Recently, there has been a demand for increased educational technology usage in the university classroom, despite expanded access and implementation there has been little attention paid to student data privacy concerns. Our work is one institution's response to addressing the data privacy gap by creating a comprehensive review process for…

Counselor education has moved firmly into the online space with multiple accredited programs available to students and potential faculty. These programs can cross state lines, either by location of training, placement of faculty, or both. As such, there are legal and ethical considerations that are outside of those that are typically considered.…

Technology integration and learning analytics offer insights to improve educational experiences and outcomes. In advancing these efforts, laws and policies govern these environments placing protections, standards, and developmental opportunities for higher education, students, faculty, and even the nation-state. Nonetheless, evidence of…

Few scholarly publications have addressed in detail the question of student privacy when using social media for classroom educational activities. This study combined qualitative and conceptual methodologies to explore the implications of privacy law on learning activities, using the strict Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA) in the…

This Semiannual Report presents the activities and accomplishments of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) from April 1, 2022, through September 30, 2022. The report highlights the audits, investigations, and related work issued during this time frame. Sections include: (1) Pandemic Relief Oversight; (2) Disaster…

Education, Big Data, and student privacy are a combustible mix. The improvement of education and the protection of student privacy are key societal values. Big Data and Learning Analytics offer the promise of unlocking insights to improving education through large-scale empirical analysis of data generated from student information and student…

In this article, author Wendy Kilgore reports that 2016 was a productive year for AACRAO Research thanks to the active and ongoing participation of the members. Eleven research projects were completed in 2016 including 60-Second surveys and three comprehensive projects. The intent of the 60-Second surveys remains the same since its inception. They…

In 2013, compliance issues march, unceasingly, through every aspect of higher education. Yet the intricacies of privacy, information security, data governance, and IT policy as compliance and risk areas within the IT organization can reverberate and impact every other department within the higher education institution. The primary focus is always…

Meaningful technology use in education continues to improve given an increase in access to available technologies and professional development. For educators, professional development has focused on approaches for technology use that foster content-specific best practices and improve student learning in traditional classroom formats. Meaningful…

The January 2016 American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) "60 Second Survey" focused on institutional Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) training practices and measuring the level of interest in an AACRAO-developed online FERPA training module. The survey received 878 usable responses.…

Colleges and universities should be among the world's leading institutions in the field of data governance. After all, higher education institutions are dedicated to the creation and dissemination of knowledge. Why, then, do those who work in colleges and universities often have so much difficulty corralling information about their own operations…

Much recent discussion has focused on the pros and cons of cloud computing. Some institutions are attracted to cloud computing benefits such as rapid deployment, flexible scalability, and low initial start-up cost, while others are concerned about cloud computing risks such as those related to data location, level of service, and security…

With the tuition cost of traditional colleges and universities soaring and education technology advancing, online courses and degree programs are becoming more common. Some critics argue that an online degree cannot provide all the important features of a traditional college education, from extracurricular activities to new professional networks,…

This chapter describes the National Student Clearinghouse and discusses opportunities and challenges for tracking community college students. It also presents a system perspective on using clearinghouse data to promote more comprehensive student and graduate tracking. (Contains 2 tables.)

No university seems immune to cyber attacks. For many universities, such events have served as wake-up calls to develop a comprehensive information security and privacy strategy. This is no simple task, however. It involves balancing a culture of openness with a need for security and privacy. Security and privacy are not the same, and the…