The University of California has expressed student-privacy apprehensions over the federal government’s new plan to collect and maintain detailed information on college students across the nation.
The proposal recommends the creation of a detailed database of enrollment records for all college students, including such information as individual names and social security numbers.
“The university definitely has concerns in relation to invasions of privacy,” said Brigitte Donner, communications coordinator at the University of California’s federal government relations office in Washington, D.C. “There’s still a lot of uncertainty regarding exactly what data will be collected.”
Current government records only contain information on individuals receiving federal financial aid — and lack all identifiable information, like names. Higher education institutions also disclose general information about enrollment, financial aid and graduation rates.
In addition to the university, several higher-education groups have also voiced concerns over the proposed new database. Those opposed to the proposal include the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the United States Student Association, the largest and oldest student coalition in the nation.
“This proposal would take away the little bit of protection that students currently have,” USSA Legislative Director Jasmine L. Harris said, referring to a current federal law that protects student educational records.
Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, schools may disclose information on students without consent only under specific conditions — when it is requested in accordance with a judicial order or subpoena, for example. The new proposal would launch across-the-board data collection that can currently only occur in certain circumstances on a student-by-student basis.
The new proposal will allow the National Center for Education Statistics at the Department of Education to receive information on students regardless of consent.
“Students don’t have the ability to opt out of this,” Harris said. “They have no choice in the matter, and that’s a cause for concern.”
However, supporters of the database say it would correct a procedural flaw in the department’s existing system for gathering statistics: Students who transfer schools are recorded both as dropouts from their old campuses and as new enrollments at their second colleges.
Proponents of the proposal, which include several higher-education lobbying groups, said that more detailed information is needed to hold colleges and universities accountable for student achievement.
“The limitations of existing data systems prevent institutions from fully examining the progress of their students through the higher education system,” stated Edward M. Elmendorf, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ vice president of government and policy analysis, in a letter to members of the House of Representatives. “Current accountability systems fail to capture the full measure of student progress and success on our campuses.”
In addition to the AASCU, the American Council of Education and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association both expressed support for the plan, which was first reported by the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The new data collection method would “improve accountability for student success, enhance consumer information available to prospective students and other stakeholders and enable a more robust evaluation of federal student financial aid programs,” Elmendorf stated.
Calls and e-mails to a Department of Education spokesman seeking comment were not returned.
The proposal is only in the discussion stage, and the new database would require approval from Congress. If a formal proposal is made, and in turn approved, NCES will conduct a trial of the system with 1,500 colleges during the 2006-07 school year. Based on the results of the trial run, the system would then spread nationally.
