Institutional Federal Compliance Report 2021

1. Student Identity Verification in Distance and Correspondence Education

Evidence to Demonstrate Compliance:

1. Policies and/or procedures used to ensure student identity verification

During the temporary switch of some courses to remote instruction due to COVID-19, SUNY College of Optometry requires students to log in with their SUNY Optometry usernames and passwords to access courses.* Attendance in remote access courses is voluntary, but requires students to login with their SUNY credentials. ExamID, which uses facial recognition, is used for electronic exams (using ExamMonitor and ExamSoft). The College’s FERPA policy ( Appendix A ) can be found at https://www.sunyopt.edu/pdfs/academics/SUNYOpt_FERPA.pdf and is accessible from the Student Right to Know page (https://www.sunyopt.edu/about/student-consumer-information). Page 2 of the policy includes the following statement: “ Education records created in Distance Learning or other remote coursework are protected to the same extent as all other Education Records under FERPA and this Policy.”

in distance education or correspondence courses

2. Policies and/or procedure(s)

regarding the protection of privacy (i.e. FERPA) for students enrolled

in distance education and correspondence courses

3. Procedure(s) for notifying

There are no additional charges associated with student identity verification including travel to campus.

students at the time of registration or enrollment about any projected additional charges associated with student identity verification including any required travel to campus. Evidence should include URLs, catalogs, student handbooks, and other locations of any alternative institutional website documenting required disclosures

Explanation if a compliance requirement is not relevant for your institution:

*During the COVID-19 pandemic, we are using hybrid remote access with in-person schedule adjustments to temporarily to reduce student numbers at the College on a daily basis and increase social distancing.

MSCHE | Institutional Compliance Report

2