Adam B. Sullivan has a report in the Iowa City Press-Citizen that shows how confusing it can be to determine when a student’s educational records can be disclosed.
University of Iowa leaders are standing by their decision to release grades, test scores and other personal information about an alleged criminal while one of the school’s peer institutions said such a disclosure would be an invasion of privacy.
Last month, UI released a dozen pages of records about alleged Colorado killer James Holmes, who had applied to the school. The same officials declined to release information about other applicants. That’s because leaders say they have discretion to release confidential documents if there’s “compelling public interest.”
The case also highlights a patchwork of differing state laws and varying levels of disclosure. Dozens of documents obtained by the Press-Citizen show one school disclosed nothing about Holmes while a handful shared his test scores and one even revealed his family income.
Read more on Iowa City Press-Citizen. This article really makes it clear how and why post-secondary education institutions may come to very different decisions about whether they can release information and what they release.