--- title: Data Privacy & Sample Size Protections for Student Outcomes Data description: Understand uConnect's built-in privacy controls for Student Outcomes data, including percentage-based reporting and exclusion rules that safeguard small sample sizes in AI Search results. --- [![uConnect](https://s41911.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/logo.svg)](https://www.gouconnect.com/) - [Knowledge Base](https://support.gouconnect.com/) - [Career Everywhere](https://www.gouconnect.com/career-everywhere/) - [Community](https://www.gouconnect.com/career-everywhere/community/access/) - [Submit a Ticket](https://share.hsforms.com/10AUHU9-DRi-Bw3fdB-SUYA8bok) - [Support Portal Login](https://support.gouconnect.com/_hcms/mem/login) ✕ ## Submit a Ticket Loading support form... 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[Outcomes Data](https://support.gouconnect.com/articles/analytics-data#outcomes-data) # Data Privacy & Sample Size Protections for Student Outcomes Data ## Learn how to protect student privacy by controlling how outcomes data — including small sample sizes — is reported in AI Search. ### Overview When sharing outcomes data on your Virtual Career Center, protecting student privacy — especially around small sample sizes — is a top priority. uConnect includes built-in settings that let you control how outcomes data is reported in **AI Search**, so you can share meaningful insights without exposing identifiable or overly granular information. This article covers how to manage these settings and what they do (and don't) affect. ### Why This Matters Small sample sizes can create privacy risk. For example, reporting "2 out of 3 graduates from the Art History program are employed" could make it easy to identify individual students in a small cohort. Reporting that same data as a percentage reduces that risk while still giving students and stakeholders useful, directional insight. ### Where to Manage This Setting 1. Go to **Analyze \> Student Outcomes in your admin dashboard.** 2. Click into the **Data Exclusion** tab. 3. Locate the **Graduate Counts** section. ![](https://support.gouconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Aug-26-2026-05-26-29-0971-PM.png?width=670&height=231&name=image-png-Aug-26-2026-05-26-29-0971-PM.png) ### Report Percentages Instead of Raw Counts Under **Graduate Counts**, you'll find this setting: > ☑️ **Report percentages instead of raw graduate counts in AI Search** When this box is checked: - AI Search will report outcomes as **percentages** (e.g., *"25% of graduates"*) rather than **raw headcounts** (e.g., *"10 out of 40 graduates"*). - This reduces the risk of small sample sizes being reverse-engineered to identify individual students. **What this setting does *not* affect:** - **Salary and other non-headcount figures** — these are reported independently and are unaffected by this setting. - **Student Outcomes charts on your site** — this setting is specific to AI Search responses and does not change how data is visualized on your public-facing Outcomes page. ### Additional Data Governance Control: Exclusion Rules For more granular control, you can also use **Exclusion Rules** in the same Data Exclusion tab: 1. Click **+ Add Exclusion Rule**. 2. Define the rule criteria for rows you want excluded. Each rule you create will **exclude matching rows from both the paid ODV module (Outcomes Data Visualization) front end and AI Search** — giving you an additional layer of control beyond the percentage-reporting setting, such as excluding programs with very small graduating classes altogether. ![](https://support.gouconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Aug-26-2026-05-27-20-4820-PM.png?width=670&height=312&name=image-png-Aug-26-2026-05-27-20-4820-PM.png) ### Sharing Outcomes Data with Confidence If your institutional research team or data governance colleagues have questions about how student privacy is protected, you can point to the following built-in safeguards: - ✅ **Raw headcounts can be suppressed in favor of percentages** in AI Search, reducing the risk of small cohorts being identifiable - ✅ **Specific rows or cohorts can be excluded entirely** from both AI Search and the front end, giving you control over what's shared at all - ✅ **Salary data reporting is kept separate** and is unaffected by these privacy controls, so you can manage each type of data independently These controls are designed to put governance decisions in **your institution's hands** — you decide the level of granularity that's appropriate for your student population, based on your own data governance policies and IRB/FERPA considerations.    - 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