The Student Unit Record System Returns?

As reported today in Inside Higher Ed, the Wyden-Rubio, and now Warner (D-VA), "Student Right to Know Before You Go Act" has shifted from its early stage concept of knitting together the state longitudinal data systems (SLDSs), built over the last several years via federal grants, into a federated database that would span the country and allow for tracking students throughout their educational careers and into the workforce, and across states. (For additional background, please see my March 7, 2013, blog post as well.) Instead, the latest version of the bill, which was formally introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate on Thursday, would lift the ban on the federal government developing a student unit record system, which was imposed during the last reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, and mandate the development of such a system. (See the full text of the bill.)

Proponents of a federal unit record system, which would allow for the collection of individual students' educational records throughout their educational careers, nationwide, have long argued that it is the only way to efficiently and effectively track educational outcomes in relation to workforce outcomes, and thus allow policy-makers to truly evaluate the effectiveness of both educational institutions and policies intended to bolster educational and economic achievement. In the context of the bill, the collection of data at the individual student level will also enable the type of analysis and reporting that will give students and their families a much better sense of the workforce outcomes from pursuing a particular program of student at a particular institution.

The concept's detractors, though, have long raised concerns about this level of data collection and storage on individual students, noting the potential for violations of privacy if system security were breached (or if the federal government or contractors acting on its behalf misused such data). Colleges and universities have also warned about the dangers of programs and institutions being subjected to inaccurate assessments of their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in relation to students' workforce outcomes depending on the metrics and timeframes used in such assessments.

The Inside Higher Ed article notes that its sources don't think sufficient bipartisan support exists in both houses of Congress to overturn the student unit record system ban in favor of having the federal government build and manage such a system. However, as discussed in the article and elsewhere, including this blog, strong bipartisan support exists for improving the level and transparency of the higher education data--particularly as relates to the costs students bear in relation to their workforce outcomes--available to students and their families. Whether this bill passes or not, colleges and universities can expect to face continuing pressure on this front for the foreseeable future.