Comments on: More fame!

By: Kristin

Kristin — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:05:31 +0000

Thanks for the comments and support!

First, let me say that it was a CUNY school that I wrote about. Not SUNY. Although I would not put it past those schools to sell information either, since their colleges have many more students and have very profitable mascots – making it a juicier deal for credit card companies to plug college students and alums for credit cards.

Second, I had no idea that there was a student protection act of sorts. I will have to look that up. Even if it does allow “directory information” to be shared, I think that it’s a sad situation and would like to see that fixed.

And finally, I would like to reiterate that I was never given notice that my information could be used in that way. There was no opt-out notice of sorts and it never occurred to me that I should ask for one, since I did not think that my college would sell my information. Guess I thought wrong.

Thanks again,
~K
http://twentiesmoneymag.com/blog/

By: funnyaboutmoney1

funnyaboutmoney1 — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 12:41:17 +0000

Thanks for this interesting addendum, Bob. The Great Desert University, having been sued so many times by so many comers, undoubtedly goes to extremes in this matter. As I recall, you’re given an opportunity to restrict “directory information,” so that it’s not shared with outsiders. And admins are threatened with drawing and quartering if they give out faculty members’ home addresses and phone numbers, though some of them do it anyway.

Assuming that Kristin either neglected to opt out or never was given a chance to do so, it still strikes me as unethical for a university to sell students’ addresses and phone numbers to hawkers of credit cards. We’ve seen the results of putting the things in the hands of very young students, whose training rarely includes matters of personal finance: a generation of young people starting their adult lives up to their necks in debt, much of it at usurious rates. Not good for them, not good for America.

By: Bob McCluskey

Bob McCluskey — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:08:35 +0000

FERPA doesn’t protect as much information as many people think. FERPA regulations permit schools to disclose a large category of information without student consent. That category is called “directory information” and is described in the regulations as “information contained in an education record of a student that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. It includes, but is not limited to, the student’s name, address, telephone listing, electronic mail address, photograph, date and place of birth, major field of study, dates of attendance, grade level, enrollment status (e.g., undergraduate or graduate; full-time or part-time), participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, degrees, honors and awards received, and the
most recent educational agency or institution attended.”

We may disagree about what information would “generally be considered… an invasion of privacy if disclosed,” but FERPA allows schools to define and disclose lots of personal information about students and alumni as they see fit.