FERPA considerations for cloud services

11 09 2012

I sat in on today’s meeting of IMAC (the Information Management Advisory Committee) on behalf of TAG. There were two major items discussed – a revision to the Records Management & Retention Policy (which I don’t think will have much direct impact on faculty) and a set of Guidelines for the Use of Cloud Computing Services.

The Guidelines are not policy – the document just list some of the concerns and considerations faculty and staff should be aware of when signing up for cloud services like Gmail, Google Docs, Dropbox, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, PayPal, etc.

The Guidelines are currently in draft format, so I’ve been asked not to distribute them outside of TAG. Non-TAG members, the new Guidelines will be sent out in 3-4 weeks, but in the meantime take a look at former Information Security Officer Tony Maszeroski’s Guidance on the Use of Cloud Applications by Individuals – the new Guidelines are similar in content.

One of the major concerns with using cloud services for University-related work (like teaching) is that it introduces all sorts of privacy and security issues. Almost all student information, like grades, transcripts, class lists, etc, is classified as restricted or confidential (see the Information Classification Policy) due to FERPA.

Classified or restricted information should not be stored or transferred on non-University systems, so faculty need to be very aware of what information we’re sharing with what third parties. If you’re using cloud tools or social media as part of your class or lab, you need to be very conscious of any potential privacy violations, and be upfront with students about the terms of service.

(See EDUCAUSE’s 2010 report on Privacy Considerations in Cloud-Based Teaching and Learning Environments. Colorado Community Colleges Online has posted some scenarios relating to respecting FERPA in an online classroom.)

I don’t think this is an issue that most faculty are very aware of, and I’d like to get a sense of how TAG can help faculty sort out these considerations in their classes. So let me know what you think – What questions do you have? What resources or references would be useful?


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Categories : Announcements, Online courses, Security

Web Guidelines and Social Media – Faculty Review

14 02 2012

At a recent meeting of the Committee on University Image and Promotion (CUIP), Public Relations distributed a new draft of the University’s Web Guidelines (PDF).

The Guidelines include several sections relevant to faculty – addressing divisional and departmental web pages, personal web pages, and academic uses of the web.  I’ve highlighted these sections in this annotated copy of the Guidelines.

The new draft also includes a section on social media websites.  Last year, TAG gave feedback on an earlier draft of this content (then referred to the Social Media Guidelines), much of which has been incorporated into the current language.

Please take a look at the Guidelines and let me know if you have any objections, concerns, or comments.  Public Relations is interested in gathering feedback before sending another draft through the governance process.


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Categories : Announcements, CMS and University Website

Emerging Technologies: Mobile MashUp and Social Media

29 09 2011

Two opportunities for faculty members to learn about emerging technologies this week:

Mobile

Diane Jachimowicz from IT Services gave today’s IT Forum on “A Portable Mashup” (slides in ppsx). Diane compared the iPad, Nook, Asus Eee Pad Transformer, and the brand new Kindle Fire and recommended useful cross-platform apps like Keeper, DropBox, and Evernote.  For mobile access to RoyalDrive, she recommended OvertheAir and Office2HD as iOS WebDAV client apps – and she’s posted instructions for connecting to RoyalDrive in the Mobile Device Center. She’s still working on finding a good app configuration for Android access to Royal Drive.

Social Media

TAG member Teresa Grettano (English/Theatre) and Donna Mazziotti (Library) will be presenting on “Facebook, Rhetoric, and Pedagogy” at tomorrow’s Office of Research Services seminar  in DeNaples 405, starting a little after 3pm.  Their collaborative course, WRTG 284: Rhetoric & Social Media, will run for the second time in Spring 2012.


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Categories : Announcements, Mobile, Technology Training

TAG Meeting Notes 3/3

4 03 2011

Just a few quick updates from yesterday’s TAG meeting:

  • We have three new members! Welcome to Dave Dzurec (History), Wesley Wang (Economics/Finance), and Sandy Pesavento (Education).
  • The Classroom Mediation survey has been distributed and is due today (Friday).  There was some confusion reported between the Classroom Mediation survey (which focused on equipment and was distributed by department chairs) and the Knowledge Base survey (which focused on software and was handed out in department meetings visited by TAG members).  Unfortunately, our timing didn’t work out as well as planned.
  • The Identity and Access Management system upgrade is still in progress. User IDs will likely be R numbers, but current email addresses will be carried forward.  You’ll likely be able to log into the my.scranton portal using your email address rather than your R number.
  • We discussed the plan for the email transition and debated how to get the word out about this plan to faculty members.  We recently sent out an email to all full-time faculty via FAC, and Jeremy, Kristen, and Jim will present to the Faculty Senate next Friday (March 11) about the transition plan.  We’re not sure how to reach part-time faculty.
  • TAG members have been visiting academic department meetings, to varying degrees of success.  We’ve gathered a lot of feedback from faculty about their technology needs.  The more specific feedback (e.g., projectors in a certain room not working) can be addressed by IR.  But TAG needs to address some of the larger issues (e.g., how do we get faculty to report problem computers/equipment to Tech Support so that they can be fixed?).
  • Faculty are still concerned about the lack of Mac support on campus, especially for things like antivirus software and uploading files to ANGEL from Safari (though that’s an issue with ANGEL rather than with our IR division).
  • There seems to be a need for discussions with faculty about academic & pedagogical uses of social media tools.  TAG will be looking into this more in the future.
  • There is a reported perception that TAG serves as a mouthpiece for the administration rather than as an independent body – but we’d like to beg to differ.  TAG has been asked by Academic Affairs and Information Resources to provide feedback on technology issues, not to repeat a previously determined message.  And communication between TAG and both Academic Affairs and Information Resources has been two-way rather than one-way.

Thanks to everyone who attended – and as usual, please feel free to address any of these points in the comments!


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Categories : Classroom Mediation, Email, TAG Administrative

Faculty and Social Media

17 05 2010

Earlier this month, publishing company Pearson released a survey of college faculty and their use of social media. The survey showed that most faculty members use social networking accounts, though only around 30% of faculty use those networks to communicate with students.  Video and podcasts are popular for in-class use and for personal use.

Let us know how you’re using social media in the classroom (or how you’d like to use it) and what campus resources you need to support that goal in your teaching!


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Categories : Announcements