Education and Cybersecurity Experts Release White Paper
Why Cybersecurity Matters: What Registrars, Enrollment Managers and Higher Education Should Do About It
Where is Your Student Data Stored and How Is It Being Secured?
HERNDON, VA–(Oct. 1, 2018)–The National Student Clearinghouse, in partnership with EDUCAUSE and the Research and Education Networking Information Sharing and Analysis Center (REN-ISAC), released today a white paper, “Cybersecurity: Why It Matters to Registrars, Enrollment Managers and Higher Education,” to kick off October as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
Registrars and enrollment managers play central roles in an institution’s cybersecurity posture. The choices they make each day directly affect student data security. It is imperative that both the registrar’s office and enrollment management office are in lockstep with the IT department with respect to the institution’s cybersecurity efforts, to guard against cyber threats, especially from third-party vendors.
Also, if administrators are using third-party vendors, where is student data stored and how is it being secured? If registrars and enrollment managers do not know, it’s time to find out. The most important cost to keep in mind is the long-term cost that students face after they have had their personal information stolen, which can translate into lifelong negative effects if their data is used.
The white paper is based on the Clearinghouse’s 25-year record of maintaining the confidentiality and privacy of student records and frequent cybersecurity conversations with registrars, enrollment managers and other institution officials, EDUCAUSE and REN-ISAC’s cybersecurity work over many years, and current best practices expressed in two recent major reports.
To learn about other best practices to guard against cyber threats, especially from third-party vendors, download “Cybersecurity: Why It Matters to Registrars, Enrollment Managers and Higher Education” for guidance from the Clearinghouse, EDUCAUSE and REN-ISAC.
About the National Student Clearinghouse ®
The National Student Clearinghouse, a nonprofit formed in 1993, is the trusted source for and leading provider of higher education verifications and electronic education record exchanges.
The Clearinghouse serves as a single point of contact for the collection and timely exchange of accurate and comprehensive enrollment, degree, and certificate records on behalf of its more than 3,600 participating higher education institutions, which represent 98 percent of all students in public and private U.S. institutions. The Clearinghouse also provides thousands of high schools and districts with continuing collegiate enrollment, progression, and completion statistics on their alumni.
Through its verification, electronic exchange, and reporting services, the Clearinghouse saves the education community cumulatively more than $750 million annually. Most Clearinghouse services are provided to colleges and universities at little or no charge, including enhanced transcript and research services, enabling institutions to redistribute limited staff and budget resources to more important student service efforts. Clearinghouse services are designed to facilitate an institution’s compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, The Higher Education Act, and other applicable laws. The Clearinghouse has signed the Student Privacy Pledge and is the first recipient of ikeepsafe.org’s FERPA compliance badge, which was awarded to its StudentTracker for High Schools service.
For more information, visit www.studentclearinghouse.org.
For media assistance, contact Todd Sedmak, media@demo.studentclearinghouse.org or 703-742-4837.
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