The U.S. government has had quite a thirst for knowledge lately
““ legally and illegally tracking both terrorists and
suspected terrorists. But when this thirst for knowledge hits the
education front, that’s when we know it’s gone too
far.
A commission from U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret
Spellings’ office recently published a draft report endorsing
a system to students in higher education. In the proposed database,
students and their grades would be tracked, possibly by Social
Security number, during their time at a private college.
It’s unrealistic to think this system may be implemented
in the near future. The Senate last year passed a measure
prohibiting the Education Department from creating such a
database.
But academia has nonetheless raised a racket about the privacy
issues involved in creating the database. The National Association
of Independent Colleges and Universities conducted a poll in June
and concluded that 62 percent of Americans oppose such a
student-tracking system.
Supporters of the database and the draft report that endorses it
say such a database would help hold higher education accountable.
It would also provide prospective students and legislators with
more accurate and relevant information.
Others say the proposed database collects too much information
and would make violating students’ privacy all too tempting.
They say the federal government has adequate statistics and to
expect more is expensive and dangerous.
All the arguments, for and against, have some merit. But they
miss the point.
The federal government is not responsible for providing higher
education. It is not responsible for keeping higher education on
track, nor should it be allowed to meddle in private institutions
that don’t want such interference.
Improving higher education is a very worthy goal. The government
provides federal grants and aid money for students at these
institutions. And it would be nice if every educational institution
was committed to transparency and the spread of information.
But the federal government has simply become too data-hungry.
It’s not the place of the government to squeeze information
out of privately funded colleges that want to protect the privacy
of their students.
And why does it want the database? To keep track of costs,
prices and student success at the school, among other things. But
most of this information, says Rolf Wegenke, president of the
Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, is
already tracked in aggregate form.
If there was a more pressing need for the information the
government wants, they would be able to make more of a case. But,
ultimately, tracking education is not the same as tracking
terrorists, and federal info-mongering is not a worthy basis for
invading the privacy of schools and their students. We don’t
need the government tracking our every academic move without any
substantial reason.
We’re also unconvinced that the federal government can
keep private student records safe. The recent theft of a laptop
with sensitive information from the Department of Veterans Affairs
is just one example of how the government could bobble
students’ privacy.
The American public and the higher education community are right
to protest the tracking of students. Privacy for students is an
important right. But we also cannot deny the importance of the
government minding its own business.