Validation
Required fields, allowed values, lengths, dates, addresses, signatures, and acknowledgments are checked before a record is written.
Transparency · privacy · accountable learning
How information is saved, understood, and carried forward.
Brown Virtual Lab uses purpose-limited records so a submitted intake can become a review decision, a learning response can become visible progress, and a permission can remain attached to the use it authorizes.
Storage record
Information is stored in a private relational database behind the Site.
Public submissions are validated by the server before they are accepted. Signed-in learning and profile records are tied to the authenticated account supplied by the Site. Owner workspaces require a server-verified owner email. The public browser cannot turn itself into an owner by changing a screen value.
| Record | Saved information | Purpose | Normal visibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public inquiry | Name, contact, scholarly stage, inquiry area, high-level message, consent, status, and time | Response, routing, and follow-up | Owner-restricted |
| Professional intake | Professional identity, expertise, capacity, references, permissions, meeting-recording choice, signature, and complete submitted answers | Fit review and appropriate collaboration pathway | Owner-restricted |
| Member profile | Signed-in account identity, profile, biography, interests, group choices, availability, publication permissions, and recording choice | Profile review, group placement, and permission-governed directory publication | Owner-restricted until approved |
| Lab-hub intake | Laboratory identity, lead, goals, authority, data stewardship, template preferences, recording plan, permissions, and signature | Hub review, launch planning, and governed collaboration | Owner-restricted |
| Curriculum progress | Module answers, reflections, last and best scores, attempts, pass status, and completion time | Immediate scoring, learning continuity, mentoring, and completion review | Signed-in learner and authorized owner |
| Operational records | Project, assignment, meeting, contribution, authorship, publication, support, and readiness summaries | Queues, milestones, accountability, review, and evidence continuity | Owner-restricted |
| Consent and audit | Policy version, choice, server time, available IP address, session, route, action, outcome, device details, and integrity hash | Consent provenance, security, troubleshooting, and operational integrity | Owner-restricted |
Analysis method
Current summaries are deterministic and reviewable.
Learning scores
Quiz answers are compared with the published answer key. The Site calculates the current score, best score, attempt count, and whether the eighty-percent threshold was reached.
Operational summaries
Owner dashboards count statuses, order review queues, surface deadlines and blockers, and assemble weekly or pathway summaries from recorded fields.
Human decisions
Profile approval, placement, research readiness, authorship, publication, and credential decisions remain documented human review decisions.
Recordings and transcripts
Permission follows the meeting and the intended use.
- Advance noticeParticipants receive the proposed tool, purpose, audience, access pathway, and planned retention.
- Opening confirmationThe facilitator announces recording again and confirms every attendee before recording begins, including late joiners.
- Living choiceA participant may request an unrecorded path, pause, stop, or prospective withdrawal. The operational record preserves the result.
- Separate reusePublic excerpts, testimonials, publication, training data, and research use each require their own permission and applicable review.
Safeguards and limits
High-level collaboration information belongs here. Restricted information follows approved systems.
Data minimization
Routine activity records preserve the event and outcome without recording passwords, secrets, message bodies, free-form answers, or sensitive field values.
Integrity
Consent and audit records receive server time and an integrity hash. Administrative changes enter the audit trail.
Retention
Operational audit records are generally retained for twenty-four months. Other records follow purpose, participation history, legal duties, correction needs, and approved retention decisions.
Restricted-data boundary
Protected health information, identifiable patient or participant information, confidential datasets, credentials, restricted manuscripts, and third-party secrets stay outside general Site forms.
Questions and requests
Access, correction, permission, and deletion requests begin with a verified conversation.
Applicable rights depend on the record, purpose, law, agreements, preservation duties, and identity verification. Contact connect@drbrowncares.com for a privacy or permission request.