Former student record disheartened their association (7)
I believe the answer is:
alumnus
'former student' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
(Other definitions for alumnus that I've seen before include "Past pupil" , "US college old boy" , "Old pupil" , "Ex-pupil" , "Former pupil or student" .)