A CALL TO ARMS
Web Based Learning Systems (WBLS) hold great potential
for making the University's resources more broadly available. This
ARMS Bulletin describes WBLS and the various legal and records management
issues for the University.
Contents
Introduction - Web Based Learning
Systems (WBLS)
WBLS and Legal Issues
Records Management Issues
Conclusion
Appendix - Records Keeping Guidelines
Introduction - Web Based Learning Systems (WBLS)
In August 1998, an issues statement on Web Based Learning Systems (WBLS)
was prepared to make the University community aware of its legal responsibilities
but also to provide a basis for 'risk assessment' in the WBLS environment.
Most of the items addressed in this issues statement fall under the areas
of Infrastructure Requirements, Interoperability, Electronic and Print
Resources, and Evaluation and Value of WBLS as outlined in the January
13, 1998 Architecture group minutes. <http://www.wisc.edu/arch/task_force/wbls/mn980113.html>
We can not hope to anticipate every eventuality that may occur in Cyberspace,
but we can do our best as an institution to promote sound policy guidance
and awareness of the issues and potential problem areas.
Return to table of contents.
WBLS and Legal Issues
There are numerous existing State and Federal records that impact electronic
records. Wisconsin's Public Records Law and Open Records Law recognize
electronically formatted documents to be "records." As such, they are
subject to the same requirements as all other records stored on other
types of media. Some of these requirements are outlined in other sections
of this document. Electronic records are subject to discovery and
rules of evidence as are all other types of records. There are numerous
Federal and State laws that impact specific types of records and information.
The significant factor to remember is that these laws apply regardless
of the type storage medium being used.
Developments in information technology have created a wide variety of
legal concerns, and in general, records laws have not kept up with them.
There are a variety of legislative efforts underway at State and Federal
levels which predominately relate to strengthening privacy laws as they
apply to information technology area. Recently, a Wisconsin State task
force was created that will propose an administrative code on electronic
records. The code is not likely to address specific technologies or storage
media, but will govern the application of traditional records and information
management practices in the electronic environment.
One legal area that is starting to catch up is authentication. Basically,
this area addresses the question of how do we know a record when we create
one or receive one? Traditionally, organizations have relied upon the
paper copy of the record. In an all-electronic information system, retaining
the paper record is not sufficient because it does not contain all the
information about the record necessary for it to be a 'complete, accurate,
and reliable record.' Several states have now enacted legislation enabling
the use of electronic signatures. In addition to the use of electronic
signatures, organizations need to be aware of record keeping requirements
that can attest to the authenticity of the document. See ARMS Bulletin
#2, "Creating Electronic Records" for further information about issues
in this area. <http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/Archives/rm/arms/arms2.htm>
Return to table of contents.
Records Management Issues
Records and information management issues in WBLS fall into the following
categories:
A. Access including security / privacy
B. Appropriate use
C. Authentication
D. Retention and Disposition
E. Preservation
F. Other Issues
A. Access, Including Security / Privacy
In this category, the University has obligations under both Federal and
State laws. Any time student information is involved FERPA, the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act, must be adhered to. This Federal law is very explicit
regarding the management of student data and most particularly about accessing
student record information. This includes forbidding such things as digitized
photos of students placed on the Net without permission. Generally, it forbids
disclosure without the student's written consent.
In addition to FERPA, we have State of Wisconsin laws relating to privacy
and the maintenance of personally identifiable information. Wisconsin
Statutes Chapter 19 outlines agency responsibilities with regard to the
management of personally identifiable information including: development
of rules of conduct, providing training to employees who manage such data,
data collection responsibilities, and the use of computer matching programs.
(Personally identifiable information means information that can be associated
with an individual through one or more identifiers or other information
or circumstances.) While the computer matching programs provision might
not be of direct application in WBLS, it should be noted that any type
of student identifier used, or granting access to, an identifier could
provide capability to do computer matching.
Wisconsin law also requires a notice on State agency forms that describes
why information is being collected and the consequences for failure to
complete the form. This notice requirement is receiving increased attention
as forms are being added to Web based environments.
In the near future, we are likely to see increased attention paid to
individual privacy and the Internet. For instance, recent legislation
in Wisconsin introduces severe penalties for 'stealing another's identity.'
It is imperative that great caution be exercised in expanding our use
of the Internet, particularly the portions of WBLS that will administer
and communicate personal identifiable data.
Recommendations: Access, Including Security / Privacy
- The University should adopt a privacy/access policy that will be
a featured prominently on the initial WBLS homepage screens, or accessible
via a hot button that links directly to the policy statement.
