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Academic Privacy
      
Date Article Title Publication Author Synopsis
12/14/2011 Student Data Project Moves Ahead in N.Y. Wall Street Journal Lisa Fleisher Though previously halted due to privacy concerns, a project to build a database on students is moving forward. 
12/1/2011 U.S. Education Department Announces New Measures to Safeguard Student Privacy ED.gov Press Office The U.S. Department of Education (DoE) has released new regulations to strengthen the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to better protect student privacy while allowing states to share data to help determine how effective educational investments have been. 
10/7/2011 The path of privacy SC Magazine Angela Moscsaritolo A report on efforts by the Department of Education (DoE) to safeguard the privacy of approximately 55 million students as tens of thousands of schools hold such information as their names, addresses, Social Security numbers, health data, staff notes, discipline records and academic standing. 
8/29/2011 ED Finalizing New Data Privacy, Grant-Making Rules Education Week Sarah D. Sparks The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has announced that by the end of the year it will release final revisions to the data privacy regulations for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. 
6/2/2011 University of Hawaii skimped on information security investment, says report InfoSecurity   An independent report prepared by a consulting firm concluded that the University of Hawaii did not invest "sufficient" funds for information security. 
5/26/2011 SAT Test’s Teen Data Collection Prompts Query Bloomberg Janet Lorin Reps. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Joe Barton (R-TX) are asking the nonprofits behind the standardized SAT and ACT tests about their disclosure and privacy policies.
4/7/2011 Ed. Dept. Proposes New Student Data Privacy Rules Education Week Sarah D. Sparks The Department of Education has named Kathleen Styles, formerly of the Census Bureau, as its first privacy officer and proposed several changes to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
1/4/2011 UCLA’s online campus directory undermines student privacy Daily Bruin Avni Nijhawan Avni Nijhawan says UCLA's online campus directory provides a false sense of security about its privacy settings.
11/23/2010 Dallas-Fort Worth districts weigh privacy, security concerns with school cameras Dallas Morning News Katherine Leal Unmuth  A report on the increasing use of security cameras at local schools and the consequential conflict between privacy and security priorities. 
11/10/2010 Rutgers University student government to form privacy committee in wake of Tyler Clementi's death Star Ledger   The recent death of a Rutgers University student has prompted the creation of a committee to examine the school's privacy policies and educate students.
11/5/2010 Guidance Offered on Guarding Student Privacy in School Data Education Week Sarah D. Sparks The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has launched a campaign aimed at helping school officials manage data on student progress.
10/28/2010 New student card: Big benefit or Big Brother? Boston Globe David Abel Civil liberties advocates are voicing concern about a pilot program that will assign Massachusetts public school students a single card to be used for access to multiple city services.
10/27/2010 E-mail goes too wide at Wesley sparkweekly.com Wade Malcolm A Delaware college has apologized to 18 students for distributing an e-mail outlining their academic failures to the student population.
10/21/2010 Privacy Settlement for Perdue and Marshall whsv.com Associated Press Marshall University has reached a tentative settlement with the daughter of West Virginia's state treasurer, the plaintiff in a lawsuit claiming the school and a professor violated her privacy by releasing information about her grades. 
10/11/2010 Pa. school settles 2 webcam spy lawsuits for $610K Washington Post Maryclaire Dale The Lower Merion School District in Pennsylvania has agreed to pay $610,000 to settle two lawsuits filed over its use of a laptop tracking system.
10/11/2010 Tracking devices used in school badges Houston Chronicle Jennifer Radcliffe Two Texas school districts are now using RFID-enabled identification badges to allow administrators to keep tabs on students' whereabouts on campus.
9/28/2010 The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report saying that states need better guidance on acceptable use and collection practices under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) for postsecondary education and employment data.  Government Accountability Office   The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report saying that states need better guidance on acceptable use and collection practices under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) for postsecondary education and employment data. 
