Student Data Privacy and Security: A Call for Transparent Practices

Equity in Privacy and Security

Data privacy and information security are equity issues. In 2021 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Information Security Edition, student data privacy and governance was the highest-rated practice for supporting equity and inclusion. Survey data indicate that some groups of students can be disproportionately impacted by privacy and information security practices. We observed a number of demographic differences related to data privacy and information security. For example:

Disability

  • Only 16% of respondents who identified as having at least one disability agreed or strongly agreed that they benefit from their institution's privacy and security policies, as compared to 38% of respondents who did not report having a disability.
  • Just over a third (36%) of respondents who identified as having at least one disability agreed or strongly agreed that they trust their institution to use their personal data ethically and responsibly, as compared to 48% of respondents who did not report having a disability.

Gender

  • Only 28% of respondents who identified as female rated their level of familiarity with personal data privacy and security as very high or above average, as compared to 49% of respondents who identified as male and 60% of respondents who identified as transgender, nonbinary, or a gender not listed.
  • When asked about concerns related to third-party software companies' using personal data for marketing, 45% of respondents who identified as transgender, nonbinary, or a gender not listed indicated that they were very or extremely concerned, as compared to 30% of respondents who identified as female and 34% of respondents who identified as male.
  • Only 19% of respondents who identified as transgender, nonbinary, or a gender not listed agreed or strongly agreed that they benefit from their institution's privacy and security policies, as compared to 33% of respondents who identified as female and 39% of respondents who identified as male.

Age

  • Nearly a third (31%) of respondents ages 35 and over rated their level of familiarity with their institution's data privacy and security policies as very high or above average, as compared to 27% of respondents ages 25–34 and 18% of respondents ages 18–24.
  • Half (50%) of respondents ages 35 and over said that they were very or extremely concerned about software companies' ability to store and protect students' personal data, as compared to 42% of respondents ages 25–34 and 33% of respondents ages 18–24.

These findings suggest that larger social factors play a role in students' understanding of and feelings about these issues. These results also point to the need for more research to understand how and why these differences are being observed.

Data, Data Literacy, and Analytics

Learn more about data governance in the EDUCAUSE Showcase Read It Right: Data Literacy's Impact on Institutional Mission. And to read about the future of data and analytics in higher education, check out 2022 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Data and Analytics Edition.