Quantcast The Red and Black
College Media Network

The Red and Black

Search the Archives

 

Issues arise when students restrict directory information

Abstract:
It's as easy as a click of a mouse. For University students, keeping one's cell phone number off the Internet doesn't just mean keeping potential stalkers at bay. It can also mean the omission of one's name from a dean's list or commencement program. When students opt to restrict their University directory information in OASIS, the decision and its implications fall under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law instituted in 1974 that serves to protect "the privacy of student education records," as stated by the U....

  • Displaying 1 - 11 of 11

Seriously??

posted 10/02/08 @ 8:04 AM EST

Did they really quote Jessica Lawson saying 'like'?
"It was mostly something to do with getting transcripts more easily and that restriction was like making it so my mom couldn't just request for a transcript to be sent."
And if she's a senior then why does her mom have access to her OASIS and email? It says her mother "intercepted" her email and "her mother immediately removed the restriction through OASIS for her." Seriously?
Post a reply to this comment

Helpful

posted 10/02/08 @ 9:43 AM EST

I find the directory information to be very helpful (not creepy) in circumstances where I have forgotten an e-mail address or did not have a phone number stored in my phone. I wish that other USG institutions had a directory such as this.
Post a reply to this comment

Bob

posted 10/02/08 @ 10:06 PM EST

Originally posted by

Helpful

 I find the directory information to be very helpful (not creepy) in circumstances where I have forgotten an e-mail address or did not have a phone number stored in my phone. I wish that other USG institutions had a directory such as this.


I completely agree with this. I have no problem with my e-mail and cell phone number being online. However, call me paranoid, but I don't see the need for my address whether local or permanent home address to be online.
Post a reply to this comment

Michael Covington

posted 10/02/08 @ 9:53 AM EST

I dealt with similar issues when administering computer security policy in the 1990s. Some people wanted their presence at UGA kept totally secret. But that is very hard to do, and it interferes with a lot of normal functions of the University. The bottom line is that as far as I know, the University cannot grant a degree secretly.

My response was always along these lines: "Think carefully why you want this much secrecy. You're here to launch your career. You can't be successful in the professional or business world if nobody has ever heard of you."
Post a reply to this comment

CareerDog

posted 10/02/08 @ 5:57 PM EST

Originally posted by

Michael Covington

 I dealt

My response was always along these lines: "Think carefully why you want this much secrecy. You're here to launch your career. You can't be successful in the professional or business world if nobody has ever heard of you."


This is MORONIC! You don't launch a career by having your private information available on the Internet. You launch a career by making personal contact, networking, etc. Then the people you want to have heard of you will have heard of you.
Post a reply to this comment

Love/Hate Ferpa

posted 10/02/08 @ 10:26 AM EST

No doubt the FERPA restriction is something the Registrar just doesn't like, but it's in fact a protection for student information that exists until they choose to waive their rights. U.GA. and other colleges and Universities have always cited Ferpa when they wanted to hide information from the pubic, mostly about criminal offenses, but sometimes things like admissions criteria, too. If a student makes dean's list or gets an award, FERPA does not stand in the way of the information being disseminated; U.GA.'s suggesting that it does is specious, and self-serving. Why does the Red and Black NOT ask the administrators if U.GA. makes money selling "directory information" or otherwise providing it to advertisers? Hmmmm, maybe that's the real reason U.GA. wants every student to waive their rights. FERPA has its own webste and it would behoove students to visit and see that it's a protection (a right) they have; don't fall for the Universities line here. Just another example of Administrative Dishonesty that has for too long been winked at on this campus.
Post a reply to this comment

noun

posted 10/02/08 @ 11:52 AM EST

Yes, UGA is selling CD-ROMS of the campus directory for about $100 each to spammers, telemarketers and direct mail sleazes. Any way for an employee to opt out of the directory if he or she wishes?
Post a reply to this comment

Seriously?

posted 10/02/08 @ 12:07 PM EST

I doubt the author has even read FERPA.
Post a reply to this comment

Ned

posted 10/02/08 @ 3:59 PM EST

Originally posted by

Seriously?

 I doubt the author has even read FERPA.

seemed to me like the author had a pretty good handle on FERPA. Im not sure I buy the registrars excuse that a modification of the current information system could not be achieved without a total overhaul.
Post a reply to this comment

Michael Covington

posted 10/02/08 @ 2:33 PM EST

I think the spam issue needs to be addressed separately. It might require amending the Georgia Open Records Act. Spammers don't obey laws, so the only way to discourage them is to make it hard for them to get information in a format they can use, such as a complete directory. Now if each student were on a separate CD that cost $5...
Post a reply to this comment

Love and Hate

posted 1/01/09 @ 8:46 AM EST

Originally posted by

Michael Covington

 I think the spam issue needs to be addressed separately. It might require amending the Georgia Open Records Act. Spammers don't obey laws, so the only way to discourage them is to make it hard for them to get information in a format they can use, such as a complete directory. Now if each student were on a separate CD that cost $5...


No, Mike! Just what is you 'in,' here? Do you not understand? Are you totally dependent on artificial intelligence now-a-days, WHAT?!

Here is THE problem ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/01/business/01student.html
Post a reply to this comment
  • Displaying 1 - 11 of 11

Post Your Comment

  • NOTE: Email address will not be published

Type your comment below (html not allowed)

  I understand posting spam or other comments that are unrelated to this article will cause my comment to be flagged for deletion and possibly cause my IP address to be permanently banned from this server.

 

 

Advertisement

Poll

Hmm, what to make of Kentucky vs. Georgia:
Submit Vote

View Results



Advertisement