Organizational Policy for School Records Access - Ethics in IT

Organizational Policy for School Records Access - Ethics in IT

Introduction

Every individual shares his information at any official platform with the belief that this information will neither be accessed nor corrupted by any unauthorized personnel. One of these platforms includes the data access to the personnel data and information of students in academic institutes, be it schools, colleges or universities. The FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) of 1974 in US gives the students that are 18 years old to have some control over the disclosure and sharing of their personnel information and records (www2.ed.gov).

Thesis Statement

The framework proposed by the FERPA act of 1974 needs to be strictly considered while forming school policies regarding access of Students' records and data. Therefore, the policy should ensure the preservation and protection of Students personnel information otherwise various ethical dilemmas will be experienced regarding unauthorized access and misuse of that information.

Policy Statement

The personnel information of any student 18 and above in the high school will not be provided to any other academic institute or organization without their total consent and will. For students below 18, the will of the parents/guardians will be considered. The information includes academic grades and performances, medical history, family background, participation in co-curricular activities and other personnel information.

Discussion

Effects of Policy upon Organization

The basic and obvious impact on the organization for the implementation of the policy will be to change and amend its previous policies. Moreover, the policy requires the school to exercise very strict privacy rules and a strict environment to enforce them. The affective enforcement of the framework, however, will ensure the information security of its students ultimately reducing the chances of controversies regarding leakage or misuse of information. The policy, however, could cause wastage of ...