Colleges make millions selling access and addresses to Bank of America

Some of the nation’s largest and most elite universities stand to gain millions of dollars from selling the names and addresses of students and alumni to credit card companies while granting the companies special access to school events, the Huffington Post Investigative Fund has found.

The schools and their alumni associations are entitled to receive payments that multiply as students use their cards. Some colleges can receive bonuses when students incur debt.

The little-known agreements have enriched schools and some banks at a time when young women and men already are borrowing at record levels, raising questions about whether such collegiate and corporate alliances are in the best interests of students.

The story is one in a series of articles on student debt produced by the Investigative Fund.

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Disputing the Claim that FERPA Applies to all University Documents

The general counsel for Central Michigan University redacted several pieces of "directory information" when responding to a FOIA request by Central Michigan Life for all FOIA requests submitted to the university from July 1, 2009 to Feb. 2, 2010. Nearly 21 percent of the 43 FOIA requests had information redacted on grounds of protecting citizens from "an unwarranted invasion of their privacy" and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Chairwoman of the Society of Professional Journalists FERPA committee Carolyn Carlson said schools tend to "be very creative in the way they misuse FERPA," disagreeing with the university general counsel's position that every piece of paper held by the university is an educational record.

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University of Iowa Says Consultant's Documents Not Subject to Open Records Law

The University of Iowa denies that records sought by The Press-Citizen are subject to the state's Open Records law. The news group sought documents and correspondence from a consulting firm that helped the university draft new strategic communications and media response polices and communications consulting for an amount in excess of $250,000 in 2009.

The Press-Citizen sought documents and correspondence from the consultants and UI officials that related to the media relations strategies, practices and policies and tactical advice for specific circumstances or interviews. The university maintains that the Open Records law does not apply because the consulting firm is an external agency that was not performing a governmental function.

Kathleen Richardson of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council says the university's position violates the Open Records law and undermines a 2005 Iowa Supreme Court ruling.

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Investigation Finds Felons Working in Higher Education

Since Utah enacted the Higher Education Criminal Background Checks bill, effective May 1, 2009, Weber State University's The Signpost found that eight individuals with felonies or serious misdemeanors were employed by the university. Three of those individuals no longer work for the school.

The law requires criminal background checks for new employees in higher education. Anyone applying for a position that would have "significant contact with a minor or a position that is security-sensitive" must submit to a criminal background check as a condition of employment.

Weber State University takes electronic fingerprints from applicants and sends them to the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification, using a federal criminal database, before making a final offer of employment.

Read more from the two-part investigative series: Part 1 and Part 2.

University of Iowa Faculty Not Subject to Open Meeting Law

After consulting with the University of Iowa General Counsel's Office and the Iowa Attorney General, a University of Iowa faculty leader said faculty government meetings are not subject to the Iowa Open Meeting law.

The question arose during an August state Board of Regents meeting when regents questioned the use of closed-door session by faculty government and whether the state open meeting statute applied.

Some professors disagree with the use of executive or closed sessions.

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Calif. bill seeks to include university foundations in FOI

California Sen. Leland Yee has introduced a bill that would open the records of auxiliaries, private foundations created to support public universities, The Los Angeles Times reported. The legislation proposes that foundations should be subject to the same disclosure requirements as universities. His bill does offer an exemption that would allow donors to give anonymously and allow foundations to withhold the names of donors as long as they didn't receive some benefit from the foundation.

As they stretch every dollar, California's public universities have understandably turned to novel ways of raising and spending money. Many have established private foundations, known as "auxiliaries," that solicit contributions from private donors and then hand that money out in the form of grants, scholarships and the like. Auxiliaries today supply the Cal State system with roughly 20% of its $6.7-billion annual operating budget.

The trouble arises when those foundations use their vague legal status -- they are private entities affiliated with public universities -- to shield themselves from scrutiny. And the public has ample reason to question how some of this money is being spent. A foundation affiliated with Sonoma State University lent money to a former member of its board, then got stuck with a bill when he could not pay the money back. A foundation affiliated with Cal State Fresno built an arena on campus and awarded some donors luxury boxes; when the Fresno Bee asked for the names of the donors and what they had contributed, it was denied, and a court held that the California Public Records Act did not cover the foundation. And a former chancellor of San Francisco City College has been indicted on charges that include allegedly diverting money from a foundation account to pay for a club membership, liquor and other expenses.