- Notice of policies on access to student information should also be
a part of the sign on screen whatever WBLS technology is used. The policy
should indicate that absolute privacy can not be guaranteed but all
reasonable precautions in both policy and technology have been undertaken.
It should state that information that is requested and gathered/collected
is limited to that which is needed for the participation and completion
of the on-line course. If information will be retained and used for
research purposes that should be noted at sign on as well. The Registrar's
office, as managers of the official UW student record data, should review
their current access policy to determine its applicability to WBLS systems.
- Monitoring or logging features of WBLS must protect student privacy.
Information technology staff need to determine the minimal amount of
information they need to collect to manage appropriately without compromising
student privacy. [Jeffrey Savoy, DoIT Security Investigator is developing
a retention proposal for security logs maintained on student computer
accounts. This same policy could potentially be extended to logs maintained
as part of a WBLS system because it is student related.]
- Policies need to be developed for those University staff who will
be involved in WBLS to outline levels of responsibilities for data collection
and distribution, especially concerning the collection of names, addresses,
personal identifiers, grades, etc. that can be attributed to one individual.
These procedures should include methods that will permit users to access
their own records and correct misinformation or incorrect information.
The policy should also address any secondary use of the data collected.
As an example, the Conference Leader Responsibilities statement developed
for the use of the First Class Conference software meets many of these
requirements and with modification could be used as a model for other
WBLS technologies. The developers of this statement have already taken
some of these issues into consideration.
- When WBLS is used by several institutions to collaboratively teach
a course, adequate security precautions must be in place to insure the
privacy of student record data transmitted between institutions.
B. Appropriate Use
Appropriate use involves two concepts: identifying the right technology
tools to support a specifically identified need, and limiting the use of
technology tools to those purposes that support the mission of the University.
The Board of Regents at its June 1997 meeting adopted a "Policy on Use of
University Information Technology Resources." This policy statement should
be referenced with regard to limitations on use of Information Technology
Resources.
WBLS systems will be applied to enhance and extend University learning
resources to a broader community. WBLS users should be aware of the principle
of minimization when collecting student related data. This principle states
the least possible amount of student information should be collected to
meet a legitimate institutional purpose. It requires that the institution
identify what it
minimally needs to collect, and refrain from collecting that which might
'be nice to know' or data that 'might be used in the future.' The
rationale is that the risk of misuse increases when an organization starts
collecting student related data more broadly than needed (and much of
this falls in the personally identifiable category); obviously, in a Web
based environment there is greater
potential for misuse to happen than with closed paper files.
Recommendations: Appropriate Use
- The student related data elements that will be collected should be
identified and WBLS should limit the collection of student data to those
elements. A statement should appear on data collection screens that
advises students of the purposes for collecting student information.
[See recommendations in Access section.] The collection of student
record data should be coordinated with the Registrar's office since
that office is the holder of official student record data for the University.
- The Regent Policy on the Use of Information Technology Resources
should be referenced on the sign on screen to WBLS systems.
- A records retention disposition schedule should be developed for
the student data in WBLS systems. The schedule should be referenced
in the notice to students. See retention/disposition section below.
C. Authentication
In the electronic environment it is important to know 'how do I know what
I really have?' How do I know that what I have received electronically is
actually coming from a specific individual? Passwords, encryption, and digital
signatures are used to authenticate electronic records. Obviously, the issue
of authentication relates very closely to security, access, and privacy
issues but detailed discussion is beyond the scope of this document.
D. Records Retention and Disposition
WBLS systems will create and maintain records; and therefore, they will
need to be managed in accordance with Wisconsin's public records laws and
appropriate Federal laws. One of the basic elements of Wisconsin's Public
Records Law is the requirement for records retention schedules or Records
Retention Disposition Authorizations (RDAs). The RDA is the schedule document
which is reviewed and approved at the campus level by the Campus Records
Review Group and at the State level by the Public Records Board. A records
schedule describes a particular records series and prescribes a retention
period and disposition for it. A records schedule, once it is approved by
the Public Records Board, is a legal document and demonstrates that the
institution has analyzed the value of the records and data and has a consistent
plan for their management.
The information in WBLS falls currently into three broad categories:
- Administrative educational records (i.e. student records)
- Informational resources such as course outlines, handouts, instructional
materials
- Course materials submitted by students.
Administrative records and course materials submitted by students would
be considered official University records and subject to retention and
disposition policies. Informational resources form a gray area. While
course outlines and other materials are produced as part of performing
the teaching function and therefore part of official University activity,
these documents are often treated as faculty papers and not formally scheduled
for retention and disposition.
