Privacy and Research Bulletins

This research bulletin details the procedures and processes undertaken by the University of Minnesota to ensure that all employees, from student workers and custodial staff through senior research faculty and administrators, received training about keeping private data secure tailored to their roles and responsibilities. It illustrates how the implementation of the training resulted in improvements in incident reporting and response procedures, awareness of institutional private data and expectations for securing them, and many aspects of data security.

Citation for this work: Janssen, Ross T., and Greg C. Sales. “Regulatory Compliance Training: Public Jobs, Private Data” (Research Bulletin, Issue 8). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This research bulletin discusses implications of U.S. Supreme Court decisions involving institutions of higher education and the ways in which colleges and universities can take advantage of technological potential. It focuses on how autonomous colleges and universities can and should be from the government and how independent they can be from public expectations. It also addresses the economic activities in which higher education institutions are free to engage.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) includes complex legislation that impacts higher education but was not specifically written with academic institutions in mind. This primer explains the highlights of HIPAA, what it means for higher education, and specific issues that university and college leaders should be considering with respect to the HIPAA statute and HIPAA-related regulations.

Colleges and universities have a host of security vulnerabilities. Insecure computers and networks have been exploited to launch a variety of attacks on computers--in the academy as well as in society. Although educators may agree with the need for security, differences arise when specific practices are adopted. This Research Bulletin highlights the importance of security and focuses on the balance that must be found between technical solutions and the fundamental principles and practices of the academy.