Guiding Principles for Data Access Decisions

These guiding principles and guidelines, widely accepted and practiced at the College, govern access to data.

Bowdoin recognizes that access to data is important for informed decision-making and operational excellence, and may enable departments and individuals to enhance their effectiveness and better serve the institution's mission. It is our aim to provide access to data for that purpose, balancing institutional effectiveness with the responsibility to comply with state and federal regulations and to protect sensitive data and overall privacy.

Guiding Principles

Respect for privacy and confidentiality of those to whom the data pertains is essential. Bowdoin supports the sharing of data to advance the College's mission, while ensuring compliance with applicable laws and maintaining high standards for privacy protection and risk management. Bowdoin follows the information security principle of least privilege, granting individuals only the minimum data access necessary to perform their jobs.

Individuals and groups who are provided with data are trusted to be responsible stewards of information about the College and each other, and provisioning data is approached from that position of trust.

Guidelines

• In general, publicly reported data will be made readily available.
• The intended use of data is an important consideration in determining access: what is the benefit of its use in relation to any risk?
• Data requests will follow a consistent process, and decisions about access will be as transparent as possible.
• Access to data may sometimes be denied, even when other conditions are met (e.g., if sample sizes are too small to protect privacy).
• In instances where access to data is denied, we will aim to provide useful information or direction in other ways to address the underlying question.