The document below outlines guidelines for the appropriate use of data and appropriate communications with students via Pathways. At its heart, Pathways is designed to help advisors help students most effectively navigate their Pitt journey. Pathways does this by easing administrative tasks, like scheduling appointments and messaging students, offering a central location for notes about students from advisors across the university, and providing a structure to help advisors share important information about students across offices.
The ease with which advisors can message students and see students’ advising notes in Pathways is a strength. To support this operational efficiency, we have implemented a number of safeguards to protect student information. First, we have developed roles within Pathways in accordance with the minimum information a university employee would need to know about students in order to accomplish their job. For example, an individual who schedules advising appointments does not have access to student grades or advising notes as neither are relevant to scheduling appointments. Second, FERPA training was provided to all individuals working with Pathways, so they are well versed in the do’s and don’ts with regard to protecting student information. Third, we have provided the guidelines below about what is and what is not appropriate use of the various tools available in Pathways.
Data & Information
Information and data obtained via Pathways should only be used to help students based on the job responsibilities for which access to Pathways is necessary. This may include obtaining information from Pathways to inform advising sessions, identifying struggling students for extra attention, identifying students who may be eligible for scholarships and grants, or checking if a student followed through on your recommendation.
DO use information obtained from Pathways to …
- Inform an advising appointment
- Identify students who could be eligible for scholarships or awards
- Check if a student followed through on your recommendations
- Identify struggling students
Information and data obtained via Pathways should NOT be used for any other purpose than your direct job responsibilities vis-à-vis your students. That is, you should use information and data obtained in Pathways only to support advising and mentoring of students. If you are an instructor, you may not use information obtained from Pathways to help decide what grade to give a student in class. If you are hiring a student for a job or research position, do not look at the students’ advising notes or course grades in Pathways for additional contextual information. If you are deciding whether to admit a student to your academic or study-abroad program, do not use contextual information from Pathways to inform your decision. If you conduct research on student populations, you may not use data obtained from Pathways to identify potential research participants or to provide additional data on existing research participants. Do not look up the academic record of your child’s new boyfriend or girlfriend.
DO NOT use information obtained from Pathways to …
- Decide what grade to give a student in a class
- Check the advising notes or course grades for student who has applied for a job or research position with you or others you know
- Inform decisions about admission to academic or co-curricular programs
- For research purposes
- Satisfy your curiosity about a particular student’s academic record
Communication
Messaging of students from the Pathways platform should be done to provide academically- relevant information to students in support of the role for which you were given access in Pathways. (Please see the Pathways Text Messaging Policy, which specifies when to text message vs. emailing students.) Use Pathways to schedule advising or tutoring appointments with students; to check in on students about whom you are concerned or want to encourage to see a tutor; to alert students to resources, scholarships, or awards for which they may be eligible; or to provide nudges for students who are close to deadlines for key milestones like graduation.
DO use Pathways to do things like…
- Schedule advising or tutoring appointments
- Check in on students for whom you have academic concerns
- Encourage students to see a tutor
- Alert students about resources about which they requested more information
- Alert students of scholarships or awards for which they may be eligible
- Nudge students who are close to key milestones like graduation
Messaging of students from the Pathways platform should not be done to conduct business outside of the immediate responsibilities of your position or for your own self-interest. Do not use Pathways to invite students to participate in a research project, to advertise an event you or your unit are sponsoring, to encourage students to enroll in a course you are teaching, or to discourage students from enrolling in certain programs.
DO NOT use Pathways to do things like …
- Invite students to participate in a research project conducted by yourself or others
- Advertise an event you or your unit are sponsoring
- Encourage students to enroll in a course you are teaching or your department is offering
- Discourage students from enrolling in certain programs
Students will be made aware of appropriate use of Pathways for contacting them and asked to report violations of these guidelines to PathwaysHelp@pitt.edu. Pathways staff are able to view messages sent via Pathways and thus, will be able to determine if messages comply with these guidelines. When a university employee is found to be in violation of these guidelines, they will be reminded of these guidelines and the relevant dean’s office will be alerted and appropriate action will be discussed. If in violating these guidelines a university employee also violates FERPA, university guidelines for violations of FERPA will be followed.