s role in the student’s life and communication workflow.
A Primary Contact is the main parent or guardian designated for student-related communication.
The primary contact may receive important school updates first, such as attendance alerts, academic notices, billing reminders, admissions messages, or emergency communication.
A Secondary Contact is an additional parent, guardian, or responsible contact connected to the student.
Secondary contacts may receive communication or be listed for reference depending on the institution’s policy.
An Emergency Contact is a person listed for urgent student-related situations.
Emergency contacts may be parents, guardians, relatives, or other trusted contacts. Their details help the institution respond quickly during medical, safety, or urgent communication needs.
Custody refers to the legal or institutional access rights of a parent or guardian in relation to a student.
Custody settings may affect whether a parent or guardian can access student information, receive communication, or use the Parent Portal.
The Custody Switch is a setting used to indicate whether a parent or guardian has custody-related access for the student.
When enabled, the parent or guardian may be allowed to access student information based on institution policy. When disabled, access may be restricted, especially for portal visibility or communication.
Schools should manage custody-related settings carefully because they may affect privacy and student information access.
Portal Access refers to the ability of a parent or guardian to log in and view student information through the Parent Portal.
Portal access is controlled by the institution and may depend on account status, student association, custody settings, email availability, and permission rules.
Parent Portal Access is the access given to a parent or guardian to use the Parent Portal.
Through the Parent Portal, parents may be able to view associated student information such as attendance, grades, schedules, assignments, report cards, teacher comments, billing information if enabled, communication, and student documents.
The visible information depends on the institution’s configuration.
The Portal Access Switch is a toggle used to grant or revoke a parent or guardian’s ability to log in to the Parent Portal.
When enabled, the parent or guardian may receive login setup information or be able to use existing credentials. When disabled, the parent or guardian record remains in the system, but portal login access is restricted.
The Create Password Switch allows an administrator to generate a temporary password for parent or guardian portal access.
This may be used when the institution wants to provide login access manually instead of relying only on an email-based password setup flow.
Login Credentials are the username or email address and password used by a parent or guardian to access the Parent Portal.
Parents and guardians should keep their login credentials secure and should not share them with others.
Parent Impersonation is an administrative function that allows an authorized administrator to view the system as a selected parent or guardian.
This is useful for troubleshooting portal access, checking what the parent can see, and helping support users more accurately.
Parent impersonation should be used carefully and only by authorized staff because it involves viewing user-specific portal access.
Contact Information includes the phone number, email address, mailing address, and other communication details stored for a parent or guardian.
Accurate contact information helps the institution send communication, emergency alerts, billing reminders, admissions updates, and academic notices.
An Email Address is the electronic contact address used for parent communication and portal-related notifications.
Email may be required for Parent Portal access, password setup, communication delivery, or automated messages.
A Phone Number is the contact number used to reach a parent or guardian.
Phone numbers may be used for calls, SMS, WhatsApp messages, emergency contact, or general communication, depending on the institution’s communication setup.
An Address is the physical or mailing location connected to a parent or guardian.
It may be used for institutional records, mailed communication, emergency reference, or household information.
Communication Preference refers to the preferred method for contacting a parent or guardian.
Examples:
Email, SMS, WhatsApp, phone call, or portal message.
Communication preferences help institutions send updates through the most appropriate channel, if the feature is configured.
Parent Communication refers to messages or updates sent to parents or guardians.
These may include attendance alerts, academic progress updates, report card notifications, billing reminders, announcements, admissions updates, or emergency messages.
The Associated Students List shows the students connected to a parent or guardian record.
This helps administrators verify which students the parent can access through the Parent Portal.
Parent Status indicates whether the parent or guardian record is active, inactive, or restricted.
An inactive or restricted parent record may not be able to access the Parent Portal, depending on institutional settings.
An Active Parent is a parent or guardian whose record is available for communication, association, and portal access if enabled.
An Inactive Parent is a parent or guardian whose record is no longer actively used.
Inactive parent records may remain in the system for historical reference, but access or communication may be restricted.
Parent Documents are files or records attached to a parent or guardian profile, if the institution stores such documents.
These may include custody documents, identity documents, authorization forms, or other institution-required files.
Authorized Pickup refers to a parent, guardian, or approved contact who is allowed to pick up the student from school.
This may be tracked as part of family or emergency contact information depending on the institution’s workflow.
A Responsible Party is a parent, guardian, sponsor, or other contact who may be financially or administratively responsible for the student.
In billing workflows, the responsible party may be contacted for invoices, balances, payment reminders, or account-related communication.
Parent Record Import is the process of adding parent or guardian records into openSIS using an import file or external data source.
This helps institutions add multiple parent records efficiently instead of entering each record manually.
Manual Parent Entry means creating a parent or guardian record directly inside openSIS by entering the information through the system interface.