A national database may soon track every student who attends a college or university.
The U.S. Department of Education is about two months away from concluding a feasibility study on the creation of a national database of student enrollment and financial aid information. It may include students' Social Security numbers.
Dean of Students Randy Boeglin said UNM students are sensitive toward databases, especially ones that include Social Security numbers.
Kathleen Sena, UNM registrar, said she could understand why the national database would be cause for privacy concerns.
"We are living in a society that is worried about identity theft," she said. "We are living in a society worried about Big Brother."
Mike Bowler, director of outreach and communications at the Institute of Educational Sciences, said regardless of whether students' Social Security numbers were used, it would not be possible to complete a database if they did not protect student privacy.
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"It is not an example of Big Brother swooping down and getting students' information," he said.
Bowler said the purpose of the database would be to track students individually to give consumers and policy makers accurate information.
He said the way information is gathered now is not efficient.
Right now, colleges and universities report to the federal government by groups of students.
For example, they might report 400 students were in an entering freshman class. Four years later, 350 students graduated. Bowler said there is no way to know if those 350 are part of the same 400 that entered the class.
"The only way to efficiently gather information is to follow students individually," he said.
Boeglin said he thought tracking students would be done better of the state and not the national level.
"I'm a proponent to keep responsibility on the lowest level, keep bureaucracy at a minimum level and keep protection high," he said.
Bowler said the database would provide more accurate information about graduation and tuition rates. It would also track where federal aid goes to help the government improve financial aid programs, he said.
Grades will not be included in the database, Bowler said.
"The point is, are they in school, are they completing school, and when they leave, will we be able to follow them?" Bowler said.
There are 39 states with a student record system for higher education.
Paul Landrum, director of verification and accountability at the New Mexico Commission on Higher Education, said they use a database called DEAR, which tracks student enrollment and financial aid information.
He said student's Social Security numbers are the link between students' records and their financial aid information, but they follow FERPA guidelines to keep the information confidential.
He said when they report information from their database, they report it based on groups of students rather than individuals to keep students' information safe.
"We use data responsibly to protect people's privacy," Landrum said.
The study on the database, called IPEDS, or Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, has been conducted over the past year by the National Center on Educational Statistics, part of the U.S. Department of Education.
