FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, is a federal law in the United States designed to protect the privacy of student education records. FERPA Compliance is essential for educational institutions that receive federal funding.
Overall, compliance with FERPA requires educational institutions to establish comprehensive policies, procedures, and practices for handling student records while prioritizing the privacy and security of student information. Regular assessments, audits, and training initiatives are essential components of maintaining compliance. Ensuring FERPA compliance in PeopleSoft Campus Solutions is crucial for educational institutions to protect the privacy of student education records.
The penalties for non-compliance with FERPA can result in varying consequences based on the severity and circumstances of the violation. Penalties can include:
Native PeopleSoft security controls are not enough to enable FERPA compliance. Here are some key investments institutions should consider to help maintain FERPA compliance in PeopleSoft Campus Solutions:
Implement strict access controls that align with the principle of least privilege, which limits access to student records only to authorized personnel who require access to do their jobs. Role-based security alone can create “all or nothing” access conflicts, but adding least privilege to role-based controls can provide the fine-grained level of control that is required to limit unnecessary data exposure.
Implement robust user authentication mechanisms, such as SAML-based single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA), to verify the identity of users accessing PeopleSoft Campus Solutions. This helps prevent unauthorized access to student records, especially if login credentials or a managed device are compromised.
Implement a data masking tool that can conceal or anonymize certain sensitive information within PeopleSoft, particularly in non-production environments used for development, testing, or training purposes. This helps prevent exposure of sensitive student data to unauthorized users – especially third-party consultants who are granted temporary, privileged access.
Automate the provisioning of IT resources and access privileges in a manner that complies with relevant regulations, industry standards, and organizational policies. An automated solution should run checks for separation of duties throughout the entire user lifecycle (i.e., Joiner/Mover/Leaver).
Enable comprehensive audit logging within PeopleSoft to track and monitor access to student records, including who accessed the data, when it was accessed, and any changes made to the records. Regularly review audit logs to detect and investigate any suspicious or unauthorized activities.
By implementing these measures and incorporating FERPA compliance into the overall governance and security framework of PeopleSoft Campus Solutions, educational institutions can effectively protect student privacy and maintain compliance with regulatory requirements. Regular assessments and audits should also be conducted to identify and address any potential vulnerabilities or compliance gaps.
Dozens of colleges and universities all over the world use Pathlock to implement security controls and detailed visibility (i.e., user activity logging and analytics) to help their PeopleSoft systems evolve alongside FERPA compliance requirements.
Whether you are looking to strengthen role-based controls (compliant provisioning), data security controls (least privilege and data masking), or user authentication (SAML SSO and MFA integration) – Pathlock has you covered! Schedule a demo today and see for yourself!
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