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Florida State sues NCAA for legal fees

Florida State wants the NCAA to pay its legal fees associated with a suit against the university and NCAA for not releasing records related to academic cheating sanctions, the AP reported. The university says it can't make the records public because of an NCAA Web site that forbids downloading or printing.

Florida State is back in court — suing the NCAA.

The school said Friday its wants the NCAA to pay its legal fees and other costs incurred in a suit filed against the university and the athletic governing body for failing to comply with Florida's public records law.

General Counsel Betty Steffen said it has been technically impossible for the school to make records in the case public because an NCAA website prohibits downloading or printing.

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MU says it complied with Columbia Dispatch's request

The University of Missouri says it complied with the Columbus Dispatch's records request and maintains records as it should according to NCAA terms, the Columbia Missourian reported. MU says it didn't "refuse to provide any information to protect privacy" involving the records of complimentary tickets for athletes and it does keep records on athletes' summer employment. The university said it informed reporters that the ticket data would cost $300 to compile into a compatible form, but the reporter no longer wanted the information. Similarly, MU says it keeps employment records but the reporter didn't want them unless athlete names were included. MU redacts students names in these records.

The Columbus Dispatch said that the University of Missouri, like other NCAA schools, misinterpreted privacy rules and violated NCAA terms by hiding public records.

However, MU said that it complied with the Dispatch's request and does keep all the records it should.

As part of a six-month investigation, the Columbus Dispatch found MU "refused to provide any information to protect privacy" involving the records of complimentary tickets for athletes, and "the school did not keep these records" about the athletes' summer employment.

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U. of I. trustees used clout system for their benefit

FOI at Work!
The Chicago Tribune obtained new records that show almost 100 instances in which University of Illinois trustees "backed" applicants -- including their relatives, colleagues' children and "key employees" -- in the past three years. Between 2003 and 2008, more than 800 applicants were "flagged for special treatment" at the Urbana-Champaign campus. Every member of the Board of Trustees took part in the process, except for new trustee Edward McMillan. "All (trustees) are political contributors, with some having close political ties or a record of generous contributions to the impeached governor." The trustees maintain that they weren't meddling in the admissions process but were serving as intermediaries between applicants and the university.

In September 2006, the dean of the University of Illinois' law school e-mailed a colleague in admissions to say that a U. of I. trustee had "just called me about getting his [relative] into law school here next year."

Dean Heidi Hurd asked the administrator to walk the board member, Dr. Kenneth Schmidt, through "all the variables and considerations to the admissions process."

"Needless to say, this one takes velvet gloves," Hurd wrote, public records show. Schmidt's relative was admitted.

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Chicago Tribune sues for data on clout applicants

The Chicago Tribune has filed a lawsuit against the University of Illinois after officials declined to disclose ACT test scores and GPAs for applicants who were given preferential treatment. The data was originally requested in April while the newspaper was conducting its investigation. The university president says FERPA prevents the release of those details even if student names would be redacted.

The Chicago Tribune filed a state lawsuit Tuesday against the University of Illinois demanding the immediate release of grade point averages and standardized test scores of the hundreds of college applicants placed on an internal list of well-connected students.

The Tribune originally sought the information in April for an ongoing series of stories about the clout list, in which it reported that students whose applications were pushed by public officials or university trustees received preferential treatment by the admissions office despite concerns about some applicants' qualifications.

In response to an Illinois Freedom of Information Act request by the Tribune, the university released about 1,800 pages of documents -- including e-mail exchanges expressing worry about the "terrible" and "weak" academic records of some applicants -- that have been the foundation of the Tribune's "Clout Goes to College" series.

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Legislator responds to report of questionable admissions standards

The Chicago Tribune's series on admissions practices at the University of Illinois set off a fire storm. State Rep. Mike Boland wants the school system's president and those trustees who interfered with the application process to resign. He also asked the governor to appoint an investigative panel to ensure preferential treatment is no longer given to politically connected candidates. The university suspended its "clout list" (or Category 1) of student applicants and announced the creation of an internal panel to examine the process. Boland also is asking to hold legislative hearings on Category I.

