It seems an almost weekly occurrence that we read about another instance of a loss of personal data from a university campus. Sometimes it is a security breach originating from off campus. At other times, it may be something as simple as a misplaced laptop. Whatever the reason, the financial and legal risks for universities that face these potential losses is escalating.
In an effort to reduce the potential for the loss of sensitive personal data at PSU, President Tom Bryant has formulated a Data Stewardship and Security Task Force. The group will begin its work by identifying sources of data collected and reviewing current practices, policies, standards and guidelines for how that data is stored and managed.
Part of the problem, according to Jerry Smith, OIS and task force chairman, is that “information technology has made the generation, access to, and transmission of institutional data so easy. The flip side of that is that the technology also potentially exposes institutional data to unauthorized access, use and alteration by individuals from around the globe.”
Smith said the risk is high whether the data is stored digitally or on paper.
The task force includes representatives from the President’s Office, Administration and Campus Life, Academic Affairs, University Advancement, and OIS. Smith said the task force members will seek input from and represent the interests of their respective divisions. The members are: Jamie Brooksher, Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action; Bill Ivy, Enrollment Management and Student Success; Bill Hoyt, Advancement Services; Steve Erwin, Campus Life and Auxiliary Services; Elizabeth Shannon, OIS; and Jerry Smith, OIS.
Smith said he expects the task force to develop a data catalog that will identify when and where data is collected on campus and where it is stored. The group will also classify the data and develop guidelines for each classification. The task force will also prepare a document that details the procedures for the approval of data collection and storage and the process for exemptions to the guidelines. Smith said he believed the work will take 12 to 18 months.
“Students, faculty and staff should and do expect the university to do its best to protect the information we collect,” said President Bryant. “The task force has a large job ahead of them, but with the help of the rest of the campus community, we can make major gains in making personal data safer.”
- Taken from Pitt State Today, April 8, 2008
(Faculty-Staff Newsletter)
As of February 25th, Randy Allen assumed the duties of Team Leader/Manager for the applications programming team assigned to the Administration and Campus Life division. Becky Krause will continue doing senior level applications development with primary responsibilities for HRS and Budget, and will be assisting Randy in providing programming analysis and development mentoring/assistance to the rest of the Administration and Campus Life applications development staff.
As of Monday, April 7th, Jay Hodges has been promoted from an Applications Developer I position on the University Advancement team to an Applications Developer II position on the Administration and Campus Life team.
As of Monday, March 24th, Larry Weaver has been promoted from an Applications Developer II position on the Academic Affairs and Presidents Office team to an Applications Developer III position on the Academic Affairs and Presidents Office team. In addition to doing senior level applications development work for the Registrar’s and Continuing and Graduate Studies offices, enrollment, advisement, and other Academic Affairs division systems, Larry will be assisting Theresa Vaughan, Team Leader/Manager, in providing programming analysis and development mentoring/assistance to the rest of the Academic Affairs and Presidents Office applications development staff.
As of Monday, April 7th, Chad Kuehn has been promoted from an Applications Developer I position on the Academic Affairs and Presidents Office team to an Applications Developer II position on the Academic Affairs and Presidents Office team.
Faculty and staff, who use Thunderbird for email, now have an added benefit. Thunderbird can be set to access the PSU address book on the mail server, which contains all faculty and staff email addresses. The directory address book is always current. As a name is typed in the address line, the directory of names will appear where the correct address can be selected.
If you would like to get this function set up on your computer, contact your computer support technician.
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