First, you should be aware that directory holds (where students request that their directory information remain confidential), appear differently in Canvas. On the Canvas roster page, faculty should see a red asterisk after the student’s name on the roster and a footnote at the bottom of the roster list that serves as a legend (*Confidential). When you mouse over the asterisk beside the student name, there’s a message that says, “The asterisk indicates that the student has requested that directory information not be released.” This is not as pronounced as it was in ANGEL, where there was a red bold *Confidential* behind each name that had a directory hold.
In Canvas, you will either have to look for the asterisk or the legend on the bottom of the Canvas roster.
If a student has a confidentiality hold on their account, you cannot release ANY information about them. In Canvas, you should probably hide the People link in the navigation menu (this is likely me being overly protective, but better safe than sorry), and you are not permitted to release their name, address, field of study, email, etc, publicly. The instructor should also "Check" that the hold also exists in LionPath, because we've seen issues where there was no hold, but one showed up in Canvas. For any discrepancies, please send them along so that the Canvas team can work on it.
While we do need to protect the privacy of these students, they are expected to participate regularly in what the course requires (e.g., discussion boards, teamwork, etc.).
Here's what the registrar's site says regarding Confidentiality Holds:
FERPA requires each institution to allow students to block disclosure of their directory information. At Penn State, we refer to this action as "confidentiality." The following are consequences of a student placing confidentiality on their record:
- Student name/address is excluded from the Penn State online directory and printed telephone directories.
- Student name will not appear in the commencement program.
- Verification of enrollment, graduation, or degrees awarded will not be provided to third parties, including potential employers and insurance companies.
- No information will be released to any person on the telephone or via email.
Requests for confidentiality are permanent until removed in writing by the student.
In LionPath, there will be a shade or blind on the top of their first page in the student center.