34 Protecting confidentiality

It is important to respect and keep private student information such as grades, progress in the course, behavior in class, and demographics. We protect student confidentiality because we care about students’ safety, well-being, and peace of mind and want to foster an inclusive learning environment. To make a classroom a safe space for your students where everyone is respected, establish transparent security practices in your class. Please carefully consider how you distribute grades (for example, ICON enables an instructor to confidentially communicate grades to students online) and share private information with another instructor only if they act in the student’s educational interest and demonstrate a need to know this information. See the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) to learn more about students’ privacy and confidentiality.