Standard Number 3.9.2: The institution protects the security, confidentiality, and integrity of its student records.

Full Compliance

Georgia Southern University recognizes that much of the student information it collects and maintains is confidential in nature and must be protected from nonconsensual disclosure—particularly to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). The University makes a concerted effort to educate faculty, staff, and students about FERPA and about what compliance with this law involves. FERPA is published in the 2004-2005 Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog (p. 19), in the 2004-2005 Student Guide — the student handbook, and also referenced in the Faculty Handbook (§ 304, p. 49) . Under this act, Georgia Southern is required to notify its students annually of the types of records maintained and the office responsible for such records. In addition, the University offers students the option of restricting their directory information. The Registrar's Office will restrict access to directory information for those students who submit a written request.

Student information is also contained in the Banner student information database, in the WINGS (Web Interactive Network for Georgia Southern) student information system, and also in PeopleSoft Financials. These computer systems all operate on a userid/password basis to protect the security and integrity of the data. Furthermore, access to these various systems is limited to only those with authorized permission to use the database. To ensure the confidentiality of student data, the University has prohibited faculty from posting grades by student names and/or student Social Security numbers. Likewise, Georgia Southern has initiated a major project to move away from using a student's Social Security number as the primary identifying key in the student information databases.