Security of Student Records

The Office of Records and Registration [1] with the cooperation of Computer Services [2] maintains students' academic records in electronic form in the Student Information System (SIS). Confidentiality of these electronic records is strengthened by stringent user-profile security measures. Nightly data backups are taken by Computer Services in the event of any major unforeseen problem.

Hard copies of records are kept in a secured, locked vault to which only Records and Registration staff members have keys and electronic codes. These records are maintained for prescribed periods of time; afterwards they are imaged to CD before being shredded.

Confidentiality and Integrity of Student Records

Each college's building has a record keeper for student records. These record keepers' primary responsibility is to ensure the security and confidentiality of student records, as reflected in a sample job description [3].

Employees must also sign a confidentiality statement prior to being issued a computer user ID [4]:

USER PRIVILEGE STATEMENT:

I, (your name)_______________________________________, understand that all information obtained from student records in this system is confidential, and may be released only to the student to whose record I have access, to others indicated by the student upon the student's written request, and as necessary to University staff on a need-to-know basis. I agree to uphold complete confidentiality of these records otherwise (per the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act).

_______________________ ______________________
User Signature/Date

_______________________ ______________________
Department Head Signature/Date

Nicholls' Policy and Procedure Manual provides policies that reinforce the University's commitment to confidentiality of student records with respect to grade posting and record disclosure. Section 2.7.1.1.3.m [5] describes faculty duties in regard to these issues as follows:

m. Grade Posting and Record Disclosure. Faculty are allowed to post grades as long as the posting procedure does not violate any student privacy statutes such as the Buckley Amendment. Under the Buckley Amendment, for instance, the posted grade cannot in any way be associated with a student's name. A Social Security number in place of the student's name is also a violation because these numbers can be associated with a name. Any faculty system that scrambles student names and then replaces that name with a number (other than the complete Social Security number) would be acceptable. For example, a posting system where the names are scrambled and the last four digits of the Social Security number are used would be acceptable. Faculty members who are not sure about their posting procedures should contact their immediate supervisors.

Under federal law (the "Buckley Amendment" or FERPA), no one other than the student and school officials may have access to the student's class schedule, grades, or other education records without the student's expressed, usually written, permission. This prohibition includes parents, even if they claim an emergency. It is suggested that if such a request should be presented to faculty by a parent, an appropriate response would be that we cannot, under Federal law, release the information.

As a reminder, the types of information about a student, which may be released without the student's permission, are listed in the current Bulletin.