The Daily Pennsylvanian :: Sharon Udasin | OFSA shouldn't be releasing grades to fellow students

We're constantly signing our lives away. And most of the time, we scribble our names across the dotted line without even giving it a second thought.

Every year, roughly a third of the freshman class signs bid cards for a fraternity or a sorority and becomes members of Penn's historic Greek community.

Scott Reikofski, director of the Office Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, encourages all recipients to read the information on their cards carefully. That includes a disclaimer on the back regarding academic privacy. By signing, new members allow OFSA to release their records to the presidents and scholarship chairs of their Greek organization (those are fellow students, not Penn staff).

But how does OFSA obtain students' grades in the first place? According to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a university can disclose private information to "school officials with legitimate educational interest."

Finding this phrase quite ambiguous, I consulted Lauren Steinfeld, chief privacy officer at Penn's Office of Audit, Compliance and Privacy.

"It is a pretty broad standard that allows sharing with University officials who need the information to do their jobs," Steinfeld said. For OFSA, she explained, the data are necessary because it "facilitates University operations."

Understood.

And yes, when new members sign their bid cards, they do permit their classmates to see their grades, but signature or not, such possession is both inappropriate and useless. A fellow student - who is certainly not a "school official" - shouldn't have access to records that even parents can't see.

Reikofski explained that each semester, students initially receive only the average GPAs of all chapters. However, they can obtain specific grades upon request, often for scholarship funds. And, on occasion, to address low grades.

But this isn't how it should work.

Students should apply for scholarships independently. As far as intervention, no student should have such intrusive power over a fellow student's personal issues. Wharton senior and Panhellenic Council president Catie Vuksich said she would be open to training students to deal with confronting other students, but that still wouldn't get at the root of the problem.

Granted, it would be impossible to ask Reikofski to manage the 3,300 different Greek GPAs singlehandedly, yet someone needs to track this information. If OFSA isn't up to task itself, someone who isn't a student should be found to do the job.

Luckily, that person may already exist.

OFSA requires each group to identify "a chapter adviser," a fraternity alumnus still in the Philadelphia area. This impartial outsider neither has close relationships nor is in competition with the students and would be the perfect supervisor for chapter academics.

The adviser should function like the coach of an athletic team, who is responsible to disciplining students with bad grades. We don't see Penn disclosing grade information to a team captain, after all.

In response, Reikofski argued that while a coach manages an athletic team, the students themselves run fraternities and sororities. He insists that "growing comes from learning to take care of each other, and govern an organization." True, but academic confrontations can only hamper the growth of such relationships.

Most new members are incredibly excited to become active in their fraternities and sororities. Few would likely give up this privilege simply because of the University's grade disclosure policy. New members seem to have no choice but to sign the bid cards if they want to enter the Greek community.

Surprisingly, Reikofski explained that students can actually come in and ask him to omit their grades from individual chapter reports. Yet, most members are unaware of their choice because OFSA chooses to hide this important detail.

"It's not something that's publicized because it's a lot more effort to make sure that's done," Reikofski said.

But how much effort could it take to add a small checkbox to Penn InTouch? Better yet, maybe the default policy should be to not disclose grades to other students, forcing new members to opt in, not opt out.

Instead of making students aware of their options, OFSA simply waits for the occasional student who is brave enough to seek out the information. Apparently, it's too much "effort" to actively inform students of their privacy rights as fraternity and sorority members. Well, consider this the public announcement that has been hidden for so long.

Sharon Udasin is a College senior from East Brunswick, N.J. Her e-mail address is udasin@dailypennsylvanian.com. Shed a Little Light appears on Mondays.

Comments (5)

