About Advancement Services
Mission of Advancement Services
The mission of Advancement Services is to ensure the responsible and ethical management of alumni and donor information, as well as to provide information services and infrastructure in support of fundraising and engagement activities for the University Advancement office and Southern Oregon University overall.
Key Responsibilities of Advancement Services
Advancement Services supports the alumni and supporter database and the overall University Advancement fundraising and engagement activities with a focus on reporting, accessibility, reliability, and accountability.
These support services include gift administration and acknowledgement, list procurement for engagement or analysis, and the development, management and maintenance of alumni and donor constituent information storage and delivery systems.
It is the responsibility of Advancement Services to safeguard all the information collected by and resulting from the pursuit of the mission and goals of University Advancement. Advancement Services continuously strives to improve systems and provide the most relevant and useful information to its users.
Confidentiality of Alumni and Donor Information
Our alumni and donors' right to privacy is paramount. Southern Oregon University and the SOU Foundation are committed to protecting the security and confidentiality of information concerning our alumni and friends. We adhere to the donor bill of rights and follow all applicable federal and state laws and regulations as well as generally accepted professional ethics and standards governing the collection, access, use and maintenance of information.
Please click here to read our UA Data Confidentiality and Usage Guidelines
UA Data Confidentiality and Usage
Below are the guidelines to accessing and handling University Advancement data. Please read the guidelines thoroughly and complete the agreement form below.
University Advancement Data Confidentiality and Usage Guidelines
Purpose
University Advancement (UA) is committed to safeguarding the confidential information of Southern Oregon University (SOU) alumni, students, parents, friends, donors, prospects, employees, and other membership of the university community. The purpose of these guidelines is to outline who can access UA-managed data, the steps required to receive that access, and the acceptable use of that data.
These guidelines compliment broader university policies related to information security and computing.
Definitions
Confidential University Advancement Information:
For purposes of these guidelines, confidential University Advancement information includes but is not limited to constituent information (including contact information such as addresses, business information, phone numbers, email addresses, etc.); names of alumni, donors or prospective donors; donor giving history; amount, nature or terms of any gift or gift agreement; donor or prospective donor profiles or background information; internal analysis, financial information, estate planning information, bank and brokerage account numbers, credit card numbers, electronic and telephone communications data or reports generated by or on behalf of UA; fundraising plans or objectives, campaign information, or internal UA policies and procedures.
Usage and Access Statement
I. Access to University Advancement Data by Employees
- Individuals employed by Southern Oregon University who hold a formal responsibility and university-related business requirement to access UA data will be granted access restricted to that requirement. Such access will be granted after a formal request is submitted, either via the position onboarding process or written communication, and the employee has a valid (within past 12-months) University Advancement Data Usage Agreement on file. Supervisor approval may also be required for granting access, depending on the nature of the request. Questionable or unusual requests by employees for access to Advancement data will be reviewed by the Vice President of University Advancement in consultation with the Director of Advancement Services.
The actions of collecting, accessing, using, destroying, or disclosing confidential information may only occur within the scope of employee responsibilities. Supervisors must approve all use of confidential information that falls outside normal employee responsibilities. If employees discover that they have access to information outside the scope of their normal responsibilities, they must notify their supervisors or the UA office immediately.
- University Advancement’s primary method of sharing information with other SOU departments is through the department’s Box environment. If a situation requires downloaded or stored confidential information, then the data is limited to SOU-managed electronic devices (e.g., computer, mobile device, etc.) or SOU-managed peripheral (e.g. memory card, external hard drive, etc.) and is not permitted to be saved on personal devices or equipment. Employees must exercise reasonable effort to secure and protect from disclosure any confidential information downloaded to or stored on any type of electronic device or peripheral. Data provided from UA’s database of record and other systems must be deleted when no longer needed.
- Employees must exercise reasonable effort to secure and protect from disclosure any confidential information in hard copy. Materials containing confidential information should not be removed from UA offices, except when within the scope of the responsibilities of employment. All hard copy confidential information must be shredded when no longer needed or in use.
- Passwords act as a signature to access confidential UA information. If employees have reason to believe that the confidentiality of passwords has been violated, they are required to notify their supervisors immediately and ensure that the passwords are promptly changed. Employees will not share login ID and/or password information with anyone.
- Upon termination of university employment, the rights and access associated with a user ID and password will also be terminated. Employees must immediately return all UA-related documents and/or materials containing confidential information to the UA office. It is further expected that, following cessation of employment at Southern Oregon University, the individual will continue to treat confidential information as confidential and that they will refrain from disclosing it or using it for any purpose.
II. Access to University Advancement Data by Non-Employees
- Subject to the approval of the Vice President of University Advancement, non-employees working on behalf of the university (e.g. volunteers, students, contractors, vendors, etc.) will be permitted to access UA data restricted to the requirements of their roles.
- These individuals and/or organizations must sign any confidentiality and usage agreement(s) required by the university prior to receiving such access, and will subsequently be bound by the requirements set forth in this document.
- Confidential information is not permitted to be shared with non-SOU email addresses and must instead be shared via SOU’s Box environment, thus maintaining appropriate access permissions and oversight. In certain applicable situations, file uploads to secure FTP sites is an acceptable alternative to using Box. Data is not permitted to be saved or downloaded to personal devices or equipment, unless specific approval is obtained from the Vice President of University Advancement.
- Donors to the university may request and receive a list of the charitable gifts they have made to the university. Otherwise, UA data will be unavailable to non-employees and non-volunteers, unless approved by the Vice President of University Advancement.
Please complete the form below to confirm you have read and agree to these guidelines:
Questions? Please contact Taylor Smith, Director of Advancement Services, at smitht13@sou.edu or 541-552-8257.
