Data Governance

Ensuring Compliance and Integrity in Data Management

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Critical to the ongoing work of the college, responsible stewardship of Goucher college data is required to ensure those with official educational or administrative responsibilities can access and rely on the data's accuracy and integrity. At the most basic level, being able to comply with requests for data from the United States Department of Education (DOE), the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC), and our accreditors, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), is a fundamental requirement for us to retain our accreditation and authorization to receive and disburse state and federal funds. Data stewards are expected to comply with the following data policies and manage data within their care in a manner that is consistent with legal, ethical, and practical considerations.

Guidelines for Authorized Data Utilization

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Data access will be granted to those with legitimate educational interest to the data upon approval of the appropriate Data Steward and may require approval of a Data Trustee. This may only comprise individuals who are employees or volunteers of the institution needing the data to perform assigned duties. Improper release, maintenance or disposal of college data may be damaging to the college community and exposes Goucher to significant risk and possible legal action. Those granted access to college data must agree to the following guidelines.

• Maintenance of data must strictly adhere to the policies and procedures of Goucher College. Data may not be altered or changed except in the usual course of business.
• Data may not be released to third parties or others at the college who do not have access to the data without the consent of the appropriate Data Steward/Administrator and must always be done in compliance with FERPA.
• Access to and use of data is restricted to the scope of an individual’s work. Data should not be viewed or analyzed for purposes outside of official business.
• Data Users, as defined in the roles policy, may not grant access to data. If data needs to be shared with others, the appropriate data steward needs to authorize access to those data.

The Computer and Data use policy must be followed. You can review the entire Computer and Data use policy. Do not compromise Goucher’s security by sharing passwords or other sensitive information.

Classification of Data

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Accurate classification provides the basis to apply an appropriate level of security to college data. All College data are classified into levels of sensitivity to provide a basis for understanding and managing college data. These classifications take into account the legal protections (by statute, regulation, or by the data subject’s choice), contractual agreements, ethical considerations, or strategic or proprietary worth. They also consider the application of “prudent stewardship,” where there is no reason to protect the data other than to reduce the possibility of harm or embarrassment to individuals or to the institution. 

The classification level assigned to data will guide Data Trustees, Data Stewards, Data Administrators, and Data Users in the security protections and access authorization mechanisms appropriate for those data. Such categorization encourages discussion and a fuller understanding of the nature of the data being displayed or manipulated. 
By default, all institutional data will be designated as “Internal.” College employees will have access to the data for use in the conduct of college business. 

 

Classification Levels

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Public Data (low level of sensitivity) 

Access to “Public” institutional data may be granted to any requester. Public data are not considered confidential. The integrity of Public data must be protected, and the appropriate owner must authorize replication of the data. Examples include institutional statistics that appear in publications, academic course descriptions, Common Data Set, and Goucher Facts.

Note: Information contained in the Goucher Online Directory is technically “Directory Information” under FERPA (can be released without consent) but some information is password protected and should not be considered “Public.”

Internal Data (moderate level of sensitivity)

This classification applies to information protected due to proprietary, ethical, or privacy considerations, even though there may not be a direct statutory, regulatory, or common-law basis for requiring this protection. Internal data is restricted to personnel designated by the College who have a legitimate business purpose for accessing such data. Examples include institutional survey data, and enrollment projection data.

Restricted Data (highest level of sensitivity)

This classification applies to information protected by statutes, policies, or regulations. This level also represents information that is not by default protected by legal statute, but for which the Data Administrator has exercised his or her right to restrict access. Examples include: PII - Personally identifiable information (SSN, driver’s license, bank account numbers), salary data, academic record data (unit level) and financial aid data.

Roles Governing Data Management & Accountability

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Data Governance Committee

This committee is comprised of functional data stewards from across all functions and departments of the College. The responsibilities of the Data Governance Committee include:

• Developing and maintaining data policies and standards
• Defining definitions for data
• Advocating for data quality, consistency, and integrity
• Tracking the progress of the Data Governance policies

Data Trustees

Data Trustees are senior college officials (e.g., vice presidents) or their designees who have planning, policy-level, and management responsibility for data within their functional areas.

Data Stewards

Data Stewards are college officials who have direct operational-level responsibility for the management of one or more types of institutional data. Data Stewards are assigned by the Data Trustee and are generally associate vice presidents, directors or managers.

Data Administrators

Data Administrators are individuals (outside of ILS) responsible for data collection and management and granted authority to grant internal access to data from their functional area by the Data Steward and/or Data Trustees.

Data Users

Data Users are college units or individual college community members who have been granted access to institutional data to perform assigned duties or in fulfillment of assigned roles or functions within the college; this access is granted solely for the conduct of college business.

Below is the organizational scheme for trustees and stewards by administrative data area.

Administrative Data Area	Data Trustee	Data Steward
Enrollment Management	VP of Enrollment Management	Chris Wild, Director of Enrollment Systems & Operations
Academic Affairs	Provost & Senior VP	Janet Shope, Associate Vice President for Institutional Research and Effectiveness
Student Affairs	VP for Student Affairs	Alex (Chris) Perry, Director of Student Support & Accountability
Advancement	VP for Advancement	Harry Bielas, Assistant Vice President for Advancement
Financial Aid	VP of Enrollment Management	Alisha Mondloch, Director Of Student Financial Services
Human Resources	Associate VP for Human Resources	Maggie Elligson, Director of Human Resources
Finance & Administration	Associate VP for Finance	Dominique Casey, Assistant Controller
Institutional Effectiveness	Associate VP for Institutional Effectiveness	Nicholas Vaught, Director of Institutional Effectiveness

Data Administrators & Inquiry Points

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The following individuals serve as data administrators for the college’s various data types and can answer questions about the data for which they are responsible. If you would like to request data, please use the Goucher College Data Request Form.

 

Data Type	Contact Person	Applications
Admission Data	Chris Wild (Dylan Gerald) Director of Enrollment Systems & Operations, Assistant Director of Enrollment Systems & Operations	Slate Admissions – UG Slate Admissions – GR SoftDocs Admissions PowerCampus Admissions workflow
Advancement & Alumni Data	Harry Bielas Assistant VP for Advancement	Raiser’s Edge Slate Advancement
Finance Data	Dominique Casey Assistant Controller	Workday FIN FundDriver
Financial Aid Data	Alisha Mondloch Director of Student Financial Services	PowerFAIDS PowerCampus – Billing SoftDocs – Financial Aid/Billing
Human Resources (Faculty/Staff) Data	TBD	Workday HCM
Information & Library Services Data	Kristen Welzenbach Curator of Special Collections and Archives	Various Outside Vendors
Institutional Statistics & Analytical Data	Nicholas Vaught Director of Institutional Effectiveness Carrie Davies Research and Data Analyst	PowerCampus Workday Qualtrics IPEDS National Clearinghouse MLDS
Student Affairs Data	Alex Perry Director of Student Support and Accountability	Symplicity Qualtrics Front Rush THD Medicat CampusGroups
Student Enrollment	Inna Antufyeva Associate Registrar	PowerCampus SoftDocs DegreeWorks
Student Success	Alexandra Graves Director of Student Success	Navigate Exit Interview
Academic Affairs Data	Janet Shope Director of Institutional Effectiveness	Student and Faculty Surveys
Campus Operations Data	Andy Voytek Director of FMS	TMA DSX (card and door system) EMS Clery data AudienceView