3.4.11  

The institution protects the security, confidentiality, and integrity of its student academic records and maintains special security measures to protect and back up data.

RATIONALE FOR COMPLIANCE JUDGMENT

Nashville State Community College manages students records in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) [1] and the Tennessee Board of Regents Guideline 3:02:03:00 [2].  This information is published in the college catalog, both hard copy and web-based [3] and the student handbook [4].

For additional information about how student records are secured and how the integrity of data is maintained, see NSCC response to Comprehensive Standard 3.9.2.

Student records are maintained on a secure database, which is accessed by password only.  The database resides on an encrypted platform.  Student data is available to the student through a web-based interface.  Data over the web is also accessed through an encrypted platform and a password-protected process. 

Security of student records on the computer-based student record database is managed using policies which guide the creation, modification, and deleting of staff or faculty user accounts [5], and passwords [6,7,8].  Policies exist regarding computer office and network security [9,10]. The system is backed up incrementally on continuous basis, a system data back-up is performed nightly, and a complete system back-up is performed one time each week [11].