FERPA Revision Contemplated

Benjamin Herold notes that a call is being raised to update FERPA , the U.S. legislation designed to protect student privacy. Various flaws exist in the current law. For example, under the existing legislation, penalties are levied on a school or university, even if data is released by 3rd party vendors.

-DD

 

Monitoring Student Internet Use

Taylor Armerding reviews some of the issues that arise with monitoring student Internet use. Armerding cites a report by Jules Polonetsky and Joseph Jerome entitled Student Data: Trust, Transparency and the Right of Consent which addresses "Human Monitoring Services" such as Gaggle. Armerding provides information on proposed governmental regulation of educational institutions to restrict the collection and distribution of data about student technology use.

-DD

Email Privacy

Jake New reports that "Harvard’s Search of Staff E-Mail Sparks Questions About Policies Nationwide. He reports that legal opinion confirms that an employer has a right (perhaps even a responsibility) to review the use of its coporate network. The article then discusses the Freedom of Information Act, which requires that information maintained by public employers, including public universities, be released to members of the public upon request, unless exempted by laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

-DD