The U.S. Education Department recently disclosed that it has supplied the Federal Bureau of Investigation with sensitive financial information on hundreds of student-aid applicants over the last five years. The program came into light following an investigation by a Medill School of Journalism reporter working with the Associated Press.
Under the program known as "Project Strike Back" which began shortly after September 11, 2001, the FBI supplied the Department of Education's Office of The Inspector General with the names of subjects under investigation for terrorism.
The department would then check the names against the student-aid database to look for evidence of either student loan fraud or identity theft.
Although it is unclear how effective the program was, "Project Strike Back" was terminated in June because of inactivity on the part of the FBI.
"During the September 11 investigation and continually since, much of the intelligence has indicated terrorists have exploited programs involving student visas and financial aid," John Miller, Assistant Director of the FBI, said in an August 31 statement. "In some student loan frauds, identity theft has been a factor."
Miller emphasized that the FBI only called for the records of those already under investigation for terrorism, checking merely a few hundred names.
Dartmouth is currently required to provide the National Student Loan Data System with information about student enrollment and borrowing from federal funds, according to Virginia Hazen, Director of Financial Aid at Dartmouth.
In addition to sensitive financial information, the database contains students' names, dates of birth, addresses, Social Security numbers and driver's license numbers.
The Department of Education database also stores information on the roughly 14 million students per year who complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
The FAFSA is the standard application form used by the federal government, state governments and most colleges to determine student eligibility for financial aid including grants, loans and work-study programs.
"If the Department of Education chose to give any of this information to the FBI, it would be after we had passed the information to NSLDS and we would be unaware that the transfer of information had occurred," Hazen said.
While Dartmouth has cooperated with the Department of Education on student aid fraud in the past, the current program leaves the College with few options.
"We are obligated to report any cases that have the appearance of fraud to the Inspector General's Office" said Hazen. "The minute we supply it, it's out of our control."
Some students feel that the FBI's program had little to do with homeland security and view it as an unnecessary invasion of privacy.
"It's good to know that when it comes to national security, the government really has its eye on what matters," Caroline Brandt '09 said in jest.
In response to criticism, Miller said that "Project Strike Back" has never been concealed, and references to the program were available to the general public through briefings to Congress and the General Accountability Office.
The implications of "Project Strike Back" have raised questions about other proposed databases that could directly impact Dartmouth students. One proposal advocates the creation of a national "unit records" database that would track students' performance throughout their academic careers.
"It's like big brother, it's tied to Social Security numbers and it really follows you throughout your whole college career," Hazen said.
Under the current system, the Department of Education keeps global records of how many students are moving through a particular college, but the proposed "unit records" system would go one step further and keep personalized records on students as they move from school to school.
Proponents of the database say that it's another tool to analyze student performance and give educators a better picture of what happens to student's that drop-out or transfer.
Dartmouth's Office of Financial Aid is currently fighting the proposed "unit records" system through its membership in the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