Fallout from questionable admissions practices at the University of Illinois continued Sunday as a state representative called for the resignation of the school system's president and the trustees who meddled with student applications.

State Rep. Mike Boland (D-East Moline), chairman of the state House Higher Education Committee, said President B. Joseph White and other university leaders betrayed the public's confidence by giving preferential treatment to politically connected applicants.

"They were trusted to protect our university," Boland said. "In my eyes, they failed in that regard and they should resign."

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Columbus Dispatch finds different interpretations of FERPA

Inside Higher Ed highlighted The Columbus Dispatch's investigation that uncovered widely different interpretations of FERPA by athletics programs. The newspaper sent public records requests for athletic-related documents to all 119 in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Several programs used the vague law to deny or redact parts of records that were unrelated to students' academic records. Check to see how open your favorite athletic program was here.

A six-month investigation by The Columbus Dispatch has found that colleges and universities use "wildly different legal interpretations" of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to deny access to information about athletics programs. The newspaper sent colleges with big-time athletics programs similar requests for information and found wide variation in what institutions provided, with FERPA commonly cited to avoid providing information commonly released by other institutions. Even within the same state, the newspaper found inconsistent interpretations. The newspaper also interviewed James Buckley, the one-time U.S. senator who wrote the law, and found that he was "stunned" at the way athletics programs are citing the measure to keep information secret.

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Records reveal special consideration given to University of Ill. applicants

FOI at Work!
The Chicago Tribune reviewed about 1800 pages of documents (obtained via FOIA), which revealed that about 800 undergraduate students since 2005 have received special admission consideration at the University of Illinois. The newspaper terms it the "clout list." Last school year about 77 percent of those on this list were admitted when only 69 percent of all applicants were accepted. Documents show "politically appointed trustees and lawmakers routinely behave as armchair admissions officers advocating on behalf of relatives and neighbors."

At a time when it's more competitive than ever to get into the University of Illinois, some students with subpar academic records are being admitted after interference from state lawmakers and university trustees, a Tribune investigation has revealed.

Hundreds of applicants received special consideration in the last five years, according to documents obtained by the Tribune under the state's Freedom of Information Act. The records chronicle a shadow admissions system in which some students won spots at the state's most prestigious public university over the protests of admissions officers, while others had their rejections reversed during an unadvertised appeal process.

In one case, a relative of Antoin "Tony" Rezko, the now-convicted influence peddler for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, got admitted after U. of I. President B. Joseph White wrote an e-mail stating that the governor "has expressed his support, and would like to see admitted" Rezko's relative and another applicant.

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Records indicate other UK athletes tested positive for banned substances

FOI at Work!
The Herald-Leader obtained records under the Open Records Act that show the number of UK athletes who have tested positive for banned substances in the past few years. Jeremy Jarmon has been the "most prominent," but another UK athlete was dismissed in the latter part of 2008 and another was penalized for testing positive for marijuana (first offense). The school did not release the names or the teams of those who tested positive in the school's internal testing. (Jarmon tested positive in an NCAA random test). At UK, 13 athletes during the 2006-07 year and 10 during the 2005-06 year tested positive for marijuana.

Jeremy Jarmon was not the first University of Kentucky athlete whose career was cut short because of a positive test for a banned substance. But he's certainly one of the most prominent.

One UK athlete was dismissed from a team between July and December of 2008 after a positive test for marijuana. A second athlete who tested positive for marijuana was simply penalized because it was a first offense, according to records of internal testing at UK Athletics that the Herald-Leader obtained under the Open Records Act.

The records UK provided were from the school's internal testing, not from the NCAA. Jarmon came up positive in a random test conducted by the NCAA. The substance was not disclosed.

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FOI records reveal origins of deficient degree

FOI at Work!

The Richmond Times-Dispatch struggled to obtain records from the Virgina Commonwealth University on Rodney Monroe, the former Richmond police chief who received a degree despite not meeting qualifications. FERPA stood in the way. However, because the police department funded his coursework, some data was available under FOIA. Records show that VCU administrators only briefly mentioned via e-mail that Monroe had not met the requirement to earn 25 percent of credit from courses at VCU.

It was no secret that he took only two courses at Virginia Commonwealth University. Rodney Monroe, then Richmond's police chief, publicly spoke of that shortly before he graduated in 2007.

