This policy provides the guidelines and standards for encrypting university and media owned mobile devices for the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (UNW). 

Mobile devices used by unw employees to perform work for the University or media may contain sensitive information. This information includes, but is not limited to, educational records, student data, employee data, student health information and many other types of sensitive date. This data must be protected to ensure compliance with FERPA, HIPAA, and other standards. Encryption provides strong protection by making data inaccessible to those without proper access credentials to those mobile devices. If an encrypted laptop, tablet, or mobile device is lost or stolen, the data is inaccessible and therefore UNW data is protected.   

This policy applies to all university-owned mobile devices. 

Full disk encryption technology is required for all university-owned and managed mobile devices. 

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) is responsible for enforcing this policy and is authorized to regularly update this document to ensure UNW data is protected. Any exception to the policy must be approved in writing by UNW's CIO. 

Mobile Device:  Device designed to support portable computing, including laptops, tablets, iPads, and smartphones.