A computer break-in at Harvard University highlights the growing challenges the nation's colleges and universities face in trying to safeguard students' private information.
HARVARD: Thousands exposed in data breach
Security and privacy are the No. 1 technology concern for schools, according to an annual survey of 535 colleges and universities by Educause, which will publish the results in May. The Washington, D.C., organization works with universities on a range of information technology issues, including securing its systems.
"Data security incidents have been epidemic in the last two to three years and not just at colleges and universities," says Rodney Petersen, Educause's security task force coordinator, who works with schools to secure their databases. "It's a significant problem and source of concern."
The most recent college breach occurred at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in February, when a hacker broke into a Web server that contained personal information on 10,000 grad-school applicants. The information ranged from Social Security numbers and addresses to food allergies and housing preferences.
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The server contained data on students who applied to the graduate school for the 2007 school year and graduate housing applicants for 2006 and 2007. There was no financial information.
The university has found no evidence that the data has been used in identity theft, says Daniel Moriarty, Harvard's chief information officer.
"The reason we moved to notify individuals was as a precaution" because the school does not know the extent of the breach, he says.
University officials took down the site on Feb. 17 after they learned that 19 student housing records had shown up on a website called Pirate's Bay, where hackers show off their work. Since then, the school has sent letters to all students whose records were on the server and has offered to pay for credit-protection services.
In 2007, there were 139 reported information security incidents at colleges and universities around the world, a 68% increase from the previous year, according to a report by Educational Security Incidents, which tracks information security breaches in higher education.
Incidents range from stolen laptops containing student and employee data to breaches of the schools' network systems. The most common data pilfered are names, addresses, ages and Social Security numbers, the report says.
http://www.usatoday.com/
Thursday, March 20, 2008
More government cash for universities and colleges
UNIVERSITIES AND colleges are to receive an extra £20 million of funding, the Scottish government has announced.
The package will be split evenly between the higher education and further education sectors.
Fiona Hyslop, cabinet secretary for education and lifelong learning, said: "Colleges and universities are at the heart of our drive to build a smarter, more prosperous Scotland.
"That's why, even though we are working within an extremely tight financial settlement, I am pleased to be able to announce a package of measures to support our higher and further education sectors."
Hyslop said universities would receive £10m to assist them and colleges will get £10m to allow them to invest in key areas "such as supporting young people who need more choices and more chances; articulation; and innovative approaches to learning delivery".
The announcement comes after a funding settlement that higher and further education principals have criticised.
Before the SNP's first Budget last year university leaders said the sector needed a £168m increase to keep Scottish institutions competitive with their English counterparts, who can charge students fees. But they received £30m, which was blamed on a tight settlement from Westminster.
Last month the principal of Dundee University, Sir Alan Langlands, said his institution would have to lose jobs because of the financial climate.
Strathclyde University is reviewing its situation. Last year it said it would lose 250 jobs, but postponed its decision until after the Budget. In response to the sector's concerns a taskforce was set up, and in January the government released an extra £10m of revenue funding for universities.
Education groups welcomed yesterday's announcement.
Sir Muir Russell, convener of Universities Scotland said: "This goes a very long way to addressing the cost pressures the university sector will face in 2008-09."
But opposition politicians criticised the government's "ad hoc" and "piecemeal" approach.
Murdo Fraser, the Scottish Conservative education spokesman, said: "This extra cash will not go anywhere near enough to filling the gap the universities believe needs to be completed in order to prevent them falling behind better-funded institutions south of the border."
http://www.sundayherald.com/
The package will be split evenly between the higher education and further education sectors.
Fiona Hyslop, cabinet secretary for education and lifelong learning, said: "Colleges and universities are at the heart of our drive to build a smarter, more prosperous Scotland.
"That's why, even though we are working within an extremely tight financial settlement, I am pleased to be able to announce a package of measures to support our higher and further education sectors."
Hyslop said universities would receive £10m to assist them and colleges will get £10m to allow them to invest in key areas "such as supporting young people who need more choices and more chances; articulation; and innovative approaches to learning delivery".
