Data Privacy Best Practices of A Local Higher Educational Institution: A Model for Governance

Abstract

The passage of the Data Privacy Act of 2012, establishes a new data privacy framework for all industries and sectors, whether in public or private. Different agencies’ policies have aimed to foster innovation and the development of commercial and public sector technical skills. The hit COVID-19 pandemic pushed academic institutions for a paradigm shift in the delivery of instructional and administrative services in online platforms. This study assessed Laguna State Polytechnic University’s (LSPU) data privacy policies and governance transformation to determine its best practices and establish an informational privacy framework. LSPU commenced its full compliance in 2017, hence the researcher chose the respondents whose employment at the university is between 2017 and 2021 to ensure they have sufficient experience and skill in the implementation of the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its rules and regulation in the university. Questionnaires were utilized to collect information, and interviews with unit heads and university staff validated the results. Based on the study’s hypothesis, it is determined that the governance of existing data privacy policies at the institution is completely established. Since the results of the analysis revealed a significant correlation, the respondents strongly support a very high degree of data privacy implementation oversight. Further, using the path-analysis technique, it was found that governance has a positive effect on the current practices of data privacy in the university. Finally, the study revealed that when there is a certain policy change responsive to the data privacy law that is to be implemented in the university, it is expected that practices in the implementation of data privacy law will show significant change. Keywords: Data Governance, Data Practices, Informational Governance, Data Privacy Model