FAS Regulations: Protection of Privacy of Student Work

FAS-5.X Protection of Privacy of Student Work

Instructors, support staff and students all have a role to play in the protection of the privacy of student work. The general framework for protection of privacy at SFU is outlined in SFU Policy I 10.01 Archives, Recorded Information Management, and Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy. Additional information is available from the FOI-POP website of University Archives.

FAS-5.X.1 Submission and Return of Work

The following procedures apply for submission and return of work.

1. Course instructors must provide a secure method for submission of student work, such as direct submission to the instructor or support staff, or submission to a locked box.
2. Students may choose to protect the privacy of their work either through the envelope method or the cover page method, as described below.
3. When student work is submitted in an envelope, the envelope will also be used to return the work. No marks shall be recorded on the outside of the envelope.
4. When student work is submitted with a cover page, marking will be confined to the back side of the cover page and the work itself. No marks shall be recorded on the front of the cover page.
5. Marked student work may not be left unattended for retrieval. However, students may be permitted to retrieve their work from a set of marked work items for the class provided that the retrieval process is supervised by the instructor or support staff.
6. In retrieving their own work, students must respect the privacy rights of others. Violation of privacy rights may be considered misconduct in accord with SFU Policy T10.01 - Code of Student Conduct.

FAS-5.X.2 Student Evaluation of Student Work

1. When a legitimate educational purpose is served, the evaluation scheme for a course may involve the evaluation of work by other students.
2. When student evaluation of student work is to be used in a course, the course outline must clearly specify the nature of this evaluation and must also inform students of their rights and responsibilities under protection of privacy regulations.
3. A student who evaluates the work of another must treat both the work and his/her evaluation of it as protected personal information. This information must not be used or disclosed except as expressly described in the course evaluation scheme.

FAS-5.X.3 Posting of Grades

1. When posting student grades, all identifying information must be removed except for (at most) the last seven digits of the student number.
2. Grades must neither be posted in alphabetic order of student name, or in numeric order of the full student number. Grades may be posted in sorted order of the last seven (or fewer) digits.

FAS-5.X.4 Retention and Disposal of Exams and Assignments

1. SFU Policy I 10.09 covers retention and disposal of student exams or assignments.