Argue for/against: all faculty advisors in the Institute of Technology should use the Electronic Advising Resource System for accessing and recording information related to student advising.

FOR

  • Advisors have needed info. Knowing past classes to advise future classes, eliminates incorrect/excess classes.
  • More advisors provides better accessibility to students. More time for students provides better advising, leading to students taking correct classes.
  • Any advisor can help all students: allows students to switch advisors, provides advisor access to student records, goals, backgrounds.
  • Economics
    • proper use of taxpayer money
    • keeps down tuition costs
  • Quality of advising will increase, since faculty advisors can be checked up on.
  • Time
    • reduces time to access records
    • allows access from any location w/Internet
    • provides more personal time
  • Facilitates legal compliance with FERPA
  • Facilitates good student advising (through refering to "notes" from previous advising sessions)
  • Allows ease of access by students through DARS
  • Already exists

AGAINST

  • Could use records against students (scheduling decisions)
  • Not cost effective
  • Not all faculty advisors are qualified
  • Privacy of students:
    • all users can view all student grades: teacher assumes students are stupid.
    • other individuals seeing student grades,
    • the student grades are their business
  • Abuse
    • Intended: professor can check children's grades. Could threaten to reveal grades.
    • Unintended: professor could give keycard to someone else. This gives full EARS power to someone w/o proper training.
  • Bias of faculty:
    • negative notes:teachers should not spread gossip about students
    • viewing grade history: teachers should not have preconceptions
  • Surveilling students does not respect their autonomy; instead, advisors could simply ask students to provide any necessary information leaving students in control.
  • Access to student records negatively affects the relationship between faculty advisors and students by increasing the power differential.
  • Faculty motivation is reduced, since faculty can be surveilled.
  • All faculty having access to EARS requires a more authoritarian "politics" within the Institute, since a protecting student privacy now requires a security regime that is monitored and enforced.
  • Security:
    • Does not protect privacy
    • Identify theft: relationship between school and student should be secure.