Section 1-118 - Collection of Identifying Information of Students Attending Institutions of Higher Education(a) The following provisions shall apply to the Department of Education's collection of identifying information of students: (1) The department may collect identifying information of students only if :(i) the department is specifically required to do so under Federal statute or regulation or under another provision of this act ; or(ii) the information is voluntarily provided by an institution of higher education.(2) To the extent the department may collect identifying information of a student under clause (1), the following shall apply: (i) Before collecting any identifying information from an institution of higher education, the department shall provide the institution of higher education with written notice of the identifying information the department seeks to collect and the date by which a student who wishes to do so may opt out of the department's information collection.(ii) Upon receiving the notice required under subparagraph (i), the institution of higher education shall provide those students who are subject to the request for identifying information with electronic notice of the department's request and of the students' ability to opt out of the department's collection of identifying information by the date identified by the department in subparagraph (i). The notice shall direct students to an Internet website maintained by the department which shall contain the following information: (A) A description of the identifying information the department seeks to collect.(B) A statement of the department's legal authority to collect the identifying information.(C) A statement informing students that, by the date identified by the department in subparagraph (i), they may opt out of the department's collection of identifying information.(D) An electronic link the student may use to opt out of the department's collection of identifying information.(iii) Following the opt-out date identified by the department in subparagraph (i), the department shall provide the institution of higher education with a list of those students who have opted out of the department's collection of identifying information.(iv) The institution of higher education may provide the department with identifying information for only those students who have not opted out of the department's collection of identifying information.(3) Notwithstanding clause (1), the department may collect student information in an aggregated format that does not reveal the identifying information of an individual student.(4) To the extent the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 ( Public Law 90-247, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g ) or a successor Federal statute requires an institution of higher education to obtain a student's written consent to the disclosure of identifying information, those provisions shall apply.(5) An institution of higher education that discloses identifying information to the department at the department's request shall not be held liable in any court of law for any breach of confidentiality pertaining to such identifying information that resulted from actions of the department or the department's staff, contractors or researchers, whether paid or unpaid.(b) The Secretary of Education shall establish an advisory committee to offer recommendations to the Department of Education concerning the department's collection of identifying information and other data from institutions of higher education. The following shall apply to the advisory committee established under this section: (1) The secretary shall appoint six (6) members to the advisory committee, including the following: (i) A representative of a community college operating under Article XIX-A.(ii) A representative of the State System of Higher Education.(iii) A representative of an institution of higher education that is designated as "State-related" by the Commonwealth.(iv) A representative of an accredited private or independent college or university.(v) A representative of a private licensed school.(vi) A representative of the department's information technology staff.(2) The advisory committee shall meet at least quarterly at the call of the secretary or the secretary's designee, who shall serve as chairperson. The first meeting of the advisory committee shall occur within sixty (60) days of the effective date of this section.(3) Members of the advisory committee shall serve without compensation.(c) For purposes of this section, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings: "Identifying information" shall mean any document, photographic, pictorial or computer image of another person or any fact used to establish identity, including, but not limited to, a name, birth date, Social Security number, driver's license number, nondriver governmental identification number, telephone number, checking account number, savings account number, student identification number, employe or payroll number, residence address, mailing address, e-mail address or electronic signature.
"Institution of higher education" includes any of the following:
(1) A community college operating under Article XIX-A.(2) A university within the State System of Higher Education.(3) The Pennsylvania State University.(4) The University of Pittsburgh.(7) Any other institution that is designated as "State-related" by the Commonwealth.(8) Any accredited private or independent college or university.(9) Any private licensed school as defined in the act of December 15, 1986 (P.L. 1585, No. 174), known as the "Private Licensed Schools Act. " "Student" shall mean a person who attends an institution of higher education, whether enrolled on a full-time, part-time, credit or noncredit basis.
Amended by P.L. 684 2012 No. 82, § 3, eff. 7/1/2012.1949, March 10, P.L. 30, No. 14, art. I, § 118, added 2011, June 30, P.L. 112, No. 24, § 2, effective in 60 days [Aug. 29, 2011].