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4.8 An institution that offers distance or correspondence education documents each of the following:
(Distance and correspondence education)

4.8.2 has a written procedure for protecting the privacy of students enrolled in distance and correspondence education courses or programs.

Compliance	____ Non-Compliance

Summary


Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC) has a written prodecure for pretecting the privacy of students enrolled in distance and correspondence education courses or programs.


Narrative

FTCC is committed to safeguarding academic integrity and adheres to guidelines that ensure the identity of students participating in courses regardless of delivery method. The College protects the privacy of all students using multiple log in procedures as follows:

Students admitted to FTCC are assigned a unique identification number by the College's administrative computer system (Ellucian-Colleague Information System) known as their Colleague ID number or their student ID number. The student ID and legal name are used to generate a unique user ID. This unique user ID is then used to access the College’s learning management system, Blackboard®. To establish a secured password, the student’s birthday is used to generate the default password. Students are then prompted to create an exclusive, encrypted password. This student ID becomes the unique identifier for students throughout their academic career at FTCC. The user ID is protected under the Electronic Signature and the Information Technology Use policies.

Procedures for Assuring Distance Education Student Identity

Students enter their unique user ID and password into the Blackboard® system that exclusively identifies them to the Blackboard® learning environment on each authenticated session. Students accept responsibility for the security of their passwords as outlined in the Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Electronic Signature Policy (pg. 47).

The College grants permissions that control access rights within Colleague according to job responsibilities and positions. Only the System Administrator can access the system to alter permissions and rights, and the System Administrator must receive written permission from the data owner level to grant access or permission.

The Blackboard® Administrator assigns roles with access limitations and parameters to users. The student role limits access to everything except information that relates to that particular user ID and password. Students cannot see other students’ grades, contact information, or coursework except discussion posts, which is at the discretion of the instructor. Faculty and staff have permissions based upon the parameters of their job duties.

Archived files containing student data are protected on encrypted storage media devices. Student records, including Blackboard® data, are not released by the College without a signed FERPA consent form.