Confidential Information
Our students, as well as their parents, and our employees, donors, alumni and other persons affiliated with Kenyon College may entrust us with information which may be confidential. The nature of this relationship requires maintenance of confidentiality. In safeguarding the information received, Kenyon College earns the respect and further trust of our patrons.
Confidentiality of College Business Information
During your employment with the College, you may have access to confidential personal, business, and proprietary information (together called "College Business Information") that may be made available to you to enable you to perform your job responsibilities at the College. You must limit your dissemination or discussion of College Business Information to only those individuals with a College business need to know. College Business Information includes, but is not limited to, the following types of information: financial records, research, trial data, reports, memorandums, contracts, computer programs, technology, tuition and services pricing, purchasing, marketing materials, fundraising data including donors and their donations, vendor contracts, personally identifiable information, and employment records, including those pertaining to compensation and benefits (other than your own and matters not confidential under the National Labor Relations Act). College Business Information also includes personal health information and medical records (other than your own, if and as you may choose to disclose same), as well as the confidential and proprietary information of third parties with which the College does or seeks to do business and which may be known to you as a part of that business or prospective business relationship. College Business Information may result from many sources and may take various forms (paper, verbal, electronic, etc). College Business Information does not include information generally made available to the public by the College in the ordinary course of business or by specific authorization or otherwise published and released by the College to the public.
You must take all reasonable steps to safeguard the confidentiality of College Business Information and shall not directly or indirectly access, use, or disclose such College Business Information, absent the written authorization of the head of your Division, except as required for you to properly perform your job duties or as may be required by a valid court order (and in the latter case, only with prior written notice to your supervisor). To the extent that you are permitted to access College Business Information remotely, you are responsible for ensuring the privacy of such information at any remote location, and you agree not to store College Business Information on non-College computer systems. Even casual remarks can be misinterpreted and repeated, so develop the personal discipline necessary to maintain confidentiality. If you hear, see or become aware of anyone else violating this policy, please contact the Office of Human Resources. Your employment with Kenyon College requires an obligation to maintain the confidentiality of College Business Information even after you leave our employ.
Confidentiality of Student Records
Kenyon also maintains the confidentiality of student records. Neither such records, nor personally identifiable information contained therein, shall be disclosed except as authorized by federal law. For more specifics, see the Annual FERPA Notification.
Destruction of Records That Are Confidential as Described Above
You must follow the proper procedures (such as shredding) for destroying College Business Information and student records.
Further Provisions
Any violation of this Confidential Information policy may seriously injure Kenyon College's reputation and effectiveness and may expose the College to liability. If you are questioned by someone outside the College or your department and you are concerned about the appropriateness of giving them certain information that is confidential under this policy or whether the College considers the information sought as being covered by this policy, remember that you are not required to answer, and in such circumstance, we do not wish you to do so. Instead, as politely as possible, refer the request to your supervisor or to the head of your division.
Other than in the course of properly performing your job duties, you may not remove or make copies of any Kenyon College Business Information or student records without prior management approval.
Because of its seriousness, violation of this Confidential Information policy can lead to dismissal.