Data protection in the university setting: employee perceptions of student privacy

The right to privacy is not absolute and is often established by context and the need to know. The nature of the university environment sometimes distorts the sanctity of privacy because the "need to know" is so profuse. Although students are guaranteed the right to keep essential but confidential information private under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, student data are vulnerable because of the need for academic departments to share and manage these data. Recent articles in the popular press suggest consumers as a whole are questioning organizational practices that are designed to protect their personal information. Similar practices occur in the university setting, but fewer concerns are being publicized. Because of the vast amount of data sharing that occurs in an academic setting, it is imperative that we ensure the employees adhere to privacy policies that are structured to impose conscientious behaviors. University privacy policies are in practice, but there is no method of determining their effectiveness. This research seeks to ascertain the attitudes of employees regarding student privacy. Using a 15-item instrument, this study explores employees' privacy perceptions of a large university located in the Southeastern USA. Our study examines the level of concerns employees have concerning errors in, unauthorized secondary use of, improper access to and collection of data.