Policy on Student Privacy for Distance Education Students:

Student Privacy

Lurleen B. Wallace Community College is committed to the protection of the privacy of all students and their academic records. The College provides notice to all students of their privacy in the 2013-14 College Catalog and Student Handbook beginning on page 251. LBWCC also provides students disclosure of information specifically related to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, FERPA, located on the College’s website under the heading Consumer Information and in the 2013-14 College Catalog and Student Handbook on page 251-252.

The College uses the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) which is licensed by Instructure to provide on-line and hybrid courses. The office of the Associate Dean of Instructional and Information Technology limits system administrative access to employees who directly manage this system and utilizes the following procedures to ensure confidentiality of student information and privacy for distance learning students.

Accessing Student Information

Student records, including only those available through Alliant Data Systems (CampusKey) are used for the purpose of creating or disseminating online course usernames and passwords and are accessible by the following:

Associate Dean of Instructional and Information Technology

Network Administrator of the MacArthur Campus

Distribution of Student Information

Individual students are provided with basic online course login information (online course username and password). No distance education student is uploaded into a course until all tuition and fees have been paid in the business office. CampusKey databases are queried by course section number. The student’s first initial, last name and last four digits of the social security number are used to create the username and password. No other information is shared with students.

Student requesting login information from an instructor will be directed to contact one of the following:

Associate Dean of Instructional and Information Technology

Network Administrator of the MacArthur Campus.

Protection and Storage of Student Information

The Office of the Associate Dean of Instructional and Information Technology does not store student data, except in electronic form on the off-site Canvas server. That server is backed up daily and protected from outside parties.

Other than course-specific content, the only student data stored on that server is the student's Canvas username and password. No financial aid information, transcripts, or other sensitive information is stored by the Office of the Associate Dean of Instructional and Information Technology.

Using Student Information

The Office of the Associate Dean of Instructional and Information Technology is only concerned with student data that can be used to create a unique online course login ID and password. Sensitive student information is only seen by the Associate Dean of Instructional and Information Technology and the Network Administrator of the MacArthur Campus.

Disposing of Student Information

Student accounts remain in the database but at the end of the term date they become read only.

Business Continuity

Distance Education student data is stored on an off-site server and maintained by Instructure. That server is backed up daily, and these backups are stored in a separate location. Any damage to LBWCC infrastructure will not affect this data. Instructure is committed to protecting the security of personal data and states the following excerpt from the Instructure Privacy Policy:

“We use a variety of industry-standard security technologies and procedures to help safeguard your Personal Data from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. We also require you to enter a password to access your account information. Please do not disclose your account password to unauthorized people. Despite these measures, you should know that Instructure cannot fully eliminate security risks associated with Personal Data and mistakes may happen. Any content you post while using the Services is at your own risk. Although we may allow you to set privacy options that limit access to your account, please be aware that no security measures are impenetrable. We cannot control the actions of other users with whom you may choose to share your content or information. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that content you post while using the Services will not be viewed by unauthorized persons. We are not responsible for any circumvention of any privacy settings contained on the Services.