6.3.2lp3 Protecting the Privacy of Distance Education Students

Adopted: July 9, 2015
Last Reviewed: January 22, 2020
Scope: Students
Contact: Distance Education Coordinator

Lanier Technical College protects the privacy of all students, adhering to the same privacy standards for online students as it does for students studying on the campus, through strict adherence to the rules of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). The official FERPA statement is available for view on the College's website.

Single-Sign On (SSO)

LTC issues a unique username and password to each student upon admission. This account is referred to as the Laker Login and is used for single-sign on (SSO) for most LTC IT services.

Passwords

All students are required to change their SSO password BEFORE logging into the Learning Management System (LMS), BannerWeb or any other LTC IT service. LTC keeps no record of the student's password once it has been changed. Students may use the Microsoft Self-Service tools for secure password recovery. Students are responsible for keeping their password confidential. Students may also submit a request for a password reset to the LTC HelpDesk. LTC HelpDesk staff will use the LTC Identity Verification Tool to check a student's identity and then perform a password reset if needed. Students are then required to change their password to one unknown to LTC employees prior to accessing the LMS or other LTC IT resources.

Learning Management System (LMS)

All users who are required to access the Learning Management System, the platform the College uses for distance education, use the Laker Login SSO. The LMS is a secure environment where faculty members post course materials, assignments and exams, provide chat and discussion forums for their courses, and where students participate in forum discussions, chat sessions, upload assignments, and take quizzes and exams. The privacy of individual students' assessments and grades is maintained within the learning management system.

Office 365

For Office 365 resources, multifactor authentication is enabled when off campus, requiring students to authorize their login with a third verification (code delivered via text or phone call, or using a secure authorization app on smart phones).

LTC Student Email

Each student is assigned a unique student email address by the College. This student email system is maintained by the College and provides students with a secure login environment.

Other Websites

Lanier Technical College provides links to other websites that may be useful for our students and/or customers. Lanier Technical College cannot make any representation of guarantee regarding the linked sites, their content or their security. For your protection, Lanier Technical College suggests that you review the privacy and security policies of the company websites for each link.

Should private information be compromised in any way, Lanier Technical College will inform those affected of the breach.