Statement of Policy

In compliance with the provisions of the United States Federal Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) of 2008, Public Law 110-315, concerning the verification of student identity in distance learning, Excelsior College has established and will periodically review a process to determine that a student registered for an online course is the same student that participates in, completes, and receives credit for the course.

Students seeking registration in online courses will provide appropriate identification to establish their identity.

A secure student user name and password will be required for coursework submitted online. See Student User Name and Password Assignment.

Procedure

Excelsior College must verify that the same student who registers for a course is the same student who participates in and completes the course and receives academic credit. One or more of the following methods must be used for verification:

• A secure login with user name and password
• Proctored examinations
• New or emerging technologies and practices that are effective in verifying student identification

All methods of verifying student identity must protect the privacy of student information in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). 

Personally identifiable information collected by the College may be used, at the discretion of the institution, as the basis for identity verification. This information may include a combination of the following:

• Student ID number
• Last four digits of the student's Social Security number
• At least two other pieces of information such as the student's email address on file, date of birth, address, or user name