Penn State Tech Academy

Privacy at Penn State

Learn about your FERPA rights, how to protect your privacy, and why privacy is important to learning.

  1. FERPA and students’ legal privacy rights
  2. Tips to protect your privacy (somewhat)
  3. Respecting intellectual privacy for learning and inquiry
  4. Resources to learn more about privacy

CC BY-NC-SA Sarah Hartman-Caverly, 2024. Learn more about Penn State Tech Academy.

FERPA governs your privacy at Penn State.

FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, is the primary legal framework that protects your privacy as a Penn State student.

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Your FERPA rights include the right to

  • request to review the information maintained about you by Penn State (your “educational records”),
  • request corrections or other changes to your information,
  • opt-out of certain personal information-sharing, and
  • to file complaints with the U.S. Department of Education.

Under FERPA, Penn State is generally not allowed to share student information without prior consent. However, there are some major exceptions (or ‘loopholes’) to FERPA, including:

  • Directory information – types of personally-identifiable information (PII) that Penn State can share without your consent, including your name, email, local address and phone number, major, student activities, and more. You can opt-out of directory information sharing.
  • Legitimate educational interest – Penn State employees may share your information with each other in order to perform their work.
  • School officials – Penn State may share your information with school officials. FERPA includes third parties that perform an institutional service or function, including vendors like Microsoft, Google, and Instructure (the company that owns Canvas), in its definition of “school officials.”

Learn more.

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You can take action to protect your privacy (somewhat).

Living and learning online means that your data is constantly being collected, tracked, and analyzed, but there are some steps you can take to minimize your exposure and safeguard your privacy:

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Photo courtesy of unsplash.
  • Use a privacy-friendly browser. You can also set your browser to private (incognito) mode to prevent your browsing history from being stored in your browser cache.
  • Use a VPN, such as GlobalProtect provided by Penn State.
  • Be informed about your privacy. You can read the privacy policies for Penn State technology platforms.
  • Be intentional about your online activities. Minimizing your time online also reduces data collection and tracking.
  • Talk to your professors about your privacy interests and concerns. For instance, you can find out how they use the analytics feature in Canvas, if they use any software that is not Penn State-approved courseware, or whether they are able to provide privacy accommodations, such as access to a print textbook instead of an e-textbook.

Learn more.

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You are more than your data–and so is your privacy.

Privacy is about respecting people–not just protecting data.

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Photo courtesy of nappy.

Intellectual privacy is being free from unnecessary monitoring, surveillance, scrutiny, or interference when you are in the process of exploring ideas and making up your own mind. Intellectual privacy is an important condition for learning at a time when students broadly report that they are self-censoring in class and on campus due to concerns about punishment or social blowback. This “chilling effect” is a sign that students do not have adequate intellectual privacy to engage in open inquiry in college.

Ask your professors about the expectations they can set to protect the privacy of the learning environment in your class. For instance, following the Chatham House Rule encourages people to speak freely while protecting their anonymity, and your class may agree not to record or take screenshots to share with people outside of your course.

Advocating for your privacy is advocating for your right to learn.

Learn more.

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Learn More

FERPA

Photograph of a student seated alone and reading a notebook in a large lecture hall full of tan and orange seats.
Photo courtesy of unsplash.

Protecting Privacy

Privacy Policies for Penn State Courseware

Intellectual Privacy

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