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Data Collection and Use Policy

Last updated: 10/10/2023

The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) respects the privacy of all of our CIRTL Network leaders, colleagues, and participants and is committed to protecting it. The purpose of this Data Collection and Use Policy is to describe what information we may collect and how it may be used.

Definitions

Definitions specific to this Data Collection and Use Policy:

  • “CIRTL Central” refers to staff who manage the CIRTL Network
  • “CIRTL Members” refers to college/university members
  • “CIRTL Participants” refers to graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, faculty, staff, and administrators who are either employed by Member institutions or enrolled at Member institutions
  • “CIRTL Alumni” refers to anyone who has participated in CIRTL activities and has completed their CIRTL studies

Publishing of data

To insure awareness of data use and prevent over-publishing or conflicting uses of data, if a Member institution is interested in conducting research using any of the data described in this document, the lead investigator will need to provide to the CIRTL Leadership Team a half-page description of the intent of the research, the CIRTL partners involved, potential publication venues, and an anticipated timeline for conducting and publishing the research. LT will consider the request in the standing LT meetings. If only archival data affiliated with the particular Member institution, collected and stored by CIRTL Central, is to be used, the Leadership Team can decide on approval without additional input. If data affiliated with other CIRTL Network Member Institution(s) are to be used, those universities that are included will be contacted for input to inform the LT decision. See the External Funding Policy for more details on requests related to proposed research.

Any data that is collected will be securely stored for an amount of time as determined by UW-Madison, Institutional Review Board (IRB), FERPA, and funding organization requirements. Names and contact information will never be shared with outside organizations for marketing/sales purposes.

CIRTL acknowledgement and disclaimer for publishing:

This material is based upon work supported by the CIRTL Network. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CIRTL Network.

Information collected by the CIRTL website

The CIRTL website (https://cirtl.net/) is currently hosted at UW-Madison and is governed by the UW-Madison Privacy Notice.

When users first access the CIRTL website, they will see a pop-up notification which they must consent to by clicking “Got It” that includes the following text:

COOKIE NOTICE. We use cookies on this site to enhance your experience and improve our marketing efforts. By continuing to browse without changing your browser settings to block or delete cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies and related technologies on your device. UW-Madison Privacy Notice

Information collected by CIRTL Central when participants register or participate in CIRTL activities

CIRTL Participant name, email address, institutional affiliation, Alumni status (if applicable), role, discipline, gender identity (optional), ethnicity (optional), and name of program (event, workshop, course, etc.) attended.

How CIRTL Participant information gathered directly by CIRTL Central may be used:

  1. To determine enrollment eligibility in CIRTL cross-Network programming;
  2. To enroll CIRTL Participants in CIRTL’s Learning Management System for CIRTL cross-Network courses or workshops, as applicable;
  3. To send administrative communications, such as confirmation emails, technical notices, updates on policies, or security alerts;
  4. To share with CIRTL leaders and other approved program staff at their local institution for purposes of outreach, program evaluation, and meeting local program requirements, as applicable;
  5. To send promotional information, such as newsletters (with information provided on how to opt-out of future mailings);
  6. To invite CIRTL Participants to join the CIRTL Alumni Network;
  7. To invite CIRTL Participants to participate in research studies involving their CIRTL experiences; participation is completely voluntary and in no way will affect their affiliation with CIRTL or services provided by CIRTL;
  8. To aggregate data for research and evaluation purposes in furtherance of the mission of CIRTL, including CIRTL’s cross-Network programming annual reports; any use of data in this manner will be fully de-identified (e.g., CIRTL project staff may look for differences in participation rates by gender, discipline, role or institution);
  9. To meet any required reporting of aggregated/anonymous demographic data to CIRTL’s funding organizations, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF);
  10. To respond to comments or inquiries;
  11. To provide user support

The following disclaimer is included when CIRTL Participant information is distributed to CIRTL leaders and other approved program staff at their local institution:

This data may be shared within the Network with those who “need to know” this information in order to do their jobs. This would typically include 1) faculty or staff charged with verifying student participation in CIRTL events, perhaps as part of a certification process or 2) faculty or staff evaluating the effectiveness of efforts to recruit students for CIRTL programs, as well as other relevant situations. In addition, you may share participant information with funding agencies, such as the National Science Foundation, when submitting annual reports or evaluation reports. The data is only for internal purposes and may not be shared with other programs. You may publish or present to a broader audience details about your program evaluation. The focus must be on the process rather than on any individual data. In any journal publications, conference papers, or other reports, participant information should only be reported in aggregate, in a way that would not allow readers to personally identify a particular individual.

Information collected by CIRTL Central from CIRTL Members

Each year CIRTL Central collects an Institutional Portrait from each Member institution* that includes the number, gender, race/ethnicity, role, and academic disciplines of participants who receive the Associate, Practitioner and Scholar certificates each year. Additionally, the titles of any Teaching-as-Research projects completed by Practitioners or Scholars are collected. (*New Members who joined in July of the current CIRTL administrative year are not required to submit an Institutional Portrait their first year.)

How information gathered from Member institutions may be used:

  1. To understand the scope and reach of CIRTL Network programming;
  2. To analyze and summarize information for sharing publicly through reports, presentations, news releases, webpages, and other materials to demonstrate CIRTL impact;
  3. To meet any required reporting of aggregated/anonymous demographic data to CIRTL’s funding organizations, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF)

Demographic information is collected in the aggregate only.

The following disclaimer is included when CIRTL Member information is collected:

Please keep in mind that the information submitted through this portrait will be shared with local CIRTL leaders and be used in reports and materials about CIRTL. There is a chance data could accidentally or purposefully be made public. However, given the collaborative nature of CIRTL, we believe an open and transparent process will support all of our efforts to improve undergraduate STEM Teaching and Learning. If you have any concerns please contact CIRTL staff through the Helpdesk at info@cirtl.net.

Contact information

At any time, please contact CIRTL Central at info@cirtl.net for questions related to this Policy.