This chapter focuses on perspectives of external data reporting and their implications for institutional research offices and campuses as a whole. The authors examine a variety of uses for externally reported data and explore opportunities for using these data more fully across the institution.

Accountability pressures in higher education are not new; they are part of an enduring public policy discourse about the costs and benefits, both individual and social, of higher education. What is relatively new, however, is the prominent place that issues of accountability now occupy on the nation's higher education agenda. There is an important…

Individual interest in privacy is a multiple legal issue, roughly divided into four parts according to different types of law: constitutional, statutory, administrative, and common law. Policy implications of this issue for institutions are discussed. (Editor/LBH)

Balancing privacy and disclosure interests will require restricting information requests and data systems, avoiding promises of confidentiality that cannot be kept, and informing administrators and researchers about their obligations regarding disclosure. (Editor)

Today's privacy/disclosure issues have been defined by a series of court decisions that illustrate adaptation to social change. Development of surveillance technology, increased use of individual testing, and interconnected computers have allowed abuses of individual privacy rights to which the law has recently responded. (Editor/LBH)

Setting up a successful interinstitutional data-sharing project involves commonsense guidelines: be clear about what is wanted, take advantage of what already exists, use appropriate technology, staff adequately, recognize institutional differences, and concentrate on achieving insight rather than precision. (Author/MSE)

Sophisticated computer technology now allows for increasingly adaptable privacy safeguards. Various protection mechanisms are described, including password technology and encryption techniques, and administrative guidelines are offered. (Editor/LBH)

Individual and institutional rights to privacy and disclosure of records are all aspects of the same growing problem. The case of Papadopoulos v. State Board of Higher Education illustrates this problem. (Editor/LBH)

Examples of current institutional policy and practice illustrate threats to individual rights to privacy. Problems relate to computerized records and communications technology, the accuracy of the records, and the usage of the information. (Editor/LBH)

Lead news stories on intercollegiate athletics in newspapers and on television are increasingly common. If the media are to report accurately on college sports, campus leaders must be willing and prepared to share information on the related educational and fiscal issues, including graduation rates, admissions information, and program financial…

The level and caliber of athletics in some 2-year colleges equal or exceed that of 4-year colleges 30 years ago. Because of the nature of the two-year college, participation for its own sake should be fostered. Monitoring and reporting academic progress by athletes is important to program success. (MSE)

The experience of Coastal Carolina College (South Carolina) suggests that, although the small college often has the same academic reporting demands for intercollegiate athletics as a large institution, the nature of the institution creates different recordkeeping and reporting challenges. Computerization and active institutional research staff…

Intercollegiate athletics is receiving more attention from the federal government because an institution's academic information is seen as consumer information for prospective student-athletes. The Student Athlete Right-to-Know Act, enacted as part of the Campus Security Act of 1990, requires federally funded institutions to report detailed…

College and university institutional researchers can use unemployment insurance wage and related files to describe and compare students' workplace status before, during, and after enrollment. However, some issues must be addressed, including data delays, uncovered employment and other work status, confidentiality of records, information…