SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS
Arizona and federal laws and university policies protect the privacy of individual social security numbers (SSNs) by limiting the conditions under which they are collected, used, and disclosed. Protection of SSNs helps to protect personal privacy and to avoid fraud and identity theft.
Arizona laws. Arizona has two laws that affect the use of social security numbers in higher education.
A.R.S. § 15-1823. Effective June 30, 2002, A.R.S. §15-1823 prohibits universities and community colleges from assigning a faculty, staff, or student identification number that is identical to the person’s SSN. (An individual may, however, ask for an identification number that is identical to the SSN.) The law also prohibits the display of the SSN, or any four or more numbers of the SSN on any official university or community college Internet site or any publicly accessible document.
A.R.S. § 44-1376. Beginning on January 1, 2005, it will be illegal in Arizona to do any of the following:
- Communicate an individual’s social security number and make it available to the general public,
- Print an individual’s social security number on any card required for the individual to receive products or services,
- Require an individual’s social security number over the Internet unless the connection is secure or the social security number is encrypted,
- Require the transmission of an individual’s social security number to access an Internet web site, unless a password or unique identification is also required to access the Internet site, or
- Print an individual’s social security number on any materials that are mailed to the individual, unless state or federal law requires the social security number to be on the document.
With the exception of sections 2 and 5 above, this statute does not apply to state agencies. This statute does not prevent the collection or release of an SSN if that collection or release is required by law or if it is necessary for internal verification or administrative purposes.
Federal law. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a) is the federal law that regulates the use of SSNs. This law makes it illegal for federal, state, and local government agencies to deny any rights, privileges or benefits to individuals who refuse to provide their SSNs unless the disclosure is required by federal statute, or the disclosure is to an agency for use in a record system which required the SSN before 1975.
The law also requires that any federal agency that requests your Social Security Number provide a disclosure statement stating:
- the authority that authorizes the solicitation of the information and whether disclosure of such information is mandatory or voluntary;
- the principal purposes for which the information is intended to be used;
- the routine uses which may be made of the information, and
- the effects on you, if any, of not providing all or any part of the requested information.
ABOR and ASU Policies. The following ABOR and ASU policies also address the privacy of student and employee information:
Student Records:
Release of Student Information
Lost or Stolen Student Records
Privacy Rights of Students
Posting of grades
Employee Records:
Access to or Disclosure of Personnel Records or Information
Access to and Release of Official Personnel Records Information
Personnel Records
Additional Information.
Anyone who is concerned about a possible fraudulent use of a SSN may contact the Registrar's Office at 965-7302 or Human Resources at 965-2394 or the Social Security Administration fraud telephone number (800-269-0271).
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) maintains the U. S. government’s central Web site for information about identify theft.