Identifies and summarizes key provisions of the privacy regulations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Suggests approaches a university can take to achieve compliance with those provisions, and discusses issues raised by the privacy regulations that are of particular relevance to the academic community. (EV)

Discusses the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in Gonzaga University v. Doe, where the Supreme Court held that a person whose records were disclosed has no right to sue the institution for its violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). Explores the decision's ramifications for higher education, including applicable…

Discusses the history of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Falvo and Gonzaga U.S. Supreme Court cases, and how universities might rethink FERPA in light of digital records. A discussion of Professor Lawrence Lessig's book "Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace" is used as a framework for discussing institutional…

Discusses college and university obligations to collect, maintain, and provide information about foreign students to the government. Explores federal immigration rules relating to foreign students and examines the interaction between the Immigration and Naturalization Service's (INS) regulations and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of…

The proliferation of computer processing applications on college campuses has created new legal risks for higher education institutions. The history of computer use on campuses, an overview of computer law, and a discussion of the role of the university attorney are presented. (SF)

Areas of privacy protection provided by FERPA are discussed and related to: coverage of institutions; former students; admissions records and letters of recommendation; exclusion of private records, law enforcement records, and employment records from education records; student access to records; challenges to information in records; disclosure;…

The right to form adult consensual intimate relationships is a fundamental personal freedom. A strong and effective university policy against sexual harassment and the recognition of faculty and students' right to privacy will, within the parameters of constitutional guarantees, serve both the university's and the individual's interest.…

A case in which California's constitutional right to privacy is used to protect confidential peer review files is analyzed, and the case's significance and possible ramifications for discovery requests of peer review files are discussed. (MSE)

Harlan Cleveland's book concerning the benefits and costs of open governing board meetings is reviewed and critiqued, especially in its suggestions for modification of statutes in the cases of presidential searches and program and board evaluations. (MSE)

This article examines state court decisions and legislative enactments concerning the applications of public records laws to university presidential searches. It reviews the arguments in support of, and in opposition to, open presidential-search records. Although many administrators favor openness, opponents of open searches argue that they…

Examines problems in the 1998 Amendment to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) in its application to student disciplinary records. Reviews enactment and development of FERPA and discusses recent debate over "educational records" provision. Argues that Congress should amend FERPA to expressly mandate that universities…

Examines the challenges to colleges and universities associated with maintaining privacy as use of technology increases and technology advances. Lapses in security, types of information needing protection, liability under federal laws, other relevant laws and pending legislation, ethics, and policy implementation in the electronic age are…

An award-winning law student article discusses the implications of a court decision concerning the legality of student searches on campus and the need for institutions to review their policies and attitudes toward increased scrutiny of student life. (MSE)

The review of 1994 judicial pronouncements on the law of higher education reports on and discusses cases addressing the First Amendment, invasion of privacy, tort liability, immunities, civil procedure, access to records and meetings, funding, employment, disciplinary decision, discrimination against students, intercollegiate athletics, and…