Data Trustee

A data trustee is a senior university administrator with significant responsibility for an operational area that uses a system/application serving as an authoritative source of data relied upon by the campus community.

Major responsibilities:

  • Manage, protect, and ensure the integrity and usefulness of university data.
    Identify the sensitivity and criticality of the data. Ensure that appropriate business processes are in place to keep the data secure, maximize data accuracy, and ensure that responsible staff are trained to maintain data quality.
  • Support planning and governance to meet the data needs of the Brown community.
    Work closely with the Vice President for Computing and Information Services and other members of the senior administration to ensure that the appropriate resources (staff, technical infrastructure, etc.) are dedicated to prioritizing data needs and setting/enforcing policies related to data management and use.
  • Implement university policies and ensure compliance with federal laws related to data governance.
  • Serve as escalation point for issues related to data governance.
  • Designate data stewards.

Data Steward

A data steward is a staff member with oversight responsibility for a subset of the university's data. The steward is typically a functional end user within an operational area who is deemed an expert regarding data managed by that operational area.

Major responsibilities:

  • Implement data standards.
    Ensure that staff who maintain data are trained to follow standards.
  • Monitor data quality.
    Work with technical and operational staff to create a process for identifying data entry errors and correcting the data to match university standards. Report to the data trustee any issues that may require larger action on behalf of the university's data governance structure.
  • Handle inquiries about data.
    Receive and respond to any inquiries related to data that originates from the area they oversee; e.g., questions regarding access, standardization, organization, definition and usage, etc.

Data Custodian

A data custodian is a system administrator or other technical professional who is responsible for some aspect of the management and operation of any of the systems that serve as sources of institutional data.

Major responsibilities:

  • Provide a secure infrastructure in support of the data.
    This includes, but is not limited to, physical security, backup and recovery processes, and secure transmission of the data.
  • Implement data access policies.
    Grant access privileges to authorized system users, documenting those with access and controlling level of access to ensure that individuals have access only to that information for which they have been authorized and that access is removed in a timely fashion when no longer needed.
  • Ensure system availability and adequate response time.
    Install, configure, patch, and upgrade hardware and software used for data management, ensuring that system availability and response time are maintained in accordance with university policies and/or service level agreements.
  • Participate in setting data governance priorities.
    Provide details on technical, systems, and staffing requirements related to data governance initiatives.

Data User

A data user is an individual who has access to university data as part of assigned duties or in fulfillment of assigned roles or functions within the university community.

Major responsibilities:

  • Attend training and follow university policies related to data management and protection.
    This includes policies and procedures regarding the security, integrity, quality, consistency, handling, and dissemination of university data.
  • Report concerns related to data management and protection.
    Convey to the appropriate university administrator any observations or concerns about weaknesses in data protection, failure to follow data management policies, or specific issues of quality or integrity of university data.