The announcement comes after a funding settlement that higher and further education principals have criticised.
Before the SNP's first Budget last year university leaders said the sector needed a £168m increase to keep Scottish institutions competitive with their English counterparts, who can charge students fees. But they received £30m, which was blamed on a tight settlement from Westminster.
Last month the principal of Dundee University, Sir Alan Langlands, said his institution would have to lose jobs because of the financial climate.
Strathclyde University is reviewing its situation. Last year it said it would lose 250 jobs, but postponed its decision until after the Budget. In response to the sector's concerns a taskforce was set up, and in January the government released an extra £10m of revenue funding for universities.
Education groups welcomed yesterday's announcement.
Sir Muir Russell, convener of Universities Scotland said: "This goes a very long way to addressing the cost pressures the university sector will face in 2008-09."
But opposition politicians criticised the government's "ad hoc" and "piecemeal" approach.
Murdo Fraser, the Scottish Conservative education spokesman, said: "This extra cash will not go anywhere near enough to filling the gap the universities believe needs to be completed in order to prevent them falling behind better-funded institutions south of the border."
http://www.sundayherald.com/
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
State university faculty and system reach tentative labor agreement
The Inter Faculty Organization, the union representing about 3,300 faculty members at Minnesota's seven state universities, has reached a tentative labor agreement with the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.
The tentative agreement would cover a two-year period ending June 30, 2009. Details of the tentative agreement will not be released until the parties have an opportunity to review the tentative agreement.
In a joint statement issued recently, IFO President Nancy Black and Minnesota State Universities Chancellor James McCormick said, "We are pleased to have reached a tentative settlement that makes significant progress in improving the competitiveness of our salaries relative to peer institutions nationally and assures that our state universities will be able to continue to provide high-quality education to their students."
The Inter Faculty Organization Board of Directors will meet and make a recommendation to the faculty, who will vote on the agreement. It will then be forwarded to the Minnesota State College and Universities Board of Trustees and ultimately to the Legislature for approval.
Dr. Black said she would encourage the IFO Board to recommend the contract to the membership.
The Bureau of Mediation Services assisted the parties in reaching tentative agreement. Chancellor McCormick and Dr. Black thanked both teams for their hard work and constructive negotiations and praised the Minnesota Legislature for providing the funding to support higher education that made the settlement possible.
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system comprises 32 state universities, community colleges, technical colleges and combined community and technical colleges located on 53 campuses across the state. The system serves approximately 242,000 students annually in credit-based courses and another 140,000 in non-credit courses.
http://www.echopress.com/
The tentative agreement would cover a two-year period ending June 30, 2009. Details of the tentative agreement will not be released until the parties have an opportunity to review the tentative agreement.
In a joint statement issued recently, IFO President Nancy Black and Minnesota State Universities Chancellor James McCormick said, "We are pleased to have reached a tentative settlement that makes significant progress in improving the competitiveness of our salaries relative to peer institutions nationally and assures that our state universities will be able to continue to provide high-quality education to their students."
The Inter Faculty Organization Board of Directors will meet and make a recommendation to the faculty, who will vote on the agreement. It will then be forwarded to the Minnesota State College and Universities Board of Trustees and ultimately to the Legislature for approval.
Dr. Black said she would encourage the IFO Board to recommend the contract to the membership.
The Bureau of Mediation Services assisted the parties in reaching tentative agreement. Chancellor McCormick and Dr. Black thanked both teams for their hard work and constructive negotiations and praised the Minnesota Legislature for providing the funding to support higher education that made the settlement possible.
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system comprises 32 state universities, community colleges, technical colleges and combined community and technical colleges located on 53 campuses across the state. The system serves approximately 242,000 students annually in credit-based courses and another 140,000 in non-credit courses.
http://www.echopress.com/
Six Colleges and Universities Receive Presidential Award for Exemplary Community Service
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Six colleges and universities today received presidential recognition for extraordinary contributions to service in their communities in the second annual 2007 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. David Eisner, Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, announced the awards at the annual meeting of the American Council on Education.
