Data Governance

The mission of the Data Governance Committee at St. John’s University is to facilitate and uphold a comprehensive framework that ensures the responsible, ethical, and secure management of data across the University. Building a culture of trust, transparency, and innovation, the committee aims to empower the University community with reliable, accurate, and timely information while prioritizing individual privacy and compliance with relevant regulations.

Mission Guided Principles

1. Data Integrity and Quality: Uphold the highest standards of data accuracy, consistency, and reliability to enhance decision making, strategic planning, and academic excellence across the University.
2. Privacy and Security: Safeguard individual privacy by implementing robust security measures and adhering to industry best practices, ensuring that sensitive data is protected against unauthorized access, disclosure, or misuse.
3. Compliance: Stay current with applicable laws, regulations, and policies related to data governance, privacy, and security, and ensure the University’s practices align with these standards.
4. Stakeholder Collaboration: Foster a collaborative environment that engages University stakeholders, including students, faculty, administrators, and staff, to promote a shared understanding of data governance principles and solicit input to inform decision making.
5. Data Access and Transparency: Balance the need for data accessibility with the requirement to protect sensitive information, promoting transparency in data usage while adhering to ethical guidelines and legal requirements.
6. Innovation and Continuous Improvement: Encourage the exploration and adoption of emerging technologies and best practices in data governance to enhance the University’s capabilities, while maintaining a commitment to ongoing improvement and learning.
7. Education and Awareness: Provide educational resources and training opportunities to empower members of the University community with the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to a culture of responsible data stewardship.
8. Risk Management: Identify, assess, and mitigate risks associated with data governance, ensuring that potential issues are proactively addressed to maintain the integrity and reliability of University data.

Guiding Principles

• Transparency: All community members are provided the policy and best practices on the ethical and functional handling of the University’s data.
• Data-Informed: Promote the use of data in decision making.
• Consistency: One source of truth, which ensures privacy and confidentiality.
• Stewardship: While there will be formal stewardship roles defined, it is everyone’s responsibility to protect the privacy, security, and confidentiality of our data as required.
• Accountability: Decisions and processes should be audited and dictated by policy, law, and regulation.
• Agility: All processes and policies should be able to adapt to mitigate risk when and where appropriate.
• ChangeManagement: New processes will require a concerted effort in managing change among campus staff.

Data Governance Framework

The Data Governance Committee reports to the University’s larger Technology Executive Committee, which is comprised of an operational group that includes three pillars:

1. Privacy, Policies, and Compliance
2. Information Quality and Standards
3. Architecture, Security, and Integration

Each pillar has a data governance representative (trustee) and works with the data stewards and end users to ensure changes, updates, and policy are adopted and followed.