Balancing Student Privacy, Campus Security, and Public Safety: Issues for Campus Leaders

Overview

The complex issues of promoting student mental health, privacy and public safety—and the delicate balance among them—weigh heavily on the minds of institutional leaders, educational policymakers, and local, state and federal officials. American campuses have a proud history of intellectual freedom, openness and public accessibility to their communities. However, the Virginia Tech shootings on April 16, 2007 marked a grim watershed in American campus violence, casting light on wide-ranging areas of concern including:

* The number of students with mental health issues on college campuses and the resources available to campuses to assist them;
* Gaps in mental health treatment nationwide;
* The legal role of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and the Health Insurance and Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in campus policies and procedures;
* The state of uncertainty on campus regarding the legality of sharing information about students with mental health issues both for students’ own good and that of the campus;
* The role of families and loved ones in students’ mental health treatment and how much information can legally be shared with them by campus officials;
* Gun control laws as they pertain to people with psychiatric treatment histories;
* College and university emergency procedures, including “lock-downs” and communication methods, and;
* College and university administrative procedures regarding disturbing student behavior and the legal ramifications thereof.

Top 10 State Policy Issues for Higher Education in 2008

Along with the continuation of some long overdue attention at the federal level, 2007 witnessed increasing recognition of the link between higher education and state economic competitiveness. These acknowledgements collectively elevated higher education as a public priority in many states. Evidence of the importance of increasing the quality of, and access to, state colleges was abundant across the U.S. Legislators and governors – given plenty of support from the business community – provided increases in state operating revenues (in most cases), as well as proposed and enacted policy recommendations aimed at creating greater economic stimulus via state colleges.

What lies ahead for 2008? Presented here are the top 10 state issues most likely to be at the forefront of discussion and action that will affect public higher education across the 50 states, in the view of the state policy analysis and research staff at AASCU. While numerous topics shape state higher education policy, each affecting the issues of affordability and quality, our focus is on the overarching issue of college access. This synopsis is informed by an environmental scan of state policy activities of the past year, trend analysis, and events that will continue to shape the policy landscape. Some issues are perennial in nature, while others reflect attention to near-term actions in state policy and public discourse. The influence of any given issue across individual states will, of course, vary.