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Faculty Resources for Remote Working

As institutions around the world change the way they are instructing classes in response to COVID-19, it is important to recognize that there are some individuals that will use these unique circumstances to try to gain access to information they should not have. Below are some guidelines and quick tips that will help you ensure that we keep our student’s private information secure.

 

While graded assignments and class rolls would be part of a student's education record and subject to FERPA protections, the typical material that you discuss as part of your lecture is not part of an individual's student education record and therefore is not subject to FERPA protections. The vast majority of your lecture will be conducted as normal, just through alternative delivery methods such as Canvas or Zoom.

 

Technology can be a great instructional aid. For example, the convience of being able to share your screen with students through Zoom is a great way to enhance and illustrate material you cover. However, you must always be mindful of the technology you are using. You should take steps to ensure any applications or documents showing student information are saved and closed before sharing your screen with others.

 

  • E-mail: Utilization of official University of Kentucky e-mail accounts is the preferred way to discuss any protected information as it resides behind a protected login.
  • Video Conferencing: Echo360, Skype, or Zoom are great ways to setup one-on-one meetings with students; both parties being able to see one another in real-time helps ensure the student’s identity. However, should protected information be discussed both parties will need to meet from private locations.
  • Phone: Communication by phone is the least secure method and poses the most risks. Discussions occurring over the phone or via audio-only conferencing should be limited to general topics that do not rely on sharing protected information.

    If you must discuss protected information over the phone, you should send a unique passphrase or PIN to the student's official UK e-mail beforehand. Prior to discussing protected information, the student will need to confirm the passphrase or PIN to verify their identity. Note that any passphrase or PIN used must be uniquely created. It should not be based on information that could be deciphered by another student, such as date of birth.

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    When working with student data, limit yourself to using official University of Kentucky applications such as myUK, Canvas, and SAP. Refrain from downloading, printing, or otherwise removing data from UK systems if possible. Doing so increases the risks of protected information being disclosed inadvertently.

     

  • Step One: Click here to login to myUK Learning using your linkblue account.
  • Step Two: In the top left portion of the window click the down arrow by "Home" and select "Learning" or click the "Learning" box under "My Info".
  • Step Three: From the "Find Learning" box type "FERPA" into your search and click the "Go" button.
  • Step Four: Select the "FERPA Review for Faculty" course to begin. As this review course is self-paced, you may select to review specific topics of interest or complete the full 37 minute review.

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