Your obligations under FIPPA

Students have a right to privacy protected by B.C.’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA).

FIPPA:

• Sets out the access and privacy rights of individuals as they relate to the public sector
• Establishes the right to access records
• Defines the terms under which a public body can collect, use and disclose personal information

In practice, this means student identifying information cannot be stored on servers abroad or with services that share or sell user data outside our control.

You can still use unsupported applications while staying compliant with FIPPA — as long as you control how the service is used and what information is shared.

See our page on FIPPA and student privacy for more details, including a Course Outline Policy.

Best practices for unsupported applications

If you choose to use applications that ECU has not assessed, be sure to get students’ informed consent and create workflows that protect their privacy.

Ask yourself:

• What type of data will be shared with the service? Avoid last names, private emails, addresses, locations and grades.

• Can students use the tool anonymously without creating an account?

• If sign-up is required, can students use a dummy email or alias?