The Daily Bulletin Archive

From the Interim Vice President for Finance and Management
All student, faculty, and staff personal and academic information is private and confidential, and is protected by various state and federal laws. Buffalo State College employees must, by law, protect the privacy of this information.

Failure to protect personal and academic information may result in legal action against offending employees. Employees accused of failure to protect confidential information that results in harm to an individual may not be covered by the Public Officer's Law, and therefore not defended by New York State.

Examples of personal information that must be kept confidential include Social Security numbers, health information, and disability status. Faculty and staff must ensure that information contained on the Current Employee Change Form is kept confidential.

Examples of academic information that must be kept confidential include grades, class schedules, and student ID numbers. Faculty and staff members may not post test scores or grades using any portion of a student's name, Social Security number, or student ID number. Faculty and staff must refrain from providing a student's parents with information related to their student's academic performance or other personal information, unless given permission to do so by the student.

For more information, please refer to the following state and federal laws:

• Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (confidentiality of financial information):
  www.buffalostate.edu/offices/hr/information.asp
   
• HIPAA (confidentiality of health information):
  http://bscintra.buffalostate.edu/bulletin/archives/05_06/september29_05.html#hipaa
  and
  www.goer.state.ny.us/Training_Development/Course_Descriptions/Workplace_Policies/courses/hipaa.cfm
   
• FERPA (confidentiality of student/academic information):
  www.buffalostate.edu/academicaffairs/x571.xml
  and
  www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html
   
• Restrictions on the use of student Social Security numbers:
  http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/LAWSSEAF.cgi?QUERYTYPE=LAWS+&QUERYDATA=$$EDN2-B$$@TXEDN02-B+&LIST=LAW+&BROWSER=BROWSER+&TOKEN=45839383+&TARGET=VIEW
  and
  www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/library/hunter.html
   
• NYS law on notification of information security breach:
  http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/LAWSSEAF.cgi?QUERYTYPE=LAWS+&QUERYDATA=$$GBS899-AA$$@TXGBS0899-AA+&LIST=LAW+&BROWSER=EXPLORER+&TOKEN=50212790+&TARGET=VIEW

Additional information about safeguarding sensitive information can be found on Buffalo State’s Internal Control website: www.buffalostate.edu/internalcontrol/x535.xml.

Questions regarding the privacy of employee change forms, employee contracts, official employee files, etc., should be addressed to Susan Earshen, associate vice president, Human Resource Management, ext. 3042.

Questions regarding the privacy of student information and FERPA should be addressed to Mark Bausili, registrar, ext. 4907.

Questions regarding health information and HIPAA should be addressed to Rock Doyle, assistant director of  medical systems, Weigel Health Center, ext. 6711.

Questions regarding legal liability and any legal action against the college or an employee should be addressed to James Thor, associate vice president and comptroller, ext. 4312.