Three of the schools -- Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the University of Pennsylvania -- received Presidential Awards for General Community Service. Chaminade University of Honolulu, Syracuse University and the University of Redlands in Redlands, Calif., were recognized for Service to Youth from Disadvantaged Circumstances, a special focus area of this year's Honor Roll competition.
"College students are tackling the toughest problems in America, demonstrating their compassion, commitment, and creativity in by serving as mentors, tutors, health workers, and even engineers," Eisner said. "They represent a renewed spirit of civic engagement fostered by outstanding leadership on caring campuses."
The Honor Roll is jointly sponsored by the Corporation, through its Learn and Serve America program, and the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, USA Freedom Corps, Campus Compact, and the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation.
In congratulating the winners, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said, "Americans rely on our higher education system to prepare students for citizenship and the workforce. We look to institutions like these to provide leadership in partnering with local schools to shape the civic, democratic and economic future of our country."
In all, 528 schools were listed on the Honor Roll for their community service activities during the 2006-2007 academic year. This year, new Special Achievement Awards for outstanding service by minority serving institutions and community colleges were presented to Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, S.D; Raritan Valley Community College, Somerville, N.J.; Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, N.C.; and California State University, Fresno. In addition, the Honor Roll also recognized 127 schools as Honor Roll With Distinction members and 391 schools as Honor Roll members. A full list is available at http://www.nationalservice.gov/honorroll.
"Educating students for citizenship and the workforce are the key responsibilities of American higher education, and these colleges and universities are doing an excellent job of fulfilling that role," said U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings in congratulating the winners of the Honor Roll. "We look to these educational institutions to provide leadership today in partnering with the K-12 schools in their communities to develop the leaders of tomorrow."
Launched in 2006, the President's Honor Roll recognizes institutions of higher education that support innovative, effective, and exemplary community service programs. Honorees for the various award levels, including the Presidential Award, were selected based on a series of factors, including scope and innovativeness of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service, and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses.
"There is no question that the universities and colleges who have made an effort to participate and win the Honor Roll award are themselves being rewarded today," said David Ward, President of the American Council on Education. "Earning this distinction is not easy. But now each of these schools will be able to wear this award like a badge of honor."
Recent studies have underlined the importance of service-learning and volunteering to college students. In 2006, 2.8 million college students gave more than 297 million hours of volunteer service, according to the Corporation's Volunteering in America 2007 study. Using Independent Sector's estimates of the value of volunteer time, college student volunteering was worth more than $5.6 billion last year. The U.S. Department of Education found a growing service-learning trend, with more schools offering service-learning as part of their curriculum. Students who participate in service-learning are more likely to continue service in college. In 2005, the UCLA Higher Education Research Institute reported that two-thirds of entering college students believed it was very important to help others, which is the highest percentage in the last 25 years.
Expanding campus incentives for service is part of a larger initiative to spur higher levels of volunteering by America's college students. In 2006, the Corporation set a national goal of engaging 5 million college students in service annually by the year 2010 as part of its five-year strategic plan. The agency is working with a coalition of federal agencies, higher education and student associations, and nonprofit organizations to achieve this goal. Each year, the Corporation invests more than $150 million in fostering a culture of service on college campuses through grants awarded by its main programs; the education awards that AmeriCorps members receive at the conclusion of their term of service to pay for college; and through support of training, research, recognition, and other initiatives to spur college service.
The Corporation's Learn and Serve America program, in particular, is a catalyst for service-learning programs nationwide that connect community service with academic curriculum. Through these programs, in class and in extracurricular activities, college students serve others in their communities while strengthening their academic and civic skills. In addition, service-learning fosters partnerships between colleges and their communities that strengthens communities and meets immediate community needs.