To Concerned Student: All I did is disagree with Ms. Udasin and share my perspective. That some or most disgree with my opinion is not unexpected, I do not think I wrote anything deserving of your ill-tempered response. Most of your diatribe, IMHO, arises from your apparent lack of familarity with the services offered by the University Counseling Service. Succinctly, its services go beyond what are commonly regarded as "mental health issues" and it includes counseling for the common types of stress faced by students (which, BTW, is a "mental health issue.") If you just need someone to talk to - someone who is a professional and will keep confidential what you talk about - the Counseling Service is an invaluable resourse. (FYI: the institution of Fall Break, designed to give students a "break" from the stress of being students, was brought about in large part by the recommendation of then Directors of the Counseling Service and Student Health, Steve Mullinix and Sam Fager, respectively. If Steve and Sam had had their way, it would be a full week off as in the Spring.) Thus, I made no assumptions about anyone's mental health arising from anyone's grades or otherwise. I just noticed changes and tried to do something to help. And I as noted, it was not just the grades; I was aware of other changes in my brothers' lives. Moreover, you seek out the Counseling Service precisely because a fraternity President is very likely not the best person to help a fellow student deal with the situations involved. But I submit to you, a fraternity President is one of the best to make the relevant observations and just might have the stature among his brothers to let them know that talking with someone at the Counseling Service might be of some benefit. As a Psych major, I am sure you learned all about denial and how seeking assistance is often the hardest part, especially for young men in what is often the macho environment of a college fraternity. Finally, picking on me for what I do with my time now is really funny considering what you could have been doing on a Monday evening instead of writing your long insult to me. (The Vikings were not out of it yet.) Perhaps you should psychoanalyse yourself before turning your poisonous pen on someone else. Regards, and sincere wishes for good luck in your studies.

In response to Mr. Thomas's posting: I have read through both Ms. Udasin's article and your response. Quite frankly, your response makes me a little sad/worried. I am a Psychology major as well as a member of the Greek community. I would like to take a brief moment to point out some weaknesses in your argument. First, I agree with you that the Greek community should live up to certain academic standards. It is important that the academic performance of each and every student be monitored because, after all, sororities and fraternities are nothing more than formal social clubs. Students must understand that unless they live up to certain academic standards, they will not be permitted to participate in social organizations. But what does this have to do with releasing grades to fellow students? If you read correctly, I believe Ms. Udasin�?s argument was that the academic integrity of the Greek system could be maintained by Penn employees rather than by other students. Second, I am so glad to see that you are concerned about the mental health of those around you. That is a very noble trait, and it would be great if more people could be so attuned to the stressors of those around them. HOWEVER, you seem to assume that low grades are indicators of mental health issues. Everyone has different standards regarding academic performance, and it may very well be that other obligations such as clubs, sports, or (dare I say) fraternities, are more at fault for dropping grades than any mental health issue that requires the expertise of the counseling center. Moreover, for some unknown reason, you think that you are the best person to hold someone�?s hand and walk them to the doctor if they are having problems. By this very logic, if a student does not perform well, each one of his/her friends, relatives and casual acquaintances should be notified. Do you think Penn should send out a mass email to ensure that the failing student gets the help they need? In fact, why don�?t we just post grades on the internet. That way, if anyone is concerned, they can intervene immediately. I�?m sure the person will thank them some day! Most importantly, I would like to thank you, Mr. Thomas, for your brilliant introduction of your credentials. In 1982, I�?m sure you made a very fabulous fraternity president. I�?m confident that each one of your brothers wanted to give you hugs and share their problems with you. Let�?s try to keep in mind, though, that it is now 2006. Please find something more productive to do with your time than reminisce about your fraternity and pick on news reporters. If you are having problems in your life, maybe the best thing to do is have them quantified and sent to your current fraternity president. He can evaluate your condition and get you the help that you need. Nice work as always, Ms. Udasin.

I disagree with Ms. Udasin, and I do so from the context of having served as Chapter President of my fraternity at Penn (1980-1981) and as Assistant Director of Penn's OFSA (1982-1984). As anyone who has bothered to read the University's policy on recognizing social fraternities and sororities knows, academics is part of the deal. It is one of the several things the social Greeks must abide by to have a Greek system at Penn. Considering that academics is supposed to be the most important thing to students, including those in the Greek chapters, it is a small price to pay to have a recognized Greek system. On a more personal level, I took being President of my Chapter very seriously (some of my brothers would opine, too seriously). Viewing the grades helped me identify several of my brothers who by all outward appearances seemed to be coping well despite personal problems arising from home and/or social life. The downward moves in their grades, however, told a different story. A few long talks and a few short walks with troubled friends to the University Counseling Service was all I did to address the situation. To this day, those brothers thank me for my discrete intervention.

There is actually precedent in the 10th circuit of the US Court of Appeals for not having to disclose your grades to fellow students. In 2000, a mother objected to her third grade children being forced to call their grades on spelling quizzes out loud. She won! This instance is slightly less ridiculous, and a little more legitimate -- I agree that students have a right to protect their grades.

It is ridiculous that fraternity and sorority officers are given access to students grades.

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