Learning Community: Tell Them From Me school survey

Data Security Measures

One of the unique features of The Learning Bar school survey system is that the data are collected with a "double-blind" data security procedure. This means that when students complete a survey neither the The Learning Bar staff nor the District and School Coordinators can link individuals' responses to their names.

Moreover, information pertaining to individual students is not accessible by anyone outside the school district. Usernames and passwords for teachers are randomly distributed at the school, and their names are never entered into the The Learning Bar system.

The double-blind data security system uses two processes to ensure confidentiality. The district coordinator enters the names and location of the students into the TTFM system. This information is necessary, as it is in some cases used to generate weekly requests to particular students as the evaluation is being conducted. As the data are entered, they are instantly encrypted. This process is called transmission encryption. The Learning Bar uses the same technology used to secure sensitive data such as credit card numbers or personal banking information when transmitted over the internet.

The Learning Bar's school survey system relies on industry strength SSL technology for transmission encryption. In this process, the web browser communicates with a secure web server (https). Digital certificates encrypt data using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology, the industry-standard method for protecting web communications. The SSL security protocol provides data encryption, server authentication, message integrity, and client authentication for a TCP/IP connection.

As a further precaution, when the data are stored on the The Learning Bar server, they are encrypted again – a process called storage encryption. The information that is stored on the server is then a set of meaningless strings of letters and characters called hash strings. No one can decipher this information, not even the Learning Bar administrators. The Learning Bar program uses the information, though, to generate requests to students at particular times during the school year. As it does so, it provides a username and password for them to complete the survey online.

Data security procedures for The Learning Bar's school survey system

As students complete the survey, transmission encryption is used to ensure their responses are confidential. Also, when they complete the survey, the encrypted information pertaining to their name, homeroom and student ID is removed from the system. The Learning Bar staff has access to the survey responses, which are linked to information on the participants' location, but not to their name. The Learning Bar staff produces reports that display aggregate information. All reported information is based on aggregates of at least five teachers or ten students, so that the responses of an individual survey participant can never be identified. This equals, and in some cases is stronger than, the protocol used by Statistics Canada in presenting results from its confidential surveys.

e-mail: info@thelearningbar.com
tel: (506) 458-9311