Recommendations: Retention and Disposition
- The collection and retention of student record data must be coordinated
with the Registrar's office. The Registrar's Office is the holder of
official student record information. Policies and technological procedures
need to be addressed that will define the relationship between the student
record data base and WBLS systems. Technological procedures should address
how administrative data, grades, and courses will link to the main Registrar
database.
- Retention and disposition policies must be factored in during the
planning process. The Administrative Rule currently under development
at the State level will likely mandate that retention and disposition
be a component of systems at the conception stage. The technological
enhancements needed to implement these policies are more easily and
efficiently accomplished at the front end of systems planning than by
after the fact customization.
- A number of campus wide as well as department specific records retention
policies exist. Similar records managed by WBLS systems must comply
with those existing retention requirements.
The following is a list of current campus-wide retention policies in the
area of student records. NOTE: Many of these policies have sunset as per
Stat. 16.61 (4) c., but they continue to serve as campus policy. The Registrar's
office and others have been notified of the need to update these retention
policies and revision efforts have been initiated. The implementation of
ISIS has delayed development and consideration of retention issues.
RDA # 57 Outlines the informational content of the official student record
and specifies that it will be retained permanently.
Supporting documentation and copies of student record documents are
governed by RDA# 130/84.
RDA# 62 governs Graduate School Application files.
RDA# 377 governs Graduate Student Records-completed.
- Records in WBLS systems not covered already by either campus-wide
or department specific retention policies must have appropriate retention
policies prepared and submitted for approval.
- Appropriate disposition processes must be applied to the backup tapes
to insure the complete deletion/erasure of data. It is recommended that
separate backup procedures be applied to WBLS systems.
- Retention and Disposition requirements must be applied to E-mail
if that is used and/or incorporated as a feature of WBLS systems.
E. Preservation
Some information maintained in WBLS may have long term retention value;
particularly those informational resources that will be used again or in
other WBLS courses. The UW may have a history of education need to secure
some WBLS records to support research. The University Archives is currently
developing an electronic archives policy for the campus. Of key importance
in this area is the development of migration strategies for those informational
components of WBLS that need to be moved forward as software and platform
changes occur.
Recommendations: Preservation
- Faculty members will want to be apprised of preservation procedures
so that materials such as course syllabi, handouts, etc. created and
published on-line remain accessible to them for additional courses.
- To implement retention and preservation, WBLS systems should separately
track the three basic categories of information.
- Preservation of student records beyond those needed by the Registrar's
Office. Are there pieces of data that WBLS developers may want that
are beyond those needs of the Registrar's Office?
- With preservation there are also additional questions about access.
Is there access under FERPA to student record data that may be maintained
by faculty members? This may be an awareness issue more than records
management policy issue.
F. Other Issues and Recommendations.
- Evaluation of WBLS courses may have implications for the faculty
evaluation process. If on-line evaluations of courses are conducted,
that information should be tracked and retained separately in accordance
with the Faculty and Academic Staff Personnel Records Retention Policy.
- Policy documents and other informational resources should be available
as core documents for all potential WBLS users. Items such as privacy
policy, ARMS bulletins, Board of Regents IT Policy, responsibility statements
(First Class model), security policy, etc. should be established as
guidance standards and made available for all those contemplating WBLS
system applications. Some of these items should be identified as minimum
requirements for access to WBLS resources. Others should be identified
as guidance for planning and implementation.
- Courses and educational program jointly sponsored with other institutions.
In the joint agreements creating shared courses or jointly sponsored
programs, such issues as ownership of records and information and liability
ought to be addressed.
- Educom IMS Specifications. The Educom Instructional Management Systems,
IMS, specifications do address functional standards as they relate to
records 'creation' but are mostly silent about the corresponding need
for record 'keeping.' [See http://www.imsproject.org/specspr.html].
These IMS requirements are going to make access for the general world easier
to accomplish in a standardized fashion, but it will be incumbent upon the
participating institutions to make sure their policies and technological
requirements will mesh with those at the national level. Since records policies,
such as those described in this issues statement, are largely missing from
the IMS standards, we will need to define our own. How will our portion
of the data, and of the metadata, be maintained at our institution? Who
will be responsible for doing it? Who will see that things like policies,
versions, re-versioning, etc. at our local level will be in synch with national
policies?
The proposed standards are extremely useful, though, for their thorough
systems analysis of the needs of distance education, for their delineation
and definition of various processes and data elements, and not least because
they define a common nomenclature for everyone to use.
It should be noted that the issues outlined in this document do not apply
just to WBLS but reflective of non-paper based learning systems generally.
