Delegate Access

Delegate Access

Let parents & guardians pay your tuition directly through CalCentral and more.

Image credit:
Elena Zhukova

What is Delegate Access?

Delegate access in CalCentral allows active students at UC Berkeley to grant access to certain aspects of their student account. Delegates can be parents, guardians, spouses, or any other person the student wishes.

Students have the ability to grant permission for delegates to view enrollment information, enrollment information plus grades, and/or financial information (e.g. pay bills, view financial aid). This allows parents or guardians to pay a student's tuition/fees, view enrollments, view grades, or any combination of the three.

Setting Up Delegate Access in CalCentral

Setting up delegate access in CalCentral is a 3-step process. 

Step 1: Authorization

The student authorizes a parent, guardian, or person as a delegate in CalCentral

The student needs to log in to CalCentral, then go to "My Dashboard," select their "Profile picture" in the top-right corner, and choose "Personal Profile" from the drop-down menu.

The student will then select "Delegate Access" followed by "Add a New Delegate."

After accepting the terms and conditions and entering the delegate's name and contact information, the student will determine what information to share with the delegate and what privileges the delegate will have. The student can choose any or all of the three options: 

  • Academics: View Class Enrollment Only
  • Academics: View Enrollment and Grades
  • Finances: View and Pay Bills; View Financial Aid

Students will also choose a code phrase and share that passphrase with their delegate. This code phrase will serve as a password if the delegate needs help from a UC Berkeley staff member. 

Student will then select "Save." The student will then be given further instructions on notifying the delegate of the next steps.

Step 2: Create CalNet ID

The delegate receives an authorization email and sets up their CalNet ID

Once the student completes the request to delegate access, the delegate will receive an email notification. This email notification will contain a link and instructions on how to create a CalNet ID and a unique security key.

The delegate will then create a CalNet ID and unique passphrase. 

Important: In order to protect our student information, the security key provided in the notification email is only valid for three days. After three days, the key will expire and the student must complete step 1 again.

Step 3: Link the Accounts

The delegate links their CalNet ID to the student's account in CalCentral

Once the delegate has established their CalNet account, the delegate will enter the security key and email address into CalCentral, agree to the terms and conditions, and link their account with their student.

Important: This step is required to complete the delegated access process.

FAQs

These are some of the common issues received by the SIS Production Support team in regard to delegation and feedback received.

Login and Delegate Setup Issues

I am receiving an error when trying to set up delegation and entering my email address and the security key:

Please be sure to copy and paste the security key and be sure to only copy the key and no other leading or trailing blank spaces. Please be sure to enter the email address exactly as entered on the delegation set up - it is case sensitive.


Why am I having issues logging into CalCentral?

Please make sure that you are logging in with your CalNet ID. It should be the CalNet ID that you established when you set up the delegation. It should be entered as all lowercase.

If you have forgotten your case sensitive passphrase, you will need to click on the "forgot passphrase" link when logging into calcentral.berkeley.edu. You will be prompted for some information - enter your password recovery email address.

An email will be sent to your recovery email address with a link to reset your passphrase. Be sure to pay attention to the requirements when resetting your passphrase.


My daughter/son is trying to set me up as a delegate, but I am not receiving the email. 

If the delegate process was set up but the email never arrived, you can check a couple of things:

  • Have you checked your spam folder? The email will come from calnet@berkeley.edu.
  • Double check that the student entered the email address correctly.

Please have your student delete the delegate request in CalCentral and then recreate it. If you still do not receive an email within 24 hours, then contact SIS Production Support at sishelp@berkeley.edu.


I contacted Cal Student Central to discuss Financial Aid for my student and they advised me that they could not speak with me due to FERPA privacy laws.

FERPA is the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act. UC Berkeley is not allowed to discuss any student information without a delegation definition on file that is set up by the student. Your student must grant you access in CalCentral before UC Berkeley employees may discuss any financial matters with you. 


My son/daughter is trying to set up delegation for me, but I am not receiving the email. I am also an employee at UC Berkeley and the email was sent to my berkeley.edu email address.

We are aware of an issue that seems to affect delegation emails sent to @berkeley.edu email addresses. Please have your son or daughter delete the delegate request and recreate it using your personal email address.


I changed my email service provider and no longer have the same email that was used to establish the delegation with my son/daughter. How can the delegation be changed to my new email address?

Step 1 - Please have you son or daughter edit the delegation in CalCentral to update the email address.
Step 2 - Please send an email to sishelp@berkeley.edu after the email address has been updated in Calcentral and we will update the payment system (Cashnet) with the new email address.

Making Payments

Why have I not received a tuition bill for my student?

The tuition bills are typically sent out the first week of the month. A student may have a zero balance if they have not enrolled for classes. Tuition is accessed after class enrollment occurs.


Why am I unable to make a payment?

Typically, an error will occur when trying to make a payment if a delegate has not waited the default 24-hour activation period. The delegate may receive the following error message:

  • *System Access Error* - The requested page cannot be accessed at this time.

If the error is still occurring more than 24 hours after the student initiated the delegated access request, please contact sishelp@berkeley.edu.


How do I set up the Fee Payment Plan for my student?

The Fee Payment Plan can only be set up by the student; delegates can not set this up. View the Fee Payment Plan webpage for more information.


How do I pay only the current charges that are due, rather than the full amount?

View the Edit Amount of Online Payment document for more information.


Why am I receiving the error "Ooops cannot find page, something went wrong" for payment page?

This could mean the delegate access request for your student was not successfully established. This often occurs because the process was not fully completed; for example, you may have only set up the CalNet ID, but failed to link the account before the security key expired.

If that is the issue, please take the following steps to remedy the problem:

  • Have the student delete the original delegation in CalCentral and re-create it.

    • This will generate a new email (and a new security key)- this security key expires in 72 hours from the time that it is received.

  • If you have already set up a CalNet ID, skip to the link the account step, using the new security key (make sure to copy the key and avoid any blank spaces before or after the key when copying).

  • You will be required to authenticate, using the CalNet ID and case sensitive passphrase, already established.

  • Once the linking has been established you will have access to the student account, based on the permissions granted.

Cal 1 Card

Why can’t I deposit money on my child’s Cal 1 card using the CalCentral website?

Currently, a delegate only has access to the permissions that can be granted by the student:

  • Finances: View and Pay
  • Academics: Enrollment and Grades
  • Academics: Class Enrollment Only

For more information or to add funds to a student's Cal 1 card, visit the Cal 1 website

Visual step-by-step guides for setting up delegates

For more information on how to set up a delegate in CalCentral, please view our visual step-by-step student guide and delegate guide.