9/24/2010 Teacher resigns after after posting blog with personal student info Austin American Statesman Melissa B. Taboada A Texas elementary school teacher has resigned after posting photos and personal information of her students online.
9/16/2010 States Continue to Develop Student Tracking Systems AACRAO Transcript Michelle Cormier The U.S. State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) have found that 44 states and the District of Columbia have student record systems in place collecting demographic and postsecondary enrollment data.
8/25/2010 Board of Ed Searches for Answers: Do Tracking Devices Make Sense for New Canaan Students? New Canaan Patch Sheryl Shaker One Connecticut community is considering RFID monitoring in an effort to "keep students safe and save the district money." 
8/11/2010 Schools to collect students' Social Security numbers Portlant Press Herald Matthew Stone Beginning this fall, Maine law will require schools to collect student Social Security numbers (SSNs) and submit them to state officials, which has raised privacy concerns and prompted the Department of Education to release guidelines to the state's superintendents.
7/27/2010 Schools risk theft of SS numbers of children Washington Times Matthew Cella The Social Security Administration's Office of the Inspector General has concluded that schools put children at risk of identity theft when collecting Social Security numbers (SSNs) in instances not required by law.
7/23/2010 UC Berkeley's DNA testing a bad idea San Francisco Chronicle   A program being offered by UC Berkeley inviting incoming freshmen to submit their DNA for testing is a "spectacularly bad idea." 
6/29/2010 School Board opposes state's use of student Social Security numbers The Bethel Citizen Alison Aloisio Concerns about the privacy implications of using Social Security numbers to track student performance have prompted a Maine school board to ask the legislature to rescind the law authorizing collection of the data. 
6/16/2010 Privacy concerns in school data plan Kennebec Journal Matthew Stone Maine schools will begin collecting student Social Security numbers this fall to track student progress after graduation, and that has the Maine Civil Liberties Union (MCLU) concerned.
5/21/2010 UC Berkeley plan to test student DNA raises alarms Mercury News Matt Krupnick A program at UC Berkeley that would solicit voluntary DNA samples from students is raising privacy concerns.
5/12/2010 Md. 1st to bar schools releasing tests to military San Francisco Chronicle Kathleen Miller Maryland's new law barring public high schools from automatically sending student scores from the Services Vocational Aptitude Battery exam to military recruiters goes into effect in July.
5/11/2010 Judge: FBI can review Lower Merion webcam photos Philadelphia Enquirer John P. Martin U.S. District Judge Jan E. DuBois has ruled that federal agents may examine Webcam photos and other information collected from student laptops by the Lower Merion School District.
5/9/2010 Ferpa Frustrations: It's Time for Reform Chronicle of Higher Education Frank D. LoMonte The U.S. Department of Education needs to ensure the integrity of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and not allow educational institutions to abuse it by "denying information requests with no conceivable privacy interest." 
5/4/2010 Web cam report blasts Lower Merion school district Philadelphia Enquirer John P. Martin A team of lawyers and computer experts have reached the conclusion that a Pennsylvania school district's decision to activate Web cams on student computers was an "overzealous" use of technology "without any apparent regard for privacy considerations." 
4/22/2010 Editorial: No need for candid cameras Philadelphia Enquirer   Lower Merion School District officials "stumbled badly" by not informing students and their families that Web cams on their school-issued laptops could be activated as an anti-theft measure. 
4/14/2010 Kline Raises Key Concerns With Collection of Students’ Personal Information  Committee on Education and Labor   The topic of student privacy came up this week at a House Education and Labor Committee hearing about the longitudinal data systems used to track the academic progress of schoolchildren. 
3/19/2010 Pa. school spy case sparks fight over money Computerworld Gregg Keizer The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs will hold a hearing on Monday, March 29, on a Pennsylvania school district's alleged use of school-issued laptops to spy on students in their homes.
3/13/2010 Principal may have violated student privacy law Wasau Daily Herald Jake Miller A principal at a Wisconsin middle school may have violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) when he posted the names of about 100 students in "a misguided attempt to address failing grades." 
