The National Student Clearinghouse, in partnership with EDUCAUSE and the Research and Education Networking Information Sharing and Analysis Center (REN-ISAC), released on Monday a white paper, “Cybersecurity: Why It Matters to Registrars, Enrollment Managers and Higher Education,” to kick off October as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
Registrars and enrollment managers play central roles in an institution’s cybersecurity posture. The choices they make each day directly affect student data security. It is imperative that both the registrar’s office and enrollment management office are in lockstep with the IT department with respect to the institution’s cybersecurity efforts, to guard against cyber threats, especially from third-party vendors.
Also, if administrators are using third-party vendors, where is student data stored and how is it being secured? If registrars and enrollment managers do not know, it’s time to find out. The most important cost to keep in mind is the long-term cost that students face after they have had their personal information stolen, which can translate into lifelong negative effects if their data is used.
The white paper is based on the Clearinghouse’s 25-year record of maintaining the confidentiality and privacy of student records and frequent cybersecurity conversations with registrars, enrollment managers and other institution officials, EDUCAUSE and REN-ISAC’s cybersecurity work over many years, and current best practices expressed in two recent major reports.
