Our SOlutions
Data Management and Security Policies
Data security and student privacy is of utmost importance to Strada and Trellis. This project uses procedures and protocols to safeguard student anonymity and confidentiality and to protect against any potential breach in data security. Institutions interested in participating in the State Opportunity Index (SOI) should be aware that these protocols represent reasonable precautions but cannot completely eliminate the risk of data breaches or the connection of data to their identities.
Strada and Trellis will use the data to produce reports for participating institutions and to produce research reports on the aggregate dataset to inform various audiences of topics related to education-to-career guidance and work-based learning.
Survey Response Data
Survey response data refers to all student-level information collected through Strada’s State Opportunity Index tool as a component of participation in the study. Students will be fully informed of the data security and records retention protocol and informed of potential risks associated with sharing data with personally identifiable information. Proof of digital consent will be stored in a secure, password-protected folder on Trellis’s secured servers.
Storage and Destruction
Survey response data and educational records will be located on Trellis’s servers, will be password protected, and will be accessible only from computers connected to Trellis’s internal network. All computers will be locked and password protected when not in use. Furthermore, access to the files will be limited to the research team with role-based access. The data will not be transmitted via external email servers, will not be loaded onto external storage devices, and no physical printouts will be made.
All digital copies of survey response data or education records from the State Opportunity Index data transfers from institutions will be de-identified – the deletion of names and contact information – no later than 12 months from the survey close date. All digital copies of de-identified survey response data and education records held by the State Opportunity Index will be deleted no later than ten years from the survey implementation date.
Data Security
Trellis Strategies has nearly 40 years of experience as responsible stewards of student data. Trellis adheres to a consolidated matrix of security controls that incorporates NIST Moderate Controls, GLBA, and a number of other security frameworks. Data stores are maintained on encrypted network SAN storage in compliance with NIST moderate controls. Our computer servers are maintained to those same controls, using CIS benchmarks. Identity and Access Management also adheres to NIST moderate controls. Access is role-based and denied by default. All data is backed up for recovery purposes and stored on encrypted media. Data will be destroyed according to the State Opportunity Index policies described previously. Trellis has a strict asset disposal procedure. All storage media, such as hard drives or tapes are destroyed and rendered unrecoverable prior to disposal.
State Opportunity Index Data Request Rationale
SOI Data Request Components: The SOI Data Request is required to send survey invitations to students, to determine whether respondents are representative of the population, and used to weight the survey results.