Proper Stewarding of Data

According to the University's definition, a data steward is expected to help protect and maintain university-related data to ensure its integrity. Every member of the University of Michigan community with access to institutional data shares this responsibility. 

The ABS team takes on initial responsibility for providing only the necessary data. Please note that once you receive the data from the ABS team, you agree to take on this data stewardship responsibility. When in doubt, please contact ABS first!

Expectations of Data Steward

When receiving and/or viewing data that you may have received from the ABS Team or your gift officer liaison, viewed in DART, on a report, etc., it’s best practice to consider the things below to preserve our data’s integrity and also help ABS maintain the data. 

  • Have I noticed data inaccuracies (whether on a received report, within DART, etc.)?

    • If this occurs… Notify the ABS team immediately by submitting a ticket. Include what inaccuracies within the data you have seen; include where the data lives or where you saw the inaccurate data. Lastly, include what the data should be updated to.

  • What is necessary data? Is this sensitive information?

    • Necessary data refers to the information a requester is permitted to receive based on their security level, business need, and applicable data privacy laws (such as those governing PII). For example, if a donor inquires about who has contributed to their fund, we may share the donor's names, but we cannot disclose gift amounts because that information is not required for their purpose and is not publicly available.

    • Sensitive data includes birthdate, social security number, address, UMID, and other similar information. For more information regarding sensitive data, please click here.

  • Can I share this data? If so, with whom?

    • Sharing within LSA Advancement? (i.e., MGOs, MC team, etc.)

      • Many within advancement have access to DART Dev View, which allows them to view constituent and donor data. It is okay to share with them what can be seen within DART.

    • Sharing outside LSA Advancement? (i.e., departments) (and/or) Outside of UM? (i.e., donors, alumni, etc.)

      • Outside of LSA, departments often have DART Basic View access. Basic View gives a user access to view the following:

        • Contact information (including addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses).

        • Personal information (age, birthdate, alternate IDs).

        • Relationships (personal and organizational, including employment).

        • Education (degree information and student involvement).

        • Attributes (specialized information like awards received).

        • Communication preferences (Do Not Email, Do Not Mail, etc.).

        • Committee and Group membership and roles.

It is acceptable to share specific donor information (e.g., giving history) if the department has a legitimate business need to know in order to fulfill a university task. 

  • Volunteers. Alumni and donors do not have access to sensitive information about other constituents. Therefore, it is important to understand how the information provided to a department or Advancement staff will be shared. In some cases, alumni and donors can serve in a volunteer capacity to help fundraising efforts. Specific reports will be used for volunteer purposes, and the data may be shared with the volunteer as needed. 

  • Student data. Specific student data, such as name, address, enrollment status, and degree, is considered publicly available unless the Family Educational Rights Act (FERPA) protects a student. Please visit the Student Rights page to learn more about what can be shared under Directory Information.  

Please refer to the Standard Practice Guide (SPG) for more information on sharing alumni and donor data, specifically Section 602.05, "Sharing Donor Information with Volunteers."

For questions regarding how you can be a better data steward or any of the information on this page, please contact the LSA Business Solutions team at lsa-advancement-services@umich.edu.

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