Anoka Technical College adheres to the federal and state laws and to the MnSCU board policies regarding data management, computer and technology use and data privacy. Teh information below is not intended to offer legal advice, but rather give supervisors an overview and resources to more information.
Laws and rules that govern the use of data
Family Education Rights and Privacy Act is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.
Minnesota Data Practices Act is state law that "establishes a presumption that government data are public and are accessible by the public for both inspection and copying unless there is federal law, a state statute, or a temporary classification of data that provides that certain data are not public" (Subd. 3).
Minnesota Code of Ethics for employees in the Executive Branch sets rules that regulate the use of data for all executive branch state employees.
MnSCU Acceptable Use of Computers and Information Technology Resources* policy and procedures define the scope of technology in safe guarding and use of data.
MnSCU Employee Code of Conduct* is the ethical context for information use for MnSCU employees.
Anoka Technical College Computer and Network Use* policy defines college specific policy with regards to technological use of data.
Anoka Technical College Copyright* policy provides the scope for duplicating materials for use on campus.
*All policies are subject to laws regarding non-discrimination.
Available Training
All Anoka Technical College employees are required to take the Data Practices training offered through D2L. Human resources will identify employees that need to complete this training and notify appropriate supervisors.
Supervisors must complete the following steps:
1. Register employees in the D2L system by submitting a work order to the Information Technology department.
2. Register employees in the Data Practices class by submitting a work order to Information Technology department.
3. Provide employee with time to complete the training during work hours.
4. Send an e-mail to Human Resources when the employee has completed the training.
Quick Reference
Determining what information is private or public can be a difficult task. We have put together this quick reference from MnSCU resources. Information that is involved in an active investigation is deemed CONFIDENTIAL as determined by the Office of the Chancellor Legal Counsel.
| Public Information | Private Information |
| Employee name | Social security numbers |
| Employee job title and description | Trade secret or intellectual property |
| Employee work location and phone number | Individual demographics such as: age, race, ethnicity, gender, citizenship, visa status, disability status or veteran status |
| Employee ID number | Personal medical information |
| Employee salary, gross pension, value and nature of benefits, time sheets | Student grades, courses, class schedule |
| Employee education and previous work experience | Student worker information |
| Employee first and last employment dates | Library use information |
| Employee honors and awards | Parking lease information |
| Existence and status of employee complaints | Student discipline records |
| Terms and settlements of employee disputes | Student educational services received |
| Employee final disposition and discipline | Student test scores |
| Student name | Student admissions and financial aid information |
| Student directory information unless student requests suppression | Employee performance evaluations |
| Financial data on public sponsored projects |
Computer data, MN Stat 13.15 |
| Course offerings | Security data, MN Stat 13.37 |
| Invoices and purchase orders | |
| Budgets | |
| Statistical data that does not identify an individual |
