A public university in Virginia is testing a new computer tracking system that will allow university officials to monitor a student’s presence on campus based on when and where he connects to the on-campus WiFi network.
According to the Commonwealth Times, officials at Virginia Commonwealth University have released a pilot version of a new classroom attendance tracking system titled “Ram Attend” that will automatically record the time and location of a Wi-Fi access point on the VCU campus. This will enable university employees to compare the data to regular classroom attendance records and verify whether or not students are present in class.
When asked for an interview regarding the overall details of the program, university officials claimed that it was too early in the pilot stage of the program to provide any specifics, but stressed that the overall focus of the program was to ensure student success by emphasizing attendance in classroom.
“We are in the initial stages of information sharing with students in Focused Inquiry courses about the goals of our student success initiative which is focused on the importance of classroom attendance in successful learning,” the university said in a statement. “We have not yet begun any data analysis so it is too early to speak about the progress of the pilot.”
Additionally, university officials sought to assure students that the data would only be accessible by university officials involved in students academic affairs, such as professors, deans, or academic advisors. In the days following the pilot program’s official launch, students were also provided with an opportunity to opt-out of having their attendance tracked via WiFi, though the deadline to opt-out was on Nov. 21.
Despite promises by the university that the program was merely a tool to promote academic success, a number of students have expressed reservations about the program, viewing it as an unnecessary intrusion into student’s personal data.
“It’s a discomfort for a lot of people,” one student said, in an interview with a local news station. “It seems like they need to publicize this a little bit more so the students at least know. I do believe that class attendance is a key factor to students success in school. It’s a matter of this method of figuring out if you’re in class, I wouldn’t figure this to be the best one.”
A number of students have also expressed a desire for the university to be more vocal about rolling out a program that has a potential to be such a massive intrusion into a student’s personal data, and questioned why the university felt a need to keep the details of the program under wraps.
“I do plan on opting out of it,” another VCU student told reporters. “I think it’s weird that I’m hearing it from my peers rather then my school. It’s becoming kind of like a resistance against it.”
VCU is not the first university to attempt to track the locations of their students on campus using technology. Earlier this year, officials at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill implemented a location tracking system for members of the men’s basketball and football teams that uses Bluetooth technology which connects to the smartphones of student athletes who have downloaded a specific app when they are within reach of the tracking devices located in the classrooms.
This level of student surveillance is dystopian. But it might soon come to a campus near you.
John Patrick is a graduate of Canisius College and Georgia Southern University. He interned for Red Alert Politics during the summer of 2012 and has continued to contribute to the Washington Examiner regularly.
