Articles on Topics that May Affect Your Policies

Due to the popularity of our previous Policy in the News post, the Blog Committee wanted to take this opportunity to share recent policy-related higher education articles ahead of the ACUPA Annual Conference.

Administration

Guidance for an Often Thankless Task: Revising the Faculty Handbook
By Laura L. Behling, Inside Higher Ed, April 4, 2023

AI in Academia

AI Tools Don’t Have to be the Enemy of Teaching and Learning
By Gavan P.L. Watson & Sarah Elaine Eaton, University Affairs, February 17, 2023

Canadian Universities Crafting ChatGPT Policies as French School Bans AI Program
By Aaron D’Andrea, Global News, February 1, 2023

Campus Safety

West Virginia Governor Signs Campus Carry Gun Bill
By John Raby, AP News, March 1, 2023

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion

Free Speech vs. Hate Speech
By Safia Abdulahi, Inside Higher Ed, April 4, 2023

Harvard Grad Union Members Mixed on New University-Wide Policies on Bullying and Discrimination
By Julia A. Maciejak, The Harvard Crimson, April 5, 2023

How EDI Policies are Failing International Students
By Karine Coen-Sanchez, University Affairs, January 24, 2023

The Ohio Education Bill that Stands Against Diversity Training—and China
By Alcino Donadel, University Business, March 15, 2023

Health and Wellness

New ‘Disconnecting from Work’ Policies Aren’t Enough to Tackle the Problem of Work-life Balance
By Michael Rancic, University Affairs, August 8, 2023

What Higher Ed's Paid Parental-Leave Policies Look Like
By Megan Zahneis, The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 28, 2023

Yale University’s New Mental Health Policy Raises Discussions Among BW Communities
By Madeline Dwyer, The Exponent, March 23, 2023

Information Technology

Education Espionage: FSA “Secret Shoppers” to Monitor Higher Ed for Unethical Practices
By Alcino Donadel, University Business, March 15, 2023

How IT Departments Can Shape Acceptable Use Policies in Higher Ed
By Alexandra Shimalla, EdTech: Focus on Higher Education, March 29, 2023

U.S. Department of Education Announces Updated Data Security Expectation for Postsecondary Institutions
By Sarah Pheasant, Jonathan Tarnow (Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP), J.D. Supra, March 31, 2023

Tenure and Recruitment

Florida University System Approves New Tenure Policy, Spurning Faculty Critics
By Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Higher Ed Dive, March 30, 2023

Texas Senate’s Priority Bills on Higher Ed Would End Tenure, Diversity Policies
By Kate McGee, The Texas Tribune, March 10, 2023

How Safe Is Your Data? And Who Do You Tell If It's Not?

Data security and data privacy issues aren't new to higher education. But the pandemic years ramped up remote access to all institutional systems and increased administrative awareness of the compliance risks which accompany our increased electronic operations. Not only are administrators increasingly concerned with addressing these risks, but state and federal legislation has increased the requirements for the management and protection of institutional data, as well as notification to members of the public (including students and other clients) regarding data breaches.

My institution, Washington State University, beefed up its policies and procedures on system data and information security in 2020. Along with revising two executive policies (EP8 on data policies and EP37 on information security), our administrative policy office published a new chapter on information security in our Business Policies and Procedures Manual (BPPM) with seven new information security sections. (See BPPM Chapter 87.) And at the end of 2020, we published an executive policy on the requirements and responsibilities related to the university's designation as a HIPAA hybrid entity. (See EP40).

Our administration recently provided the rough drafts of two new BPPM policies to my administrative policy office for draft preparation and approval routing. One is a policy with related procedures regarding responses to information security incidents and breaches. The other concerns responses to breaches of protected health care information (PHI), which is planned for insertion into a new BPPM chapter on information privacy. The two policies will be linked through a new investigation process which is extensively outlined step-by-step and is to be used for both types of information privacy/security breaches. We hope to have these new policy/procedures sections approved and published by the fall, so you're welcome to revisit our BPPM for reference.

In conjunction with these new policies and procedures, our administration is updating the WSU system data and information security policies and procedures to address issues such as protection of WSU systems, services, devices, and data, including systems and data managed for the university by third parties and external cloud systems.

I'm sure that we're not the only institutions who are working on these types of policies. Are you and your administration working on data security and data privacy policies? Have you addressed how your institution will respond to data breaches?

In trying to understand the reasoning behind our administration's request for these policy changes, I did some looking around to see what recently published news and resources might be available. Here's what I found – I hope this information is useful to you.

• https://library.educause.edu/topics/cybersecurity/data-security
  (EDUCAUSE -- Information portal includes links to a number of helpful articles on data security, cloud security, data breaches, and data privacy)
  
  
• https://techbeacon.com/security/why-safe-harbor-best-way-forward-data-protection
  (July 2, 2021; TechBeacon (author: Stan Wisseman)
  
  
• https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/550959-massive-school-data-breach-shows-we-need-better-privacy-policies
  (Apr. 29, 2021; The Hill (authors: Williamson M. Evers and Jonathan Hofer)
  
  
• https://www.brookspierce.com/digital-media-and-data-privacy-law-blog/data-breach-defense-for-educational-institutions
  (June 16, 2021; Brooks Pierce (author: Will Quick) – Article includes steps to minimize risks)
  
  
• Research data breaches:
  https://er.educause.edu/articles/2021/6/research-raiders-how-to-protect-collaborative-data
  (June 8 2021; EDUCAUSE; Includes proactive safety steps)
  
  
• Data privacy law changes effective 2023 that may require policy changes:
  https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/10-key-differences-between-the-2023-5939867/
  (July 1, 2021; JD Supra (authors: Mark Brennan, Ryan Woo, Hogan Lovells))

Considerations for remote and flexible work policies

Many organizations are pivoting to an online or hybrid work environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To adapt, some organizations are developing policies on remote work and flexible schedules.

When developing policies related to remote work, consider impacts on:

• Access to vaccine for those unable to work remotely
• Accessibility of faculty and staff to students
• Connectivity and IT support
• Employee wellness and staying emotionally connected virtually
• Equipment purchasing and lending for remote work
• Equity of individuals allowed to work remotely (front desk staff, senior leadership, etc.)
• Facility and space usage and planning
• Information and records security and privacy
• Performance, conduct and time management
• Workers compensation coverage
• Working out-of-state or out-of-country (tax implications and privacy laws)

Resources

The following articles, while not specifically about higher education, provide useful policy guidelines for our organizations:

• https://www.fedscoop.com/agency-leaders-anticipate-post-pandemic-hybrid-work-environment/
• https://www.density.io/blog/returning-to-workplace-after-covid-19

For Future Thought

• How has your organization responded to the need for policies on remote work and flexible schedules?
• What should other organizations consider when developing remote work policies and procedures?
• How has your experience been working remotely or on-campus during the pandemic?