Student Unit Record

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how a student unit record system was introduced to help keep track of work in progress for students who transfer in and out of colleges in the United States. It also looks at how such a system raises concerns about privacy because a great deal of sensitive information used in the system, such as social security numbers, might be used for other purposes. The paper looks at the pros and cons of the student unit record system and concludes by arguing that the right of privacy is less important than the benefits obtained by this educational reform.

From the Paper:

"As noted, state colleges perceive an obvious advantage to enable record tracking for college students. Especially for students who transfer out of state, the proposed federal system is capable of updating transfer students' motion of higher education pursuit. Grover J. "Russ" Whitehurst, the director of the Education Department's Institute of Education Sciences, which in March 2005 did a feasibility study on the plan, says the data collected would also help institutions compare themselves with one another, and help parents and students make better decisions when picking a college. He points out that 40 percent of students currently do not finish at the same institution in which they first enrolled."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Field, Kelly. (2005). Proposed Student-Data System Can Be Made Secure, Report Says. The Chronicle of Higher Education: Government and Politics, 51(30), A1.
• Fields, Cheryl. (2005). Student Records. Change, 37(4), 7-8.
• Fischer, Karin. (2005). Accountability Panel Says Government Should Collect More Data on Students. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 51(28), A25.
• Honawar, Vaishali. (2005). U.S. College-Database Idea Sparks Privacy Worries. Education Week, 24(36), 26-30.

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