In a letter to the incoming administration, a group of companies stressed the importance of technology to facilitate high-quality learning, the need for additional funding, professional development and the value of data in assessing students.

Students, staff and faculty were notified earlier this year that a malicious actor had accessed sensitive data, prompting an upgrade to multi-factor authentication.

Data has guided many universities though the pandemic, but a majority of students still don't trust their institutions to keep their information private.

A new Educause survey found that concerns of internet access, data protection and online accessibility were at the top of students' minds even before the pandemic hit.

One state official said the distribution of a spreadsheet by the company's lobbyists represented a "significant" data breach.

By collecting evidence of student performance, faculty are identifying skills students have mastered and areas where they're struggling.

The company revised its story last week, but it's still not saying which universities were affected by the cyberattack discovered last May.

A spokesperson said leaving a spreadsheet with personal information accessible to those outside the university's contact tracing team was a "regrettable error."

The policy creates new privacy guidelines and prohibits the state's 11 public colleges from selling or releasing any student’s information for advertising purposes.