Protection Levels for UC Institutional Information

Under the IS-3 Electronic Information Security policy, university data is classified in one of four categories, known as Protection Levels. For the complete classification guide on Protection Levels, including explanations of the classifications and additional examples, see the Classification of Information and IT Resources Guide.  

Protection Level
Impact of Disclosure
Examples

p4 data icon

P4 - High

Institutional Information and related IT Resources whose unauthorized disclosure or modification could result in significant fines, penalties, regulatory action, or civil or criminal violations (Statutory)
  • Financial Records
    • Credit Card, Financial Aid, Payroll 
  • Personally Identifiable Info (PII)
  • Social Security Numbers
  • Sensitive or Identifiable Research Data
    • Human Subject, Export Controlled (ITAR)

p3

P3 - Moderate

Institutional Information and related IT Resources whose unauthorized disclosure or modification could result in small to moderate fines, penalties or civil actions (Proprietary).

p2

P2 - Low

Institutional Information and related IT Resources that may not be specifically protected by statute, regulations or other contractual obligations or mandates, but are generally not intended for public use or access (Internal).
  • Business records and documentation not containing P3 or P4 data
  • email, calendar, meeting notes
  • Research using publicly available data
  • UC directory info (where no FERPA block is requested)
  • Building Plans

p1

P1 - Minimal

Public information or information intended to be readily obtainable by the public, but whose integrity is important and for which unauthorized modification is the primary protection concern (Public).
  • Hours of operation
  • Parking regulations
  • Course catalogs
  • Press releases
  • Public websites