ASSIST SECURITY PLAN
December 20, 1999
The Arizona State System for Information
on Student Transfer (ASSIST) is a database providing Arizona's community
colleges and universities longitudinal comparable data to research issues
related to understanding of the transfer process, assessing the effectiveness of
transfer policies, and reporting the completion rates to state and federal
governments and other interested parties.
Since the ASSIST database contains
information protected by the governing boards of Arizona's community colleges
and universities and state and federal law, this document outlines the security
provisions to protect the privacy rights of the students whose records are in
ASSIST. ASSIST is a project funded jointly by the State of Arizona and Arizona's
universities and community colleges.
The ASSIST security plan involves four
parts:
Adopting ASSIST Joint Resolution
The governing boards of the participating community colleges and universities
adopted a joint resolution specifying: (1) that ASSIST will be used solely for
researching issues related to transfer within Arizona, (2) that the Academic
Program Articulation Steering Committee (APASC) is the responsible oversight
committee, and Arizona State University its agent to create and administer the
database, and (3) that ASSIST will be administered in a manner that protects the
privacy rights of the students whose records are included. APASC is a committee
comprised of community college and university representatives responsible for
administering Arizona's transfer articulation model. (See
ASSIST Joint Resolution.)
Passing Data to Arizona State University
(ASU)
Arizona's community colleges and universities annually send student records to
ASU for inclusion in ASSIST. Matching records requires that individually
identifiable data, such as SSN, name, and birthday, be available to ASU. So that
institutions do not violate FERPA when passing individually identifiable data to
ASU, ASU signed an agreement assuming responsibility for enforcing the
institution's FERPA obligations, and protecting student privacy rights in
ASSIST. The institutions that provide student record information to ASU under
the ASSIST project designate ASU as an "other school official," as that term is
used in FERPA. Data are passed to ASU via secured FTP processes or through
registered mail. Once received, only designated employees at ASU are authorized
to work with the data, and the data are stored on a server behind a firewall
accessible only to those employees. (See
ASSIST
Agreement.)
Passing Data from ASU to Participating
Institutions
After matching student records, ASU loads the data into a relational database on
a server that is accessible through the web by user account and password.
Personally identifying characteristics, such as SSN, student name, student
address, and birthday, are excluded in database and never loaded onto this
server. ASSIST assigns a new identifying number to each student, so that
research involving individual records is possible without violating student
anonymity. The database is structured so researchers can only access records of
students from their institution and not another institution. Further,
researchers authorized to access ASSIST are required to execute a nondisclosure
agreement. This agreement obligates the researcher to protect the privacy rights
of students in ASSIST, prohibits matching ASSIST records with local data, and
prohibits the researcher from allowing a third party to use their account and
password. (See
ASSIST Nondisclosure Agreement.)
Policies and Procedures Governing Use
Participating institutions retain ownership and control over their data and
approve all research involving ASSIST. Requests for information from ASSIST
follow existing procedures and policies established by the community colleges
and universities. Institutions designate the researchers authorized to access
their data in ASSIST. ASU trains these persons to use ASSIST, including the
requirements imposed by FERPA and the ASSIST Security Plan. The agreement
between ASU and participating institutions precludes using ASSIST for
operational purposes, or any other purpose not consistent with research or
assessment. Also, the ASSIST Agreement prevents ASU from granting access to
persons other than those designated by the institution. (See
ASSIST Policies and Procedures.)
Attachments:
Joint Resolution
Agreement with ASU
Nondisclosure Agreement
Policies and
Procedures
Last Amended and Approved by APASC:
April 22, 2003
