College students are paying twice for their education: once in tuition and again with their privacy. That’s the findings from a new Privacy Rights Clearinghouse report, funded by a Michelson 20MM grant. The report uncovers “troubling gaps in data privacy for students using digital learning tools in higher education.”
Titled “Paying Twice to Learn? How Higher Education Students May Be Forced to Sacrifice Privacy for Digital Learning Tools,” the report points out that weak privacy protections and vague institutional policies often force students to unknowingly trade personal data for required courseware.
For example, while students in higher education are required to use and pay for digital instructional tools, they lack the data privacy protections provided to K-12 students. The report notes that federal privacy laws like FERPA have not kept pace with technology, leaving postsecondary students vulnerable.
The report also noted that data privacy practices in higher education lack transparency and added that students and instructors receive little information on how personal data is collected, stored, or shared, and companies often fail to clearly explain their data policies.
“Today’s students may be forced to sacrifice privacy for access to digital learning tools without truly understanding the consequences,” said Ariel Fox Johnson, lead author of the report. “This report emphasizes the need for proactive measures to ensure that students’ personal information is only used for its intended educational purpose.”
The report outlined a number of recommendations, including state and federal policy updates, institution-level contracting practices, and increased transparency from educational technology providers. It suggests potential legislative and regulatory pathways, including modernizing FERPA and extending existing K-12 state-level protections to higher ed students and requiring clearer, privacy-forward contracts between institutions and edtech vendors.
“To fully participate in courses for which they have already paid tuition, students often have no choice but to accept any terms of service they are offered. They become captive consumers in a marketplace where profit is too often prioritized over people,” said Cailyn Nagle, Senior Program Manager of Open Educational Resources at Michelson 20MM. “It’s our responsibility to advocate for every possible protection to ensure that students are not forced to trade their privacy for their education.”
