Compliance & Security for Higher Education Data Centers

Navigate Complex Regulatory Requirements

Universities must comply with a complex web of federal, state, and institutional regulations governing data security, privacy, and research integrity. Aravolta provides the infrastructure monitoring and documentation needed to maintain compliance.

FERPA Compliance for Student Data

Protect student educational records with comprehensive infrastructure security and access controls:

• Physical Security Monitoring:
  • Access control integration and audit logs
  • Environmental monitoring for secure server rooms
  • Video surveillance integration
  • Automated alerts for unauthorized access attempts
• Infrastructure Documentation:
  • Asset tracking for systems containing student data
  • Network segmentation and isolation verification
  • Audit trails for infrastructure changes
  • Compliance reporting for annual reviews

HIPAA for Medical Schools & Healthcare Research

Universities with medical schools, hospitals, or healthcare research must maintain HIPAA-compliant infrastructure:

• Technical Safeguards:
  • Monitor environmental controls (temperature, humidity)
  • UPS and backup power system verification
  • Infrastructure uptime and availability tracking
  • Disaster recovery system monitoring
• Administrative Safeguards:
  • Security incident detection and reporting
  • Regular compliance audits and assessments
  • Documentation for Business Associate Agreements
  • Risk assessment support and mitigation tracking
• Physical Safeguards:
  • Facility access controls and monitoring
  • Workstation security for clinical systems
  • Device and media controls tracking
  • Physical security audit trails

Federal Grant Compliance (NSF, NIH, DOE, DoD)

Meet federal funding agency requirements for research data security and infrastructure management:

• NSF Requirements:
  • Data management plan compliance documentation
  • Research infrastructure utilization tracking
  • Shared facility reporting and metrics
  • Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) management
• NIH Data Sharing & Security:
  • Infrastructure security for controlled-access data
  • dbGaP and other data repository compliance
  • Genomic data security infrastructure
  • Research data backup and retention documentation
• NIST 800-171 (CUI/ITAR Research):
  • Physical protection monitoring and documentation
  • System and communications protection
  • Audit and accountability infrastructure
  • Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) infrastructure isolation

Export Control Compliance (EAR/ITAR)

For research involving controlled technologies or international collaborations:

• Physical segregation of export-controlled research infrastructure
• Access control monitoring for restricted areas
• Audit trails for foreign national access
• Documentation for Technology Control Plans
• Geographic access restrictions and enforcement

State Data Privacy Laws (CCPA, GDPR)

Universities with students, patients, or research subjects in California or Europe must comply with additional privacy regulations:

• Data residency and geographic location tracking
• Infrastructure documentation for data protection impact assessments
• Security incident detection and breach notification support
• Data retention and deletion workflow documentation

Audit Readiness & Reporting

Streamline compliance audits with automated documentation and reporting:

• Automated Compliance Reports:
  • Pre-built templates for common compliance frameworks
  • Scheduled report generation and distribution
  • Historical compliance data retention
  • Evidence collection for auditor requests
• Change Management Documentation:
  • Infrastructure change audit trails
  • Approval workflows and documentation
  • Impact assessment records
  • Rollback procedures and documentation
• Incident Response:
  • Automated detection of security-relevant events
  • Incident timeline reconstruction
  • Root cause analysis support
  • Corrective action tracking and verification