3/4/2010 Facial recognition technology proposed for school buses EastBayRI.com George Morse A Seekonk, Massachusetts company wants to pilot its GPS and facial recognition technology on the district's school buses.
2/21/2010 Irate parents in Pa. say schools use 'Peeping Tom technology' Computerworld Gregg Keizer The FBI and a Philadelphia-area prosecutor are investigating allegations that a Pennsylvania school official violated a student's privacy by remotely activating a Webcam in his school-issued laptop while he was at home.
2/11/2010 Education Department Develops Strategy for Student-Record Databases The Chronicle of Higher Education Paul Basken Moving forward with its plan to encourage states to compile detailed databases on all student records from preschool through adult employment, the Obama administration has created a task force of "national experts" to resolve political and legal privacy concerns.
2/1/2010 Clash Over Student Privacy Inside Higher Ed Doug Lederman In a case that raises interesting questions about the ethical duties of privacy professionals, a recently fired Department of Education employee says he is seeking an administrative review of his January 15 dismissal.
10/28/2009 States not protecting student privacy, study finds Washington Post Nick Anderson States violate children's privacy rights according to the results of a Fordham Law School study released. 
9/23/2009 Pupil Social Security number list on hold Morning Sentinel Matthew Stone A Maine law that allows state education officials to collect students' Social Security numbers (SSNs) went into effect on September 12, but Maine schools will hold off on collecting SSNs for the time being.
9/5/2009 Dorm room can be prime spot for identity theft The Press-Enterprise   The new dorm-room essential is a fire-proof safe. Students are being warned to protect their identities.
9/2/2009 Student privacy changes urged Argus Leader Josh Verges A Sioux Falls school district committee has recommended changes to a policy that allows outside groups access to lists of students' names, addresses and phone numbers.
8/31/2009 MCLU Raises Concerns About New Student Tracking Law Maine Public Broadcasting Network   Maine's legislature enacted a law--LD 1356--that lets schools collect students' SSNs to help educators measure the effectiveness of programs.
8/31/2009 Recruiter misled students, a Navy investigation finds Honolulu Star Bulletin Susan Essoyan Hawaii's public schools will no longer release certain students' personal information unless the student has given express consent.
8/24/2009 Parents Plan Challenge To School Disctrict Privacy Policy KSFY.com Kent Erdahl A 300-strong group of parents want the Sioux Falls school district to change its approach toward students' privacy.
8/23/2009 Privacy concerns arise over student data USA Today Jeff Martin The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 allows school districts and colleges to sell or share student information designated as "public" by the district or institution. 
6/24/2009 Audit faults privacy, purchase contros on U.Md campus The Washington Examiner Leah Fabel Thousands of confidential student records were found to be vulnerable to exposure at the University of Maryland's University College.
6/16/2009 Brown seeks overhaul of student privacy law Columbus Dispatch Jill Riepenhoff Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) says universities are misusing the law to shield non-academic information. 
4/23/2009 Hey, Kids, Leave Stephen Breyer's Underwear Alone! Reason Online Jacob Sullum The Supreme Court heard arguments about the circumstances in which it is constitutional for public school officials to strip-search a 13-year-old girl.  
4/23/2009 Strip-searches on trial Los Angeles Times Editorial The Supreme Court is weighing whether such searches violate students' rights.
4/22/2009 Court Debates Strip Search of Student New York Times Adam Liptak The United States Supreme Court spent an hour debating what middle school students are apt to put in their underwear and what should be done about it.
4/21/2009 Supreme Court hears case of strip-searched schoolgirl  Christian Science Monitor Warren Richey It heard arguments on whether Arizona school officials violated Fourth Amendment privacy rights in strip-searching a 13-year-old girl.
4/20/2009 Unreasonable Search New York Times   The court hears arguments in a suit brought on behalf of a 13-year-old girl who was strip-searched based on a fellow student's false report that she had possessed ibuprofen pain-relief pills.