The issues of access, appropriate use, security, retention, and preservation
will need to be addressed broadly as more nontraditional and technologically
based learning systems are developed. It will be incumbent upon educational
institutions to make sure that their local records and information management
policies are in place, up to date, and consistent before launching into
the global education environment.
Return to table of contents.
Conclusion
This bulletin provides an overview of the records and information management
issues in WBLS. Archives and Records Management Service is collaborating
with DoIT on specific policies and procedures to address these important
topics.
List of Major Points
1. Awareness and Education.
As the University expands its role in providing Web based access to its
educational resources, faculty and staff need to be aware of the records
and information management risks inherit in using this technology and
their responsibilities to minimize those risks to the greatest extent
possible. State and Federal laws have generally not kept up with the developments
in technology, but there are certain legal requirements that are valid
regardless of the type of technology used to create and manage records
and information. In the meantime we need to build awareness to these issues
and provide guidance to faculty, staff, and students in terms of their
responsibilities and what they minimally can do to avoid problems.
2. Ownership Issues.
With the potential for a great mix of records and information from a variety
of sources being placed in a University supported technology, ownership
issues will likely be of concern. We need to devise strategies and technological
methods by which items can be delineated and separately managed and policies
that will support those strategies.
3. Identity Theft.
This is a growing issue at the State and Federal levels. Policy statements
need to make clear roles and responsibilities in terms of using the technology
and accessing the information being created and stored in these technologies.
Part of the solution in this area is strongly encourage University departments
to collect only that information that is minimally needed to support a
particular function or provide a service. The collection and possible
access to student academic data is of special concern. The collection
and use of student academic record data should be coordinated with the
Registrar's Office since that office is the holder of official student
record data for the University.
4. Authentication.
In the electronic environment, it is important to know "how do I know
what I really have?" In other words, how do I know that the person identified
as the sender is actually the sender. This is of concern in Info Labs
and other areas in which computers are easily accessible and where there
is high volume of traffic.
5. Retention and Disposition.
Web based learning systems like other electronic systems do create records,
and as such need to be appropriately managed including meeting the records
appraisal and retention requirement. We need to provide guidance to faculty
and staff on filing and classification schemes that will facilitate implementation
of these requirements. The University will need to provide offices with
the capability to implement retention and disposition requirements electronically.
Student records retention policies need to be updated. With the further
use of Web based learning systems and the implementation of ISIS, these
are issues are becoming critical to the protection of University interests
in retention and preservation of student academic records and information.
6. Preservation.
Providing access to electronic information over time continues to be very
problematic. The University needs to build awareness to this issue. Migration
strategies need to become a common component information systems design.
These major points will be common to other electronically based information
systems. Attention to them in a visible and emerging technological area
such as the Web based Learning Systems area will greatly assist in addressing
them elsewhere.
Return to table of contents.
Appendix - Records Keeping Guidelines
1. Creation of records in WBLS
Several functions supported by WBLS will result in the creation of records
because they will serve to document a transaction, whether that will be
the enrollment in a course, completion of course requirements, issuance
of grades, and others. It will be incumbent upon those administering a
WBLS application to authenticate users (senders and receivers) and ensure
that the reliability of the system can be documented, data can be accessed
and retrieved in the normal course of business, and data maintained in
WBLS is separately identified and maintained in accordance with the retention
requirements outlined later in this document.
2. Data Collection
WBLS users are strongly encouraged to collect only that minimal amount
of data necessary to carry out the prescribed function. If additional,
non-course related data is collected from students, its purpose and use
should be clearly noted to the participants at the outset.
If research use of WBLS is intended, particularly the collection of personally
identifiable data, the user should check the campus Human Subject research
guidelines to determine if other Federal reporting requirements apply.
Certain categories of research are exempt from Human Subject reporting,
but faculty are urged to read the Human Subjects Committee Guidelines
for further information. Information collected from subjects for research
purposes must be kept segregated from other WBLS data.
3. Placing Information on the Web
All users of WBLS are responsible for verifying the copyright status
of information placed in WBLS supported applications. WBLS users are encouraged
to follow appropriate content and style guidelines when placing materials
on the Web. They must also follow University policies with regard to intellectual
property and copyright. See UW System Financial and Administrative Policy
(GAPP 27) Copyrightable Instruction Materials Ownership, Use and Control
available at http://www.uwsa.edu/fadmin/gapp/gapp27.htm.
WBLS users must be aware of copyright practices such as: fair use, rights
clearance, and license. Additional copyright information is available
at http://www.wisc.edu/learntech/menus/copyrights.htm.
