Standard Academic Technology Platforms

Kutztown University Policy TEC-008

A. Purpose

In the interest of protecting students’ personally identifiable data, our ability to provide technical support for faculty, staff, and students, the security of our network, and facilitating student success through consistency, it is important that members of our KU community utilize standard platforms for our technology needs in our academic work.

The list of platforms included in this policy have been vetted by various campus and system bodies and selected to meet our needs in the pursuit of our mission, as well as providing necessary security. Utilization of common platforms reduces the burden for students to learn multiple platforms, assists with issues created by differential access to technology and connectivity in students’ homes, and protects students’ personal information by limiting to platforms to systems that have been reviewed and validated for appropriate security.

B. Scope

This policy applies to all faculty members and others utilizing academic platforms.

C. Key Words and Phrases

Student Personally Identifiable Information (PII) – Student PII includes student names, or student IDs along with other information (email, demographics, program) that might be combinable to identify the student.

Technology Platform – Infrastructure that supports the operation of applications/technologies. Typically involves the storage and/or processing of data that is then utilized in the performance of organizational functions.

D. Policy and Procedure(s)

The standard platforms list in this policy represents platforms that are connected to the experiences of many/all students across the university and thus used by most/all faculty. This list is not exhaustive, as additional platforms have been approved for specialized use. Specialized use platforms include, but are not limited to, the Blumen platform used for TRIO, systems used in Rohrbach library, the Handshake platform used by the Career Development Center, and programs utilized in academic department to meet specific student SLO needs. Additionally, note that these are technology platforms. Electronic course content including textbooks and software, assignments utilized for student evaluations, etc. remain the purview of our faculty as they meet student learning objectives through best practices in education.

Please Note: Student personally identifiable information (PII) may not be loaded by faculty into any non-standard unapproved systems. Extreme care should be taken to protect student academic information (FERPA compliance). Please see policy TEC-005 for more information regarding data security.

Banner student information system

Banner is utilized across the PASSHE system for student course record keeping, degree planning, registration, unofficial transcripts, and updated catalog information.

No other technology platform should be used to provide degree planning assistance to students. Student unofficial transcripts should not be uploaded into non-KU systems. Utilizing check sheets and planners in paper form or sharing electronically with the student remains appropriate. Material sent by email should contain the minimum of student PII possible to meet the purpose of the email exchange. As issues are found with Banner accuracy in degree planning, etc., they should be immediately reported for continuous improvement in the system.

Desire to Learn (D2L) student learning management system

D2L is utilized across the PASSHE system as a learning management system (LMS) for student course materials (including course schedules and syllabi, assignment grades, course content, etc.).

While faculty members may utilize publisher software platforms to provide course information, conduct quizzes, etc., care should be taken to protect student academic information (FERPA compliance) and student PII.

Where possible, it is highly recommended that general course materials (syllabi, schedules, etc.) be kept on D2L even if available on a publisher platform or distributed by email or in print form.

Faculty should avoid loading KU data information to public systems (including student ID). Faculty should assure that systems required for use in their courses ask students for the minimum amount of PII necessary for access and record keeping.

KU student IDs and grades should not be associated on systems that have not been approved for security. Instead, faculty should use other identifiers (separate codes) for students. To facilitate student success, it is strongly recommended that grades be transferred to D2L to increase student ability to easily gain information about all courses in one platform.

Some external systems can be integrated to D2L such that the information from the publisher platform feeds directly into the D2L environment, reducing effort for both faculty and students. See below with regards to requesting linkages/add-on to D2L.

Starfish – Student Success Platform

The Starfish platform provides mechanisms for attendance verification, student success feedback, early warning prompts, advising appointments and notes, communication with students and advisees, etc. Starfish is integrated with Banner, creating connections for student success work and allowing for collaboration among members of the student’s network.

Starfish is utilized for attendance verification necessary for KU to award federal financial aid. While attendance records are necessary for this reporting, as well as for the assignment of some grade types, daily attendance is not required to be kept in Starfish. Such records can be maintained on D2L, in Excel, or in a faculty paper gradebook.

