Central Florida Future, Vol. 06 No. 17, February 22, 1974

              Limiting Access To Student Files Debated
SG Requests State Law Change
By Jerry Brooks
Student Government (SG) has passed a resolution
concerning limited access to student files, and has asked
members of the state legislature to take action on a state
law dealing with the same issue.
State statute 230.758 states that student records are
open for inspection only by the student, the student's
parents or guardians, and such professional staff who are
concerned with the student's records.
SG resolution 618 maintains that most students are
18-year-old or older, thus entitling them to adult rights.
It indicates that parents of students should have no legal
right to inspect the various records maintained by the
university on students' health, disciplinary actions and
scholastic data, and so recommends that the word
"parents" be dropped from state law 230.758.
SG President Lee Constantine said, "I am for the
government doing little legislation concerning private
matters such as giving parents access to student records.
The matter should be left up to the individual student
and parent.
"If' the parents want to see the records and the
parents are paying for the education, the student may
have to choose between giving up his records or losing
his financial support and I am sure a suitable decision
could be reached."
Since state law 230.758 was enacted before adult
rights were extended to persons 18 and over,
Constantine said the legislature has made an oversight in
the law. Copies of SG resolution 618 have been sent to
Gov. Reubin Askew, secretary of State Richard Stone,
Atty. Gen. Robert Shevin, House Speaker Terrell
Sessums and Senate Preisdent Mallory Home in order to
encourage action on the law when the legislature meets
in April.
Director of the Student Health Center, Dr. Edward
Stoner, has voiced strong opposition to any form of
access to student health records.
"The Medical Practice Act is quite clear on exactly
who has access to a patient's records," said Stoner.
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"Only the patient and legal guardian are granted access
to medical records, and since most students at FTU are
of majority age, I. feel that student medical records
concern no one at the university except the student and
the Student Health Center."
Stoner also said that if the confidentiality of student
health records is jeopardized, the Student Health Center
may lose established relations with the students .
FTU President Charles N. Millican said he agrees with
Stoner's position and stated that students 18 years or older
should have their records considered confidential
information between the patient and the doctor.
According to Vice Prsident of Student Affairs, Dr. W.
Rex Brown, the word "parent" as used in the law really
implies legal guardian, and once a person reaches
majority age no one should have the right to inspect his
records, especially since the age of the average FTU
student is 26.
ORLANDO, FLORIDA     FEBRUARY 22, 1974
Fees   Collected   Earlier
Under  Proposed System
By Glenn Padgett
One of the biggest changes in FTU's new registration
system will be that when a student leaves the registration
area he will have with him a fee assessment card and a
copy of his confirmed class schedule according to
Registrar William D. Chapman.
When the new system goes into effect fees will be due
on or before midnight of the last day of regular
registration (not to be confused with pre-registration)
which is a difference of one week, according to
Chapman.
The new system, which is expected to be
implemented in time for pre-registration this quarter,
should be faster and easier for everybody concerned,
Chapman said.
In the past, FTU has not been able to comply with
state policy, which states "It is required that all
University fees be paid at or before regular registration
time." According to Chapman, the new system will
enable FTU to enforce this.
Under the old system, fee assessment cards had to be
mailed out, which meant that students who registered at
regular registration did not get their cards until after
classes had begun, making it impossible to collect the
fees until the end of the first week of classes, according
to Chapman.
Chapman explained that earlier fee collection was not
the main reason for going to the new system. Under the
present system, he said, a student might complete
registration only to find upon receiving his class schedule
that a clerical error had been made and that he was not
really registered.
The new system allows the student to check his
official schedule against his advisement schedule on the
spot and make corrections if necessary, according to
Chapman, who said it is estimated that between one and
two per cent of students presently have problems of this
sort, which cause them to have to go to Add/Drop to
correct their schedule.
Those students who still find it necessary to add or
drop classes at ADD/DROP will get a revised schedule
and fee assessment at that time based on their final
registration status, according to Chapman.
Other changes will be the increased use of TV
monitors to show more quickly which classes are closed
and a larger screen of the lists of closed classes, Chapman
said.
The cost to FTU for the new system was $6,000 just
for the computer proram which is in a different
computer language than the old system. The new
program cost the school nothing since we "borrowed" it
from the University of Florida, according to Chapman.
The new system will pay for itself out of the savings
in postage and the cost of having all the envelopes
stuffed and addressed, Chapman said. The cost presently
is in excess of $500 per quarter. He said that when he
cost of mail goes up to 10 cents, the cost to the school
would have been approximately $800 per quarter.
Although the new system was designed to eliminate
most of the bugs in the old system, students will still
have to wait in line if the phone lines to the main
computer at USF go out because "we are at the mercy
of the phone company," Chapman said.
The reason FTU does not have its own computer
capable of handling registration is that the Board of
Regents decided to save money and consolidate all
schools into computer-sharing districts, according to
Chapman.-
A test registration of the new-system was conducted
Feb. 13 by Student Government representatives and
members of the FuTUre staff. Efforts were made to foul
up the computer but none were successful. Similar to
the system used in the past, the computer will not
register a student if his Social Security number is
incorrect, his name is spelled wrong, or he signs up for
classes which overlap.
The real test of the new system will come the first
time students actually register using it, according to
Chapman. Anticipating problems, he has scheduled only
half of the previous number of students through the
process at any one time.
If the new system were to break down completely, all
the data in the new system could be transferred back to
the old system and registration could continue with an
interruption of four hours or less, Chapman said.
Above, Computer Center Consultant Bernie Slessinger
removes fee payment and class schedule notice from
computer printer just seconds after invited students'
mock schedules were given the keytape operators. The
new registration steps are outlined below by Registrar
Dan Chapman. (Photos by Marvin Clegg)
A Central Florida Blood
Bank mobile unit will be
parked Tuesday and
Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3
p.m. by the Kiosk.
The FTU Blood Bank
Reserve provides blood for
the faculty, staff, students
and their immediate families
in need of blood.
Staff members have been
asked by the Blood Bank to
donate blood on the half
hour to allow a balancing of
donors with the students
getting out of class on the
hour.
See story on page 2.
Evaluation Of Administrators?
The Faculty Senate adjourned its hour-long meeting Feb. 14
during the discussion of a resolution proposing a faculty
evaluation of academic administrators.
Chairman Phillip Taylor called another Senate meeting for
February 21 after opposition arose over the instruction
committee's resolution which states that all academic
administrators be evaluated annually by the faculty.
The evaluation proposal states that each department
chairperson and each college dean be evaluated by by all full-time
faculty in his or her college and that all other academic
administrators, including the vice presidents and president be
evaluated by all full-time faculty members.
The results of the evaluations would be tabulated by the
instruction committee, one copy would be sent to the
administrator, one copy to his superior and one copy kept on file.
The Feb. 21 meeting was called to conclude business on this
resolution.
Assistant Professor Frank B. Bondurant objected to the
resolution saying that faculty members are not in contact with
administrators enough to make a just evaluation.
Bondurant will assume an administrative position as Director
of School and Community Relations at the beginning of spring
quarter.
The Senate voted unanimously to approve the adoption of the
policy of Procedures Governing Faculty Grievances and Dismissal.
The policy is designed to avoid the apparent inconsistencies
which exist between the current Plan for Academic
Administration, the Faculty Constitution and the Faculty
Handbook concerning faculty grievance and dismissal procedures.
The Senate also unanimously approved recommending each
college draw up criteria for nonretention of faculty due to
possible reductions in instructional and research resources within
the university.