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What is GDPR and why is it important in education?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) establishes a series of requirements and obligations for the processing of personal data. In the case of virtual education, it is essential to understand its scope and relevance. Find out everything in this article.
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a European Union law that came into effect in May 2018. Its objective is to protect the privacy and personal data of EU citizens, establishing a legal framework for the collection, storage, processing and use of information.
Now, within the academic field, the importance of GDPR lies in the fact that educational institutions, whether a school, college, university or any other center, handle a large amount of personal and sensitive information, such as student names, addresses, dates of birth, medical information, grades, among others. For this reason, it is important that all student data is managed securely and protected against possible leaks or breaches.
At this point, it is valid to clarify that educational institutions may also collect data from their staff, including teachers, administrators and support personnel, so they must also comply with GDPR provisions.
Furthermore, the Regulation is also applied to information stored online, such as websites, applications and platforms used by educational institutions for academic or management purposes.
So, what happens with GDPR and proctoring?
Speaking specifically about proctoring, it is vital to emphasize that – when processing student data during online exams – certain protection requirements must be met.
In this framework, GDPR determines that not only the collection of personal information must be fair, transparent and proportionate, but also that individuals have the right to access, rectification, deletion, restriction and portability of their data.
Consequently, both educational institutions and companies that offer proctoring solutions must provide information about data processing, student rights and security procedures. Similarly, it is crucial to ensure that proctoring complies with the principles of minimization and limitation of personal data retention time.
Four reasons to implement GDPR
Let us now look at a series of reasons why the General Data Protection Regulation is essential for proctoring and online education itself.
Informed consent
Educational institutions must first obtain explicit consent from students to collect, process and store their personal data. This approval must be free, specific, informed and unequivocal. After that, the proctoring company, in its role as data processor, will provide the respective services.
Information security
It is recommended that educational institutions and proctoring solutions implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect student personal data. This may include information encryption, user authentication, activity monitoring and restriction of certain access.
Data retention
Data collected during proctoring must be deleted when no longer in use. In this sense, educational institutions and proctoring companies must establish a clear data retention policy and comply with it.
Student rights
Students have the right to access, rectify, delete, limit processing and transfer their personal data. Educational institutions and proctoring companies have the duty to ensure the exercise of such rights, providing simple and easy-to-understand information on how to do so.
In summary, GDPR compliance ensures that student personal data is handled securely and protected against possible breaches. This helps create a trustworthy learning environment, which is essential for the well-being of the community and the prestige of educational institutions.
At Klarway we understand the importance of new regulatory frameworks and respond to the standards established by GDPR, benefiting the institutions that trust us.
Interested in learning more? Discover why choose our monitoring tool here.
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