Revitalizing Data Stewardship through Risk Reduction: Managing Sensitive Data at the University of Virginia

The 2009 ECAR study Institutional Data Management in Higher Education, by Ronald Yanosky, examines how higher education institutions are facing the challenges of institutional data management in terms of quality, stewardship and governance, analytics, content and records management, and research data management. The study is based on results gathered from a literature search, from 309 responses to a web-based survey that was distributed to institutional representatives (mostly senior IT leaders) at 1,733 EDUCAUSE member institutions in February 2009, and from follow-up telephone interviews with 23 senior IT leaders from a mix of institutions to gain deeper insights into findings from the quantitative analysis and to capture additional ideas and viewpoints. This case study of the University of Virginia, conducted to expand and enhance the findings of the Institutional Data Management in Higher Education study, examines the institution’s multi-layered strategy to resolve practical sensitive data issues, which in turn revitalized its data stewardship efforts.

Citation for this work: Albrecht, Bob, and Judith A. Pirani. “Revitalizing Data Stewardship through Risk Reduction: Managing Sensitive Data at the University of Virginia” (Case Study 8). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2009, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.