FAQ
How is ConnectYard licensed?
ConnectYard is licensed to organizations as an annual subscription-based service. The more users you have, the lower the unit cost per user. Please contact a ConnectYard sales representative for more specifc pricing information at sales@connectyard.com.
What is the lead time required to implement ConnectYard?
Depending on your organization's requirements, we can have you up and running in less than a week.
Is Facebook, Twitter or other Social Media required in order to use ConnectYard?
No. Users have the option of accessing ConnectYard with or without a social networking account.
If I join ConnectYard using Facebook, will my wall, photos, etc. be shared?
No. One of the benefits of using ConnectYard is that it allows users to connect without having to "friend" each other and reveal their profile wall, photos, notes and boxes.
How does ConnectYard protect secure information?
ConnectYard recognizes and values the trust placed in us as a third-party application and does all in its power to protect the information entrusted to us. By adhering to industry standard security protocols, ConnectYard provides a safe and secure environment for students, staff and faculty to interact, collaborate, and stay up-to-date on events and services.
Where is ConnectYard hosted?
ConnectYard is hosted on AWS, the official hosting environment for numerous other high-volume applications. ConnectYard's Web/application and database tiers are powered by Sun Solaris running on Dell Poweredge 2950 dual quad-core servers with Sun Fire X4500 (aka "Thumper") storage devices capable of delivering sustained throughput of >2GB/second. ConnectYard uses E-Series routers and switches from Force 10 for maximum throughput, redundancy and reliability along with F5 Networks BIG-IP load balancers to provide stunning performance across multiple servers and carrier-grade data centers in Emeryville, CA, Andover, MA, and San Diego, CA.
Is ConnectYard a replacement for our Learning Management System or portal?
No. ConnectYard extends the communication capabilities of your existing LMS and portal solutions by allowing online discussions to take place using the students’ and instructors’ technology of choice — including Facebook, Twitter, text messaging and email.
Does ConnectYard infringe on The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)?
When your institution acquires a subscription license, a representative agrees to the ASP Hosted Software License Agreement. This helps ensure FERPA compliance under that agreement, thereby protecting student data in the same way as any other hosted service agreement.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all institutions that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. For more information on FERPA please see http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html.
FERPA is designed to protect students by limiting the University with regard to information it can share about students. When a school makes ConnectYard available, access to student information is only granted to ConnectYard for those students that have accepted ConnectYard's terms and conditions, absolving the University from any liability related to FERPA. When a student installs ConnectYard, the student, independent of the University, chooses to grant ConnectYard access to his or her own educational information for the purpose of displaying that information to the student only, within the forum the student chooses (for example, Facebook). Students have the right to share their own information with whomever they choose. ConnectYard is 100% transparent regarding the type of student information it accesses on behalf of its users.
Under FERPA, institutions are allowed to disclose directory information at their discretion. Directory information includes: student first and last name, email address, phone number, physical address, date of birth, photograph, major field of study, dates of attendance, grade level, and others.