Record Keeping and its confidentiality

General Principles

The Institute respects the privacy of its employees. The Institute will not release sensitive information without the consent of the individual involved unless required to do so by law. Individuals who provide information to the Institute are expected to provide truthful and timely information and to inform the Institute of any known inaccuracies in the Institute’s records.

Personnel Records

Personnel files are maintained for different purposes in the President’s office of the Institute. Personnel files are defined as “Personnel records”. Personnel records are any records identifying an employee that is kept by an employer and are used to determine an employee’s qualifications for employment, promotions, transfers, additional compensation, or disciplinary action. There is certain information which should not be disclosed to an employee, including, among other things, employee references that would identify the person making the reference, medical reports and records made or obtained by the institute if the reports and records are available to the employee from the doctor or medical facility involved, and personal information concerning someone other than the employee if disclosure would be a clearly unwarranted invasion of the other person’s privacy.

Employees may review their own institute’s personnel files located in the President’s office in the presence of a representative from that office. Personnel records maintained by schools, Centers, and other units are also available for inspection as required by law and pursuant to the policy established by the unit.

Another individual’s personnel file is available to members of the Institute community only when it is needed for fulfilling the function of the Institute. Records or information from personnel files may be made available to individuals or agencies outside the Institute only if such action legitimately serves the purpose of the Institute and the staff member consents or if the Institute is required by law to release them.

Requests for information in personnel files from government agencies or other investigatory bodies, or through court order or subpoena should be referred to the President’s office. If disclosure of a staff member’s file is required by any means, the President’s office will make all reasonable efforts to notify the staff member as quickly as possible, unless such notice is prohibited by law.

Information published in the Institute’s Directory and the online directory called “ICommunity” is available to any member of the general public. Faculty and staff can elect to withhold their home addresses and home telephone numbers from being published in these directories

Student Records

Except for certain public information, student records are regarded as confidential and are maintained by the Institute primarily to benefit students in their educational and professional advancement. Access to student records is governed by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 USC 1232g, and the regulations under that statute. As required by FERPA, the Institute has adopted a policy on student records.

FERPA applies to records that relate to any current or former student. A “student” is defined as anyone who is or has been in attendance at the institute and enrolled in the institute’s academic program. FERPA does not apply to records containing information gathered after a student has graduated or otherwise left the Institute. As a general rule, it also does not cover individuals who have applied but were not admitted or who were admitted but did not enroll.

A “record” means any information recorded in any way, including handwritten, print, computer media, video or audio tape, film, photographs, microfilm, or microfiche. There are a number of records relating to students that are not subject to FERPA, including records that relate to a student as an employee; records maintained by the Department of Public Safety for law enforcement purposes; medical, psychiatric, and psychological records; and notes prepared by an administrator or faculty member that are used only by that person and are not shared with anyone else.

Generally, FERPA and Institute’s policy prohibit disclosing most information contained in student records about a student without his or her written permission. This applies to anyone outside the Institute, including a student’s parent, or to the Institute’s employees unless the employee demonstrates a legitimate educational interest consistent with his or her official function for the Institute and consistent with usual professional and legal practices FERPA gives students the right to inspect and obtain a copy of their own records with certain limited exceptions. Many units have designated individuals who handle such requests from students.

Anyone having access to student records, including faculty, is expected to be familiar with and observe the institute’s policy on student records. The Office of the President can assist with questions regarding FERPA.

Faculty Handling of Student Records/References

FERPA directly affects faculty in their handling of information related to students. For instance, FERPA prohibits the posting of grades by the student’s name or the student’s ID number. Grades can be posted by using randomly assigned numbers known only by the faculty and the individual student or by using the last four digits of the student ID numbers in such a way that individual privacy is protected (e.g., not listing the students in alphabetical order). In addition, test, papers, and other materials must be returned to the students in a way that prevents access and/or release to anyone other than the student.

The faculty provides an important service for students when they write letters of recommendation on request by the student. In writing these letters, however, faculty members should take care to provide information based on personal observation or knowledge. In addition, faculty should not respond to a third party’s request for a reference for a student without that student’s prior consent.

Faculty Record Keeping

The Institute strongly encourages all faculty and staff to be diligent in creating and maintaining records related to their functions and contributions to the Institute. Information kept in the Institute’s files should be accurate and directly relevant to a legitimate Institute’s purpose.

Electronic Privacy

The Institute’s respects the privacy of its employees and seeks to foster a climate free from arbitrary or capricious monitoring of employees and the records they create, use, or control.