Issue date: 2/17/04 Section: Opinion

In an age rampant with identity theft, Penn should be at the forefront of protecting its students' privacy. In fact, the University issued a policy to this effect in 2001 and took steps in the right direction by becoming the first university to hire a chief privacy officer.

Unfortunately, Penn has not been following its own rules.

Throughout the course of their academic careers, students are called upon to issue their Social Security numbers far more often than necessary. Getting into certain classes, for example, requires only the last four digits, but students are sometimes asked to supply the entire number. Students are also asked for their numbers on exams.

This practice is as unnecessary as it is dangerous. The more frequently students supply their Social Security numbers, the greater the chance that they will become compromised, through technological or human error. The incident that occurred at Penn in 2001 when a temporary employee was charged with fraud after using Penn students' numbers to open credit card accounts is a prime example of the risk. Since then, the University has expressed the right sentiments about students' privacy, but it has not been backed up by their actions.

Penn must move away from tracking and identifying students by their Social Security numbers. It would be as simple as assigning each student a four-digit number upon matriculation by having students pick their own, or just using their PennCard numbers.

Additionally, professors and administrators often assume that students are aware of the dangers of identity theft and know to keep Social Security information safe. They don't. The risks are too great to maintain this assumption, and the University should take steps to promote awareness of the dangers of revealing personal identifying information.

There are some situations in which the use of a student's Social Security number is appropriate and necessary. Applications for financial aid, admission and research grants are all good examples. However, outside of these legitimate instances, students should no longer be asked to reveal identifying information. The risks are simply too great to ignore.

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