Government
to establish student database
By
Shannon Eliot
The Guardian
LA JOLLA (U-Wire)—UC San Diego officials may make student information
available to the U.S. Department of Defense for the purpose of military recruitment
should the federal government request it, according to Vice Chancellor of Student
Affairs Joseph W. Watson.
In an effort to expand waning military reserves, the Department of Defense
is planning to compile a database with personal statistics of approximately
30 million Americans, including high school students aged 16 to 18 and all
college students. Such information would include student addresses, telephone
numbers, ethnicity, Social Security numbers, grade point averages and areas
of study.
Known as the Joint Advertising and Market Research Recruiting Database, the
list is being established “to provide a single central facility within
the Department of Defense to compile, process and distribute files of individuals
who meet age and minimum school requirements for military service,” according
to the official notice published in the Federal Register.
In implementing the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
that limits the disclosure of a student’s personal information, the University
of California classifies itself as 13 separate institutions rather than as
one single entity.
Each UC campus exerts some degree of independence when it comes to decisions
involving student records.
While UCLA officials said they would only release student information under
a court order, UCSD officials say any request for information will be processed
in compliance with campus regulations that limit the type of student records
that may be released to third parties.
“
We consider the protection of student privacy as an important responsibility
of the campus,” Watson said. “Consequently, we are most concerned
about any proposal that might compromise the privacy of students.”
When asked whether UCSD would overrule a federal request, Watson said at the
present time there is no conflict between federal law and university policy
regarding the release of student information, and there have been no requests
to date for student information.
“Federal recruiters have the same access to the campus, student information
and students as other public and private entities,” he said.
Chancellor Mary Anne Fox expressed similar sentiments.
“Our policy would normally be to not turn over personal student information,
since that’s consistent with student privacy laws,” she said. “On
the other hand, we would follow the law if need be.”
Establishing a database for recruitment would not be a new practice, according
to David S. C. Chu, the Department of Defense’s undersecretary for personnel
and readiness. The military has kept lists of potential recruits for multiple
years, he stated in an article published by an informational entity of the
Pentagon. The Pentagon will also strictly limit the use of data collected,
according to Chu.
“
We don’t give these lists out to other people,” he stated. “[The
data] are given only to the military recruiters.”
The database is not the first effort by the federal government to attract new
military personnel. Under a provision of the 2002 No
Child Left Behind Act, high schools must turn over student information at the
behest of a military recruiter.
While students and parents may request
private information not be turned
over by schools, they cannot prevent
military collection of student
data from other
sources.
Critics of the act are especially worried about civil rights and privacy
issues, particularly violations of FERPA, which seeks to limit the dissemination
of
personal information to third parties.
“
We have written letters to San Diego schools and worked with school districts
on how to protect student information,” said Ranjana Natarajan, staff
attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. “The
[Department of Defense] needs to respect [student and family] wishes and should
be very careful about what is compiled...we are making sure [the department]
compiles the very minimum necessary.”
On its Web site, the Electronic Privacy Information Center states, “The
Department of Defense’s handling of this database has clearly violated
[FERPA]. The continuing collection, use and maintenance of a system of records
provide a basis for legal action and congressional oversight.”
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