Recommendations and References

University Undergraduate Advising Handbook

RECOMMENDATIONS AND REFERENCES

Requesting a Recommendation or Reference
Student Action
Waiving the Right to Access Recommendations
Providing a Recommendation or Reference
Providing a Disciplinary Report
Declining to Provide a Recommendation or Reference

REQUESTING A RECOMMENDATION OR REFERENCE

Students (and former students) who are applying for study abroad, scholarships, internships, employment, and graduate or professional school are often required to provide references or recommendations from University faculty or advisers.

When a recommendation is requested, the student is asked to provide a letter or form with information about his/her abilities and/or character. When a reference is requested, the student provides the name, title, and contact information of someone who can speak on his/her behalf.

Student Action

Establish and maintain relationships with teachers and advisers so that they know you well enough to serve as your recommender.

Prior to listing a faculty member or your adviser as a recommender, ask if he/she is willing to provide you with a reference/recommendation.

Offer to meet with your recommender to discuss your application and your plans. Offer your recommender a copy of your resume and transcript.

Provide your recommender at least two weeks to prepare your recommendation.

As required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), provide your recommender with a written request for a recommendation or reference that includes your signature and specify:

What information can be released (e.g., completed courses, academic performance, classroom activities).
The purpose of the disclosure (e.g., recommendation for law, graduate, or professional school; application for a specific job or volunteer experience).
To whom the information is to be released (name, address).

Give your recommender required forms and an addressed, stamped envelope in which he/she can mail your recommendation or provide instructions on what to do with the completed recommendation.

Waiving the Right to Access Recommendations

According to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), enrolled students have the right to view the contents of their university records. Therefore, if a recommendation is part of a student's record, he/she is entitled to see it. Many recommendation forms offer students the option of waiving this right, which means giving up the right to see the recommendation. Deciding whether or not to exercise this option is difficult, because it is impossible to know how an individual receiving a request for a recommendation will react to a student's decision to retain his/her "right to know."

A student may decide not to waive his/her right to access a recommendation, because there are some advantages to having the option of reading it:

It might be an ego boost, relieve stress and anxiety, and eliminate curiosity.
If there is a factual error, the student could go back to the recommender and ask for a correction.
If the letter is unfavorable, then the student would know not to ask for future letters from the recommender.
Information in the recommendation might give the student feedback on his/her performance and provide ideas for study, growth, or improvement.
Information in the recommendation might help the student prepare for an interview.

Some sources suggest that if a student does not waive his/her right to access a recommendation, then a reader might infer that the recommendation is not candid, the information is incomplete, or the student has something to conceal. The following are sources that express this perspective:

Consulting Career Quest

Fulbright

The Pre-law Handbook

PROVIDING A RECOMMENDATION OR REFERENCE

Learn about the student/former student’s plans by meeting with him/her or by requesting a written statement of intent. Ask the student for his/her transcript or resume, if you feel it will be helpful.

Obtain a written authorization for the release of academic information, detailed above (required to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act [FERPA]). If the recommendation is to be provided on a prepared form that includes the student's signature and authorizes the release of information, then no additional authorization is required.

To assist in preparing letters of recommendation, the National Association of Colleges & Employers offers guidelines and a sample letter.

If the request is for an open or general letter for employment or admission to graduate or professional school, date the letter and address it as “In Reference to the Candidacy of (Individual’s Name).” An original copy of the letter may be provided to the student for future use. Providing an original puts the responsibility on the candidate to provide the information as requested.

Guidelines for writing specific kinds of recommendations have been created by The University of California: Academic Graduate School, Business School, Law School, Health Professions Schools, and Medical School.

The following characteristics are often addressed in a letter of recommendation: ability to communicate, self-confidence, initiative, leadership, energy, imagination, flexibility, interpersonal skills, self-knowledge, ability to handle conflict, goal achievement, competitiveness, appropriate field-specific skills, direction, intelligence, willingness to accept responsibility, civic/social awareness, and/or compassion.

Consider including the following in your letter:

Your professional affiliation with the candidate and the length of time you have known/worked with the candidate.
A confidentiality statement, e.g., “This information is confidential, should be treated as such, and is provided at the request of (name of individual), who has asked me to serve as a reference.”
The attributes of the candidate as they relate to his/her plans. Be specific, objective, and realistic in describing such things as strengths, on-the-job or in-the-classroom performance, planning and follow-through abilities, flexibility, professional qualities, teaching/professional skills, interpersonal skills, or other skill areas.
An honest account of your experience with the applicant; be specific.
An invitation to contact you for additional information: address, phone number, and e-mail address.
A strong closing statement that reiterates your overall recommendation and places the student in a larger context (be it previous applicants in the same context, previous students under your supervision, etc.).

Avoid including the following:

Details of your accomplishments and successes. Include them only if they directly involve the student.
Information that might refer to characteristics that can be the basis of discrimination (e.g., race, color, nationality, gender, religion, age, appearance, any handicapping condition, marital/parental status, or political point of view), unless you have the approval of the applicant and deem it appropriate for the letter-writing context.

PROVIDING A DISCIPLINARY REPORT

The Office of Judicial Affairs maintains student disciplinary records. General information about disciplinary records is at www.sa.psu.edu/ja/StudentDisciplinaryRecords.shtml. If a recommendation form requests a report on a student's disciplinary history, a recommender can access the information by asking the student to complete a disciplinary record release form. The student should deliver the completed form to the Office of Judicial Affairs, 135 Boucke. When the form is received at Judicial Affairs, a statement about the student's disciplinary history will be sent to the e-mail address indicated on the form.

DECLINING TO PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION OR REFERENCE

If an adviser or faculty member does not know a student’s qualities or characteristics well enough to write a letter on his/her behalf, he/she should decline to serve as a reference. An explanation should be provided to the student. It is better to decline to write a letter of recommendation than to write an ambivalent statement.

The University may make changes in policies, procedures, educational offerings, and requirements at any time. Please consult a Penn State academic adviser for more detailed information.

This page is part of the University Undergraduate Advising Handbook, which is maintained by the Division of Undergraduate Studies, DUS@psu.edu.

Last Update: September 2008