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August, 2008
In this Issue
AACRAO's Recent Security-Related Events
Identity Management Workshop. On July 9–10, AACRAO partnered with EDUCAUSE and Internet2 to host a conference on "Identity Management: Moving Your Institution Forward." Participants were Registrars and IT staff, who gathered to work together on electronic identity issues and to discuss priorities for continuing collaboration to handle the challenges faced by higher education institutions in this arena. Read more >
AACRAO Technology Conference. The fifth annual AACRAO Technology Conference, held in Baltimore, MD July 10–12, included a number of sessions that dealt extensively with electronic security issues. For example:
- Privacy and Security Considerations for Student Information. This presentation by Rodney Petersen, Government Relations Officer & Security Task Force Coordinator, EDUCAUSE provided an overview of the legal and regulatory landscape (including proposed rules for FERPA to address changes in information technology) and the Confidential Data Handling Blueprint developed by the EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Computer and Network Security Task Force.
- Opportunities and Efficiencies: Supporting Student Services with Federated Identity.(pdf) Presenters Nancy Krogh, University Registrar, University of Idaho; and Ann West, NMI-EDIT Outreach Coordinator, EDUCAUSE/Internet2, Michigan Technological University, discussed the work of a group of IT and Registrar campus representatives who have been meeting for a year on access management problems for off-campus or inter-campus student services. With some support from AACRAO, EDUCAUSE, and Internet2, their work has covered such areas as outsourcing anonymous student course evaluations, working with large data partners such as National Student Clearinghouse to streamline and better secure access to their services, and tools for communicating to Registrars about federated identity.
Many other handouts from the Conference are available on the site: http://handouts.aacrao.org/tech08/display.php
FERPA Update with LeRoy Rooker. The Director of the Family Compliance Office with the U.S. Department of Education presented his latest FERPA update for AACRAO at the Technology Conference. It is available, for a registration fee, at webinar.aacrao.org/ferpa_update/.
Coping with the Aftermath of Campus Violence Webinar. On August 6, AACRAO hosted a webinar concerning faculty, student, registration and classroom issues faced by the Registrar's Office in the wake of a disaster. Presenters were from the University of Texas at Austin–Linda Pendergrass, Associate Registrar; Shelby Stanfield, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Registrar; and Mike Kirkendall, Associate Registrar. They included information from others at UT Austin; Virginia Tech, Delaware State, and Northern Illinois, universities that have been shaken in the past several year by violent incidents. Urgent considerations included: If faculty are killed, will their classes be continued by another instructor? Will grades be assigned by the chair of the department? Will students be allowed to withdraw, with or without a refund, if they are too impacted by the event to continue for the semester? Should grades be assigned based on the grade earned at the time of the event? If students are killed in the event, should posthumous degrees be awarded, and to which students? This webinar is available to those who registered for the event at: webinar.aacrao.org/campus_violence/.
Campus Security
3 Shot at Phoenix College; Suspect Arrested
- At South Mountain Community College in Phoenix on July 24, a former student entered a computer lab and shot three individuals, leaving one of them critically injured. The suspect was arrested at a home a few miles away just 30... | Read more >
FBI Chief Criticizes Supreme Court's Gun Ruling
- FBI Director Robert Mueller spoke out against the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that grants Americans the right to own firearms for self-defense and hunting. Mueller claims it could interfere with efforts to thwart violent... | Read more >
School for Sprinklers
- Eight years ago, Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., embarked on a six-year project to retrofit automatic sprinkler systems and overhaul fire alarm systems in 45 residence halls and fraternity and sorority residences. The... | Read more >
Hand Scans Added to MTSU's ID System
- Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) is issuing its students an eight-digit identification number for their "BlueID" cards. The school is also employing scanners that convert the shape of a hand into a nine-character... | Read more >
Emergency Preparedness Key at Indiana Universities
- Universities in Indiana are hiring campus security experts in an effort to crack down on crime and be more prepared for an emergency situation. Although thefts account for most campus crime, recent shootings and natural disasters... | Read more >
Washington State University Police Taking New Patrol Restrictions in Stride
- Campus police at any of Washington state's public universities and colleges are not permitted to conduct random patrols of dormitories, which have the same privacy protection as the inside of a home, the state Appeals Court has... | Read more >
Cuts Mean No Guards at Augusta State University
- Augusta State University (ASU) will not go forth with its plan to employ part-time security guards after Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue announced that he wanted each one of the state's 35 colleges and universities to present... | Read more >
El Camino College Puts Security Cameras on Watch
- After two sexual assaults occurred on the El Camino College campus within the past seven months, students and employees urged authorities to install campus lighting and electronic surveillance. Now, eight surveillance cameras... | Read more >
Cyber Security
New Systems Keep a Close Eye on Online Students at Home
- In preparation for the modified Higher Education Act, which will likely become law this fall, some colleges that offer online courses are testing technologies that verify remote students' identities. A small paragraph in the... | Read more >
Dartmouth Begins Network Security Project
- A new research project at Dartmouth College promises to reveal key information on how the campus wireless computer network is used and how to provide better security. The Dartmouth Internet Security Testbed (DIST) will give... | Read more >
Georgia Highlands College Tightens Computer Security
- Georgia Highlands College is scanning its computer system for viruses following a breach by a student who used the identity of a math professor to access the system and place keystroke logging programs to steal passwords. The... | Read more >
Personal Information of 259 University of Houston Students Exposed Online
- The Liberty Coalition discovered the names and Social Security numbers of 259 University of Houston (UH) students on a Web site, according to a July 24 statement by UH. The advocacy group discovered the breach in May during a... | Read more >
Stolen Indiana State Laptop Returned to Professor
- A laptop stolen from an Indiana State University professor containing personal information on more than 2,500 current and former students was mailed back anonymously to the professor six days after being taken. At the time of... | Read more >
University of Maryland Students Sign Up for Credit-Monitoring Service
- As of July 22, 650 University of Maryland students had signed up for the free Equifax credit-monitoring service after the Department of Transportation Services (DOTS) inadvertently released the Social Security numbers of about... | Read more >
Miami U. Frosh Get New ID Numbers After Mixup
- Due to a mistake that sent new student ID numbers to the wrong students, Miami University of Ohio is issuing new numbers to its freshman class of almost 3,700 students. Officials do not believe the ID numbers could be used... | Read more >
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