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. Each year, the Corporation engages four million Americans of all ages and backgrounds in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America programs.
http://sev.prnewswire.com/higher-education/20080211/DC1382711022008-1.html
Three of the schools -- Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the University of Pennsylvania -- received Presidential Awards for General Community Service. Chaminade University of Honolulu, Syracuse University and the University of Redlands in Redlands, Calif., were recognized for Service to Youth from Disadvantaged Circumstances, a special focus area of this year's Honor Roll competition.
"College students are tackling the toughest problems in America, demonstrating their compassion, commitment, and creativity in by serving as mentors, tutors, health workers, and even engineers," Eisner said. "They represent a renewed spirit of civic engagement fostered by outstanding leadership on caring campuses."
The Honor Roll is jointly sponsored by the Corporation, through its Learn and Serve America program, and the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, USA Freedom Corps, Campus Compact, and the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation.
In congratulating the winners, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said, "Americans rely on our higher education system to prepare students for citizenship and the workforce. We look to institutions like these to provide leadership in partnering with local schools to shape the civic, democratic and economic future of our country."
In all, 528 schools were listed on the Honor Roll for their community service activities during the 2006-2007 academic year. This year, new Special Achievement Awards for outstanding service by minority serving institutions and community colleges were presented to Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, S.D; Raritan Valley Community College, Somerville, N.J.; Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, N.C.; and California State University, Fresno. In addition, the Honor Roll also recognized 127 schools as Honor Roll With Distinction members and 391 schools as Honor Roll members. A full list is available at http://www.nationalservice.gov/honorroll.
"Educating students for citizenship and the workforce are the key responsibilities of American higher education, and these colleges and universities are doing an excellent job of fulfilling that role," said U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings in congratulating the winners of the Honor Roll. "We look to these educational institutions to provide leadership today in partnering with the K-12 schools in their communities to develop the leaders of tomorrow."
Launched in 2006, the President's Honor Roll recognizes institutions of higher education that support innovative, effective, and exemplary community service programs. Honorees for the various award levels, including the Presidential Award, were selected based on a series of factors, including scope and innovativeness of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service, and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses.
"There is no question that the universities and colleges who have made an effort to participate and win the Honor Roll award are themselves being rewarded today," said David Ward, President of the American Council on Education. "Earning this distinction is not easy. But now each of these schools will be able to wear this award like a badge of honor."
Recent studies have underlined the importance of service-learning and volunteering to college students. In 2006, 2.8 million college students gave more than 297 million hours of volunteer service, according to the Corporation's Volunteering in America 2007 study. Using Independent Sector's estimates of the value of volunteer time, college student volunteering was worth more than $5.6 billion last year. The U.S. Department of Education found a growing service-learning trend, with more schools offering service-learning as part of their curriculum. Students who participate in service-learning are more likely to continue service in college. In 2005, the UCLA Higher Education Research Institute reported that two-thirds of entering college students believed it was very important to help others, which is the highest percentage in the last 25 years.
Expanding campus incentives for service is part of a larger initiative to spur higher levels of volunteering by America's college students. In 2006, the Corporation set a national goal of engaging 5 million college students in service annually by the year 2010 as part of its five-year strategic plan. The agency is working with a coalition of federal agencies, higher education and student associations, and nonprofit organizations to achieve this goal. Each year, the Corporation invests more than $150 million in fostering a culture of service on college campuses through grants awarded by its main programs; the education awards that AmeriCorps members receive at the conclusion of their term of service to pay for college; and through support of training, research, recognition, and other initiatives to spur college service.
The Corporation's Learn and Serve America program, in particular, is a catalyst for service-learning programs nationwide that connect community service with academic curriculum. Through these programs, in class and in extracurricular activities, college students serve others in their communities while strengthening their academic and civic skills. In addition, service-learning fosters partnerships between colleges and their communities that strengthens communities and meets immediate community needs.
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. Each year, the Corporation engages four million Americans of all ages and backgrounds in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America programs.
http://sev.prnewswire.com/higher-education/20080211/DC1382711022008-1.html
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