The Higher Education Cloud Vendor Assessment Tool (HECVAT) was created by the Higher Education Information Security Council (HEISC) Shared Assessments Working Group, in collaboration with Internet2 and REN-ISAC.
HECVAT attempts to generalize higher education information security and data protection questions and issues regarding cloud services for consistency and ease of use. You can freely use either version of the tool -- the original robust version or the lightweight version. Use of HECVAT:
Helps higher education institutions ensure that cloud services are appropriately assessed for security and privacy needs, including some that are unique to higher education
Allows a consistent, easily-adopted methodology for campuses wishing to reduce costs through cloud services without increasing risks
Reduces the burden that cloud service providers face in responding to requests for security assessments from higher education institutions