System could handle change

The federal government has put forth a proposal to collect individual college students' records into a nationwide database, and UNC-system officials say such a move could be beneficial.

But there also are significant logistical and privacy concerns.

The U.S. Department of Education wants to change the way it collects statistics for higher education by compiling individual student records instead of the schoolwide summaries it currently uses.

Such a change, the department contends, would give a more accurate picture of trends in higher education.

Bob Fry, UNC-system vice president for university affairs, said that a unit-record database would provide greater accountability, and that the system president's office has collected individual student data since 1980.

Fry said the systemwide unit records database allows university officials to track developments in higher education across the state.

"It provides us sort of a way of ensuring that the decision-making we do here is based on fact and not on feeling," he said.

Because of the existing database, Fry said the state's public institutions would have little logistical difficulty in providing individual records to the federal government.

But private colleges could face tougher adjustments.

Hope Williams, president of the N.C. Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, said providing unit records would place a heavy burden on many of the 36 private campuses in the organization.

"In order to provide the data, some colleges and universities might have to purchase new administrative software, might have to add new staff, and all of those costs would be borne by the individual schools," she said.

Officials at a number of private colleges said it is difficult to estimate the potential impact.

"I'm sure it would increase our workload somewhat, I just don't know to what degree," said Jesse McCartney, executive assistant to the president at Catawba College.

Public and private schools alike have concerns about how such a large database would affect students' privacy. "There's something Orwellian in this that causes many of us concern," Williams said. "If colleges and universities want to be eligible to receive the federal financial aid dollars that are so important to helping students attend college, then they'll have to provide individual student data to the federal government."

Williams contends that it has not been shown how a unit-records approach would yield better public policy and expressed concern that other federal agencies - including the Department of Homeland Security - eventually might want access to the information.

Students' Social Security numbers might present a tempting target for hackers, and Fry said the UNC system is considering ways to eliminate the numbers of infiltrators in its database.

He added that he's been in regular contact with officials at the Education Department to make sure such concerns are aired.

Any change in the data collection system would have a number of hurdles to clear. "We may be gearing up for something that's not going to happen right away," Fry said.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.