University use of social security numbers raises concerns

by Becca Manning
Staff Writer

Social security numbers will not appear on driver licenses under a new Ohio law, but Ohio University staff members and students still are required to use the numbers to identify themselves on campus.

Some professors ask students to put their social security numbers on their exams for grading purposes.

And OU officials also collect social security numbers for financial aid and tax reporting when students apply to the university, OU Registrar Debra Benton said. Students have two identifying numbers—social security numbers and six-digit Person Identification numbers that appear on ID cards.

Students also have used social security numbers to identify themselves on OU’s telephone registration system since its implementation in 1992, Benton said. But the Web registration program, introduced in 2000, includes a PID number option.

OU officials discussed replacing the social security number option with students’ e-mail account numbers, called Oak IDs, Benton said. Officials decided Oak IDs would be better to use because many students might not be familiar with their PID numbers and might have difficulty registering.

'"The basic perception is that students know their social security numbers, and we are not sure how many students are aware that they have a PID or what a PID is," Benton said.

Under the 1974 Privacy Act, OU officials must tell people how and why their social security numbers are used, said Nicolette Dioguardi, OU associate director of legal affairs. In many cases, a person has the right to request the use of a different number for records.

OU faculty members, whose social security numbers appear on their IDs, often request a new identifying number through legal affairs, Dioguardi said. Although many have made this request, OU has not changed the system to remove the numbers entirely.

Although students’ numbers do not appear on their IDs, some are not comfortable with other ways the numbers are used.

OU senior Kate Emberlin said she would like to see OU use only PID numbers.

"Your social security number is supposed to be a private thing,"Emberlin said. "The number links everything to you – your assets and credit records. The potential for problems is there."

Emberlin also said she does not like to use her social security number as an identifier on tests, but professors sometimes require her to use it.

OU professor of geography Nancy Bain said she asks students to print social security numbers on tests in her large lecture classes. Bain posts the last six digits of the numbers with test grades because she ran into duplicates using the last four digits.

Bain said she uses the information only for grading and shreds all test sheets after she grades them.

"It's a pretty secure system, though it's not perfect," Bain said. "If (students) have a different number for everything it gets to be a problem for (them)."

Bain said she recognizes that issues such as identity theft can be problems.

"Athens seems like such a safe place, but once you go onto the Internet and start putting information out there it can become a problem," Bain said.

OU senior Megan Pfaff said she is comfortable with using her social security number on tests and to register for classes and has never thought about requesting another number.

"I figure it's OK to use in college for anything school-related,” Pfaff said. "I don't feel like they have taken something personal from me."