Privacy Services

Overview: 

The University Privacy Office promotes an organizational culture that provides oversight and leadership to Penn State faculty, staff, and students so they may conduct operations and activities with a reasonable expectation of privacy. The University commits to compliance with local and regulatory requirements and university policies, guidelines, and standards.

Getting Started: 

To get started, visit the University Privacy Office's website. To learn about steps that you as an individual user can take to protect your own privacy, visit Penn State's Online Safety and Security resource

More Information: 

Penn State’s Privacy program is built on core components and principles that comply with regulations; act in the community's best interest; and can be easily understood, maintained, and monitored. The University has distilled these ideals into five core Privacy Principles that inform and guide its program:

  1. Accuracy: commit to ensuring that personal information is correct, relevant to business purposes, and up-to-date
  2. Access: govern how individuals' information may be used
  3. Accountability: hold faculty, staff, and students accountable, and apply the Privacy Principles in daily practice
  4. Protect: secure information according to the risk it poses
  5. Limit: limit the information collected and retained

Additionally, the Univeristy Privacy Office helps to facilitate Privacy Impact Assessments. Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA) analyze how a unit collects, uses, shares, and maintains identifiable information on behalf of Penn State. A PIA will help Penn State units:

  • Conform with applicable legal, regulatory, and policy requirements for privacy
  • Determine the risks and effects of collecting, using, sharing and maintaining identifiable information
  • Evaluate protections and alternative processes to mitigate potential privacy risks

Users who are unsure if their unit requires a Privacy Impact Assessment should utilize the University Privacy Office's decision tool. It’s a quick, six-question tool designed to help users decide whether a PIA is necessary. 

 

This service is part of the Security and Privacy category.

Summary

Availability: 

  • This is an active service

Eligibility: 

  • Any current faculty, staff, student, or Penn State affiliate

Information Security: 

Support: