Talking Stick - November/December 2016 - 52

 RESOURCES
ACUHO-I, Standards &
Ethical Principles for College
and University Housing
Professionals (2015): www.
acuho-i.org/Portals/0/doc/
res/acuhoi-standards-ethicalprinciples-2015-final.pdf.
American Evaluation
Association, Guiding
Principles for Evaluators
(www.eval.org/p/cm/ld/
fid=51).
Goldie Blumenstyk, "As Big
Data Comes to College,
Officials Wrestle to Set New
Ethical Norms," The Chronicle
of Higher Education (June 28,
2016).
Family Policy Compliance
Office, Protection of Pupil
Rights Amendment (PPRA)
- Summary of Requirements
(http://familypolicy.ed.gov/
content/ppra-requirements).
George Kuh, Stanley
Ikenberry, Natasha Jankowski,
Timothy Reese Cain, Peter
Ewell, Pat Hutchings, and
Jillian Kinzie, "Beyond
Compliance: Making
Assessment Matter," Change
(September-October 2015).
Task Force of the National
Advisory Council on Alcohol
Abuse and Alcoholism, A
Call to Action: Changing the
Culture of Drinking at U.S.
Colleges (April 2002).
M. Lee Upcraft and John
H. Schuh, Assessment in
Student Affairs: A Guide for
Practitioners (1996).

52

TALKING STICK

Assessment protocol must also
explore data collection. Collection
policies address not only what
information is collected, but also how
and when the information will be
used and destroyed, if ever. The policy
should include criteria for how data
elements will be reviewed regarding
whether the information collected
is necessary for the educational
purposes for which it is being
collected and should consider if the
data already exists elsewhere within
the institution's data warehouses and
whether or not data can be shared.
Measures of how the information
will be kept confidential may also be
included.
Residence life departments have

that may be subject to data analysis.
In the United States, the Protection of
Pupil Rights Amendment details areas
that are restricted for elementary and
secondary school populations. While
these topics may be assessed within
the postsecondary environment, being
aware of them provides a basis for
determining where sensitivity exists
and when additional considerations
may be required. Those areas
include items such as the "political
affiliations or beliefs of the student
or the student's parent; mental or
psychological problems of the student
or the student's family; sex behavior
or attitudes . . . legally recognized
privileged or analogous relationships,
such as those of lawyers, physicians,

Student staff do not need
to become privacy experts -
merely thoughtful enough to
avoid placing themselves and
their campus in violation.
the capability to collect all sorts of
data. Some could be categorized as
interesting but not necessarily useful.
Meridith Drzakowski, the assistant
chancellor of planning, assessment,
and research at the University of
Wisconsin, Stout, advises that one
should "always have an eye on
how the data can be used to make
meaningful decisions. Ask yourself,
'If I include this data, how could I use
the results?'"
Many housing departments
retain sensitive information noted
in conduct or room accommodation
processes as part of a student's record

and ministers; [and] religious
practices."
Ethical concerns also address
the access to and security of the
data. Access policies and procedures
establish the controls that grant
authorization to add, change, or delete
information. These policies clarify
the way an individual can obtain
access to their personal information
and explain how alternative formats
can be obtained. Access policies also
specify the staff who have access to the
information and what need-to-know
criteria are in place, as well as security
measures. Access policies explain
how user accounts, access rights, and

http://www.acuho-i.org/Portals/0/doc/res/acuhoi-standards-ethical-principles-2015-final.pdf http://www.acuho-i.org/Portals/0/doc/res/acuhoi-standards-ethical-principles-2015-final.pdf http://www.acuho-i.org/Portals/0/doc/res/acuhoi-standards-ethical-principles-2015-final.pdf http://www.acuho-i.org/Portals/0/doc/res/acuhoi-standards-ethical-principles-2015-final.pdf http://www.eval.org/p/cm/ld/fid=51 http://www.eval.org/p/cm/ld/fid=51 http://familypolicy.ed.gov/content/ppra-requirements http://familypolicy.ed.gov/content/ppra-requirements

Talking Stick - November/December 2016

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