Advising notes are not required to be kept in Starfish; however, doing so has advantages for both the student and the faculty advisor, including keeping a history of discussions, allowing collaboration with other individuals supporting the student (for example coaches, navigators, and second major advisors), and providing a backup of material for unexpected advisor transitions.

MSOffice Suite

The various elements of the MSOffice suite (including OneDrive/SharePoint for documents, spreadsheets, pdfs, etc.; Teams for chats, video, and files; MediaSite for video/audio files) provides mechanisms for sharing of files between faculty, staff, and students on the KU campus. For assignments that are not being submitted on paper, via email to an official KU email account, or through D2L, sharing via one of these platforms is the standard mechanism. Use of these systems for assignment submission reduces the possibility of loss of student materials and the subsequent negative impact on students.

Though other platforms (particularly GoogleDocs or Dropbox) are available, and may be preferred by some students, we are unable to control access or monitor security on these platforms. This leaves students and faculty open to possible data corruption and loss of PII or grade data. Additionally, IT is unable to provide students, staff, and faculty support for use of these outside platforms.

Accommodate

The KU Disability Services Office utilizes an accommodation platform called Accommodate. This platform allows the DSO to track the process of student registration and allows students to distribute necessary information to receive academic, housing, and dining accommodations. All student accommodations for each class that a faculty member teaches is housed in the same location on the platform. Information regarding student accommodations should not be kept on external platforms.  

Requesting “Add-Ons,” Integrations to a Platform, or Specialized Platforms Not Previously Approved

Requests to consider adding an integration to an approved academic platform (this is typically for D2L) should be submitted to the Technology Platform Integrations Committee (TPIC) no later than the second week of the semester prior to the hoped-for integration utilizing the Technology Platform Integration Request form. The committee includes faculty membership from the Academic Technology Committee, Academic Assessment Council, as well as DSO representation, and IT staff. Requests will be reviewed by the TPIC for recommendation to the Chief Technology Officer who will confer with the Provost regarding implementation.

Requests to consider adding a new platform (not previously approved) should be submitted by the department chair or unit director to the appropriate dean or division lead for discussion and determination of the appropriate shared governance path necessary for consideration.

Elements to be considered for new platforms or platform integrations include:

Security

  • Is the login to the integration secure?
  • Is sensitive data passed over a secure connection?
  • Does the program to be integrated have appropriate data backup practices?
  • Does the vendor have appropriate security measures in place for any held data?

Privacy

  • Does the add-on comply with FERPA and all other PII policies?

Legal Concerns

  • Where students create an account and/or download software, does the user agreement shown to the instructor and student meet with applicable laws at the federal or state level?
  • Have any agreements been reviewed by system legal?

Data sharing, Ownership, and Management

  • Does the app data sharing, ownership, and management procedures and policies meet PA and PASSHE requirements?
  • Do access/retention/deletion and third-party access practices and policies meet PA and PASSHE requirements?

Budget

  • What are the one-time and annual licensing fee/costs or other costs associated?
  • Who is responsible for these costs (institution, department, instructor, student)? Note that costs to be passed on to students cannot be assessed as direct course fees but may be part of textbook costs.

Pedagogical Impact

  • What evidence is there that supports the value of the tool?
  • Is it possible to obtain the desired outcomes with an already existing tool?
  • How will this platform be assessed (as required by MSCHE)?

Accessibility

  • Describe any anticipated issues with the application meeting current requirements for accessibility? 
  • In what ways does this product demonstrate best practices for universal design?

Technical Considerations

  • Is the add-on compliant with the KU Acceptable Use policy?
  • What are the demands for technical staff and resources to support this tool?
  • What ongoing development and support is offered by the vendor?
  • Is this vendor a D2L (or other approved academic platform) partner?

E. Effective Date 

8.31.26

F. Reviewed By

University Senate
APSCUF Representative Council

G. Approved By

Administrative Council – 2.19.26
University President – 8.31.26

H. Last Review

2.19.26