Online Learning Privacy Statement
Enterprise State Community College (ESCC) is committed to protecting the privacy of all students using our learning management system, Canvas by Instructure, Inc. This Privacy Statement describes what information is collected on the Canvas server, how the information is protected, who has access to the information, and how the information might be used. The Statement is in accordance with the U. S. Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA).
Collection of Student Information
When students enroll in an Enterprise State Community College online course, a username, login identification, and password are generated by the College’s administrative software. Students are encouraged to change their passwords after the initial login. Student login information is linked to his/her ESCC email address. The student’s first and last names are visible to the instructor and students in many areas of Canvas, such as the discussion board, chat room, groups, and course mail (message) list. The username is only visible to the instructor, division chairpersons, and Canvas system managers which include system administrators and technical support personnel.
After a student logs into Canvas and accesses his/her course, much of his/her activity will be tracked. For example, instructors can see how many times students entered the course, how many times students clicked within the course, and how many times students clicked in specific areas of the course.
Tracking is accomplished with a cookie, a small data file that many websites write to hard drives when the website is accessed. The cookie stores a unique, random user ID that links users to their Canvas accounts, giving the cookie the ability to track.
Cookies will not help track discussion board posts and chat room archives, but cookies will track how often students clicked within those areas. Information posted in the discussion board or chat room becomes available to the instructor and to all students. Therefore, students should exercise caution when posting personal information. Instructors have the ability to delete posts as they see fit.
Typically, Canvas courses include links to external websites. Aside from links to ESCC affiliated sites, ESCC is not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites.
Protection of Student Information
Since Canvas is password-protected, the only students who have access to online courses are those students who are officially enrolled in an online course. The work that students submit through Canvas will remain in the course until the course is deleted from the server. The server is located in Sandy, Utah, and is hosted and maintained by Instructure, Inc. Instructure performs daily data backups with weekly off-site tape rotation. Additionally, Canvas regularly monitors the system’s unauthorized activity. No unauthorized individuals of Instructure or of Enterprise State Community College have access to the server or its data.
Integrity of Student Privacy
Students should not post private information, such as telephone numbers, into discussion boards or chat rooms. Additionally, to ensure student privacy, students should follow the policies below:
- Students should never allow anyone to login using their usernames and passwords. After logging in, students are not to give anyone access to their courses. ESCC authenticates each student as an enrolled student in a Canvas course through a secure login process.
- Each password is encrypted by Canvas, and the log in page is secured by SSL technology. However, in order to maintain the integrity of students’ privacy and academic integrity, students must ensure that all work completed in their courses are completed by themselves. Please view ESCC’s Academic Dishonesty Policy located in this College Catalog and Student Handbook.
- Each time students finish using Canvas, they are to click the “LogOut” button and exit the web browser. Closing the web browser is especially important if students share a computer or are using a computer in a lab.
Access of Student Information
Only authorized individuals of Instructure Inc. and Enterprise State Community College have complete access to students’ usernames and work posted on Canvas. Authorized individuals are system managers, the division chair, and the instructor(s) of the course. Students have the ability to change their passwords whenever they choose in Canvas. Students have access to past courses until the courses are either deleted from the server or the instructor or system administrator makes the courses unavailable to students, which is standard practice at the end of each semester.
Modification to this Statement
Depending upon changes in technology and institutional policies, ESCC reserves the right to update and revise this Canvas Privacy Statement.
Contact Information
Please direct questions and/or concerns to the Office of Distance Learning at 334-347-2623, ext. 2282.