4/7/2009 Student privacy bill spurs debate in Augusta Bangor Daily News Mal Leary Maine students, parents and educators yesterday urged lawmakers to consider banning the Department of Education (DOE) practice of collecting and storing students' disciplinary histories in a database.
3/17/2009 Bingham Data Breach Threatens CISO's Position Information Week Thomas Claburn The discovery of boxes of documents containing students' personal information in an unsecured area has prompted Binghamton University students to circulate a petition calling for the removal of the chief information security officer (CISO).
3/9/2009 What's behind the rash of university data breaches? Computerworld Jay Cline Since 2001 there have been more than 300 publicized privacy incidents at U.S. higher learning institutions.
1/6/2009 Ed. Dept. Releases New Rules on Privacy Education Week   New regulations in the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) take effect.
12/9/2008 Education Department Reworks Privacy Regulations Wall Street Journal Elizabeth Bernstein The U.S. Department of Education will release new Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regulations today.
11/29/2008 You're leaving a digital trail.  What about privacy? New York Times John Markoff One hundred M.I.T students have traded privacy for smartphones in a new experiment.
11/21/2008 A Wealth of Data, and Nobody in Charge The Chronicle of Higher Education Lisa Guernsey Despite the wealth of private information higher-education institutions house, they are behind the curve when it comes protecting it. 
11/20/2008 Texas A&M International professor fired for publishing names of accused plagiarizers The Daily Toreador Matt Cobb A Texas A&M International University professor was fired earlier this month for allegedly violating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
10/31/2008 Security initiative to require scanning of all university computers Daily Collegian Mike Ramsingh Officials at Penn State University are stepping up privacy protections. The campus-wide Information Privacy and Security (IPAS) project requires that all university-owned computers be scanned for malware and other security compromises. 
9/27/2008 Student Privacy Spotlighted in VA Washington Post Brigid Schulte Manassas, Virginia officials last week agreed to pay $775,000 in damages and attorneys' fees for the improper disclosure of students' personal information in 2005.
8/18/2008 Breach on Princeton Review Site Exposed Students' Data New York Times Brad Stone The test scores and personal information of more than 100,000 students was published on The Princeton Review's Web site and remained there for seven weeks.
8/6/2008 NMMU Privacy Breached The Herald Rochelle de Kock  Officials at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) are investigating the easy accessibility of students' personal information on the Internet. By entering a student's e-mail address and date of birth, Web users can gain access to financial statements, academic records and exam timetables.
7/4/2008 Increase in Stolen Laptops Endangers Data Security The Chronicle of Higher Education Andrea L. Foster Colleges and universities around the nation are beefing up policies to help prevent security lapses resulting from laptop thefts. So far this year laptop thefts are believed to have been the cause of at least six security breaches involving the personal information of faculty, staff, students, and alumni. 
6/16/2008 U.S. School District to Begin Mcrochipping Students Natural News David Gutierrez Forget cargo capris and smock tops, some Rhode Island school children will begin wearing radio frequency identification (RFID) chips to school each day as part of a pilot program in the Middletown School District. 
6/11/2008 State to study student privacy policies Reformer.com Howard Weiss-Tisman Vermont education officials will review policies related to student privacy at the Board of Education meeting next week. Officials will debate policies on information suppression, third-party research requests for student data and obtaining student information. 
5/5/2008 Officials Discuss the Importance of Privacy in Online Class Discussions Wired Campus Jeffrey Young At a conference for campus security officials, a Boston College administrator said that online class discussions affect the privacy of students.
5/4/2008 I Know What You Did Last Math Class The New York Times Jan Hoffman A New York Times article highlighting the benefits and disadvantages of software that lets parents monitor their kids' every scholastic move shows that while programs such as ParentConnect help keep parents "in the loop" on their sons' or daughters' daily experiences and stimulate communications among parents and teachers, many students find the technology invades their privacy. 
