Jefferson State Community College is committed to protecting the privacy of all students, including those enrolled in the institution’s distance learning courses. We are committed to protecting the privacy of a student’s educational record regardless of course delivery method.
The Office of Information Technology (IT) maintains procedures for ensuring the privacy of student information including: advanced network security, periodic security audits, frequent updating of security hardware and appliances, multi-factor authentication, as well as enforced password complexity and expiration policies. IT also attempts to minimize the risks of students sharing their own information inadvertently on campus by: locking down on-campus student PCs to prevent cached credentials or sign-ins, advanced endpoint virus/malware protection, automated delivery and control of PC security updates/patches and advanced wireless controls to block rogue or malicious access points and peer-to-peer isolation to limit access over campus wireless networks
The identity verification process for online courses protects the student’s privacy through the use of a secure portal, with a unique student identifier and student chosen password. Students are forced to update their password annually to ensure password integrity and confidentiality.
Students and faculty utilizing the Colleges Learning Management System (LMS) are required to sign in with the unique identifier and password. A batch process run by the Office of Information Technology that enrolls students and faculty in courses. Specific course and student information are not available to any outside users. Student user profiles and class activity are not visible to anyone without access to the LMS. Access to the LMS is provided to faculty, staff, and students actively enrolled in courses.
Distance education courses may provide third-party tools and software for individual courses. FERPA protections for information shared on third-party tools cannot be assured and the institution has no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Students enrolled in courses that use third-party tools are encouraged to review these third-party privacy policies at the beginning of the course.
