I.3 The Ball State University ID Committee has developed the following set of guidelines addressing the handling of Social Security numbers in electronic systems.  Adherence to these guidelines in all future development will be considered a requirement.

I.3.1.  Social Security numbers will continue to be captured in the main information systems as required by state or federal law, or when voluntarily supplied.

I.3.2.  Social Security numbers will only be shared between systems where there is a legitimate need, or it is a state or federal requirement.  The BSU-ID will be the recommended approach to uniquely identify students, faculty and staff.

I.3.3  Social Security numbers will only be used to retrieve information in systems where it is required by state or federal mandates, or when voluntarily supplied by students for their benefit.

I.3.4  Social Security numbers will only appear on electronic screens, forms, web pages and reports when there is a legitimate need to know or it is required by state or federal mandates.

I.3.5  Social Security numbers will only appear on printed materials when there is a legitimate need to know or it is required by state or federal mandates. All printed materials containing social security numbers will be stored in a secure manner. When printed materials are no longer needed by the university they will be destroyed or disposed of using a method designed to prevent or significantly inhibit their recovery or use thereafter.

I.3.6  Requests for the use of Social Security numbers in new systems should be sent to the chairperson of the Ball State University ID committee. The committee will review the request and based on the guidelines outlined in this document, determine if the request is valid. The chairperson will communicate the committee's decision to the requester.