Handling Information (Confidentiality)

As a public institution, a vast majority of the information we work with is open and available to interested parties. However, some items, such as student records and personnel files, are confidential. The maintenance, dissemination, and protection of confidential records is required by federal and state laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) laws. 

To learn more about FERPA, please go to the NICC FERPA Handbook for Employees.

If you work with Personal Identifiable Information (PII) which is any representation of information that permits the identity of an individual to whom the information applies to be reasonably inferred by either direct or indirect means, you are expected to keep this confidential and not share the information with unauthorized persons (e.g. Social Security Number (SSN), passport number, driver's license number, taxpayer identification number, patient identification number, and financial account or credit card number). If you have a question, ask your supervisor. Requests for employee records should be directed to the Board Secretary in the President’s Office. Requests for student records should be referred to the Registrar. Additional policies and standards relating to technology can be found in the Information Security Policies.