4/16/2008 Virginia Tech served as warning on campus privacy Chicago Tribune Stevenson Swanson Since the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech one year ago this week, college administrators nationwide have expanded efforts designed to identify students who are potentially troubled, while federal officials, educators and legal experts have worked to simplify the privacy laws that, according to a VA state panel report after the tragedy, caused "widespread confusion" among educators about appropriate disclosure of students' personal information.
4/9/2008 Professors have access to student financial records The Lantern Angela Henderson Professors at Ohio State University have access to student financial records, according to campus newspaper The Lantern. The professors have access under the state's Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which does not distinguish between academic and financial information, allowing instructors to determine if students are attending classes for which they have not paid. 
3/25/2008 After Campus Shootings, U.S. to Ease Privacy Rules New York Times Tamar Lewin The 1974 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act could soon undergo a makeover if new proposed regulations by the Federal Education Department take hold.
3/20/2008 Data security top tech issue for colleges USA Today Marisol Bello An Educause survey of more than 500 college and universities shows that security and privacy are the top technology-related concerns for the schools. 
3/12/2008 Ryerson Student cheered at expulsion hearing Globe and Mail James Bradshaw Ryerson University officials will decide the fate of a first-year student accused of helping classmates cheat via an online study group. 
2/28/2008 Bill aims to shield student privacy Diamondback Online Megan Eckstein The Maryland state legislature is considering a change to its laws that would allow schools to deny requests by private companies for student information, according to the University of Maryland student newspaper.
2/28/2008 Bill aims to shield student privacy Diamondback Online Megan Eckstein The Maryland state legislature is considering a change to its laws that would allow schools to deny requests by private companies for student information, according to the University of Maryland student newspaper.
1/13/2008 Donor Privacy At Issue With University of Virginia The Daily Progress Brian McNeill Officials with the University of Virginia have asked that state's legislature to exempt it from provisions of the Freedom of information Act in order to help it maintain the privacy of 450,000 potential donors contained within a highly detailed database.
1/13/2008 Donor Privacy At Issue With University of Virginia The Daily Progress Brian McNeill Officials with the University of Virginia have asked that state's legislature to exempt it from provisions of the Freedom of information Act in order to help it maintain the privacy of 450,000 potential donors contained within a highly detailed database.
12/6/2007 FERPA Exception Allows Universities To Notify Parents Of Student Drug, Alcohol Abuse The Wall Street Journal Elizabeth Bernstein Colleges and universities are taking advantage of a provision added in 1998 to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 that allows schools to contact parents if a student under 21 is accused of an alcohol or drug violation. 
12/6/2007 FERPA Exception Allows Universities To Notify Parents Of Student Drug, Alcohol Abuse The Wall Street Journal Elizabeth Bernstein Colleges and universities are taking advantage of a provision added in 1998 to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 that allows schools to contact parents if a student under 21 is accused of an alcohol or drug violation. 
10/25/2007 Judge:  Educational Privacy Law Not Sufficient to Block RIAA's Sobpenas ARS Technica Eric Bangeman A University of Tennessee student had tried to prevent the release of his name, address and phone number to the Recording Industry Association of America, contending in part that he had not waived his right to privacy under the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). 
10/25/2007 Judge:  Educational Privacy Law Not Sufficient to Block RIAA's Sobpenas ARS Technica Eric Bangeman A University of Tennessee student had tried to prevent the release of his name, address and phone number to the Recording Industry Association of America, contending in part that he had not waived his right to privacy under the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). 
10/14/2007 Student privacy murky in tech world dailycamera.com Amy Bounds The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is opposing a recent incident in which administrators at a Colorado high school seized students' cell phones to read and record the contents of their text messages.
10/10/2007 Student who disclosed security breach to campus paper barely escapes from expulsion ComputerWorld Jaikumar Vijayan A student has escaped punishment for turning over to a campus newspaper a file containing personal information that he found on a publicly accessible server at Western Oregon University.
 
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