4. Records Maintenance & Retention
a. Records must be maintained and retained in accordance with existing
campus-wide policies. The most likely cited retention policies are noted
at the end of this document.
b. Any records and data not covered by existing campus-wide retention
policies must be appraised and scheduled as required by Wisconsin Statutes.
Every effort will be made to develop campus-wide retention policies
for WBLS to the greatest extent possible.
c. All required systems documentation: program codes, data dictionaries,
report descriptions, error logs, etc. must be maintained and kept up
to date to support the retention and retrieval of records from the WBLS
system until their retention life has expired. This requirement includes
the ability to re-create records.
d. On-line inactive records storage and archiving. WBLS users must identify
the campus entity that will have responsibility for the storage of records
outlined in this guideline. This responsibility could rest with department
server, LAN administration, DoIT, other services.
e. When retention times have expired, records are to be deleted from
the system and from their backups.
5. Preservation
a. Those records identified for long term preservation and which will
be maintained in electronic format will need to have special care and
handling to maintain their availability. It is advised that any data
/ records appraised to have value out beyond 3 years must have an identified
migration strategy to ensure long term access and retrievability.
b. Permanent student academic records data must be transferred to the
Registrar's office for inclusion in the permanent student academic record.
6. Access & Retrieval
a. The release of student record information is governed by FERPA,
the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
b. Users are advised that Social Security Numbers are confidential
and should not be used.
c. All other information maintained in WBLS is governed by the Open
Records law and faculty policies and procedures.
d. Users are also cautioned about the incidence of identity theft.
The collection of personally identifiable data, especially anything
that can be used as a personal identifier, should be kept to a minimum
and certainly not shared.
7. Security & Authentication
All users are responsible for identifying the appropriate level of authentication
for the type of record/information being collected or transmitted. Users
are cautioned that high end WBLS applications have the capability for
a number of interactions which can include the collection and transmission
of student academic information, some of which is confidential. Reference:
2.3.3 Levels of Authentication and 2.3.4 Security Administration. [Note:
If current proposed legislation addressing electronic signatures is passed,
an administrative rule on electronic signatures will be developed.]
If electronic signature technology is applied to areas within a WBLS
application, consideration must be given to issues of access and retrievability
past the conclusion of the particular course.
8. Categories of Record Data:
Student Records:
a. Course materials submitted by students for a grade. RDA # 1081
This area would include electronically submitted papers, online quizzes
/tests, electronically submitted assignments.
Retention: Retain 1 semester past the semester in which the course
was taken and destroy/delete.
b. Class Rosters RDA # 1082
Lists of students enrolled in the class.
Retention: The instructor is responsible for retaining the roster
for 1 semester and destroy/delete.
c. Final Grades Lists RDA # 1083
Final grades for the WBLS course. In WBLS, there is the capability
for faculty to maintain the equivalent of a grade book; student name,
ID code, and what other evaluative information the instructor determines
to retain.
Retention: Destroy / delete 5 years from the semester in which the
course was given.
d. Correspondence / discussion group documentation. RDA# 1084
Correspondence and discussion group documentation captured in the
form of e-mail messages, chat rooms, or other electronic forums.
Retention: Destroy/Delete one semester after course completion.
Course Evaluations:
a. Student Evaluations & Summaries RDA # 712
High WBLS applications do have the capability to collect evaluative
data on the course and course instructor.
Retention:
Tenured faculty: Retain 1 year from the end of the semester in which
they are completed and destroy, provided a copy is transferred to
the individual's permanent personnel file.
Probationary Faculty: Retain 6 years from the end of the tenure review
process and destroy provided summaries are transferred to the individual's
permanent personnel file.
TA's, Academic Staff: Retain 2 years from the end of the semester
in which they were completed and destroy provided summaries are transferred
to the individual's permanent personnel file.
Academic Administrative Information:
a. Course syllabi and handouts. RDA # 657 &658
Retention: Destroy / delete after one set has been transferred to
the UW Archives for preservation.
b. Course materials reproduced and or prepared by the department originating
the WBLS course. RDA #659
Retention: Retain until superceded and then destroy/delete.
WBLS Administrative Information: RDA # 1085
WBLS administrative information maintained by a WBLS user in connection
the development and presentation of academic courses such as permission
forms, copyright agreements, and other formal approvals or agreements.
Retention: Retain 5 years from the date the course concluded.
Documents used in the development of this guideline:
- ARMS Bulletin #3
- Board of Regents Policy on Use of Information Technology Resources
- UW System Financial and Administrative Policy - Copyrightable Instruction
Materials Ownership, Use and Control (GAPP 27)
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