Policy for Student Identification Verification in Distance Learning
Purpose and Scope
This policy applies to all credit-bearing distance education courses offered by the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that the department operates in compliance with the provisions of the United States Federal Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) concerning the verification of student identity in distance education.
The HEOA requires that institutions offering distance education or correspondence courses or programs have processes in place to ensure that the student registering for a course is the same student who participates in the course or receives course credit. The Act requires that institutions use one of the following three methods:
- A secure login and pass code;
- Proctored examinations; or
- New or other technologies and practices that are effective in verifying student identification.
Compliance
The TrueYou Identity Manager is a university management system used to ensure accounts are managed securely. All students must claim their TrueYou identity and establish a password before accessing services, including distance learning. Students verify their account with personally identifying information. Students are required to create secure questions and associated answers to be used in the event that they need to change their password or reclaim their TrueYou Identity Manager password. Two-factor authentication is used to secure all accounts. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln uses Canvas as its learning management system. The Canvas system integrates with the TrueYou Identity Manager to ensure secure student access to courses. All users of the TrueYou Identity Manager are responsible for maintaining the security of user IDs and passwords.
Students' Privacy Rights
All students, including distance education students, at the University of Nebraska have privacy rights. Those rights are discussed under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Information on the university's FERPA policies can be found here.
Course Fees
All fees associated with taking classes both on campus and through distance education can be found online. Undergraduate tuition and fees information is available here, while similar information for graduate courses is available here. There may be additional fees for taking online courses. Students are encouraged to check the fees before registering for classes. These fees are adjusted periodically and should be verified before enrollment.