But far less apparent were how lapses in judgment and university procedures combined to allow him to get that diploma even though he fell far short of requirements for his bachelor's degree.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch used the Freedom of Information Act to help determine what courses Monroe had taken, how much the Richmond Police Department paid for his courses, and to provide insight into internal communications leading up to the approval of his degree.

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Children of Central Arkansas trustees get tuition breaks

FOI at work!

As a result of an FOI request, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette learned that five current or former trustees of the University of Central Arkansas received tuition discounts for their children. This could present a conflict of interest, and officials are asking that this practice as least be made transparent and put in writing.

The children of trustees of the University of Central Arkansas have received up to 80-percent discounts on their tuition and fees, the Associated Press reports. Although the tuition breaks appear to be legal, according to a lawyer cited by the AP, trustees do not typically benefit from their board positions.

The discounts could be perceived as gifts, said Jim Purcell, the Arkansas higher-education director, according to the AP. They could also present a conflict of interest for trustees, who set policy for the institutions they serve.

In response to Freedom of Information Act requests from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which first reported the discounts, the university named five current or former trustees who received discounts for their children’s tuition and fees.

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How do you define 'interview'?

The University of Nebraska released the records of all candidates interviewed for the university's presidency after a ruling by the attorney general, the Nebraska City News-Press reported. The university had released information on its four finalists but not other candidates who weren't selected as finalists but did participate in informal "interviews." Information on applicants who agree to be interviewed for public jobs is public record. However, the university didn't consider the informal "interviews" to fall under this law.

The University of Nebraska must make public the records of job applicants who are screened in face-to-face meetings, the state's attorney general said in an 2004 opinion.

Attorney General Jon Bruning ordered the University of Nebraska, a public university, to disclose the names of eight candidates it interviewed for the school's presidency. Within hours, university officials complied with the order, which had been requested by the Omaha World-Herald , the Lincoln Journal Star and The Associated Press.

The university had previously made public the records of its four finalists for the presidency, but refused to release information pertaining to four other candidates who were interviewed by its search committee but not officially named "finalists" for the job.

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College president searches in N.D. may become less secretive

The North Dakota Board of Higher Education requested that the names of applicants for university presidencies and higher education system chancellor not be released until the semifinalist phase. However, a new amendment to the Senate bill would up the release date to two weeks after the initial cut of applicants.

A legislative committee this afternoon amended a bill that relates to open records and the applications of university presidents.

The bill, with an amendment introduced by Sen. John Andrist, R-Crosby, would provide more openness than what the state Board of Higher Education had requested.

Andrist, who spent his career as owner and editor of a weekly newspaper in Crosby, told the Senate Education Committee he thought the original bill went too far.

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FOIA request reveals Rodriguez cost Michigan $6.6 million

When you add up the buyout, taxes, his salary and other compensation, Rich Rodriguez cost the University of Michigan $6.6 million, the Ann Abor News reported after obtaining records from an FOIA request. That amounts to $2.2 million for each of the team's wins this season.

Rich Rodriguez wasn't paid $6.6 million to coach the University of Michigan's football team last year, but that's how much he cost the school.

A Freedom of Information Act request by the Ann Arbor News revealed Michigan paid $4.1 million to cover part of Rodriguez's buyout and related taxes from his contract at West Virginia.

Rodriguez's salary and other compensation amounted to an additional $2.5 million. To give that $6.6 million figure perspective, the News noted that school president Mary Sue Coleman earns $553,500 annually and athletic director Bill Martin gets $380,368.

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University of Nebraska administrators refuse to speak with campus newspaper

Top administrators at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln have been advised not to speak with The Daily Nebraskan reporters but rather to refer them to the university's public relations office. Harvey Perlman, the university's chancellor, says that policy will change if the newspaper staff withdraws its numerous FOIA requests.

The relationship between a university and its student newspaper is typically one of give and take. Some of this professional courtesy, however, has fallen by the wayside at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

In response to numerous sweeping Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by The Daily Nebraskan, the university is now denying student reporters direct access to top administrators for interviews. All information and comment previously sought from these individuals must now be gathered from the institution’s public relations office.

The administration claims the student newspaper’s recent history of seeking broad and, some argue, pointless FOIA requests of the university has burdened their previously harmonious working relationship. Student journalists at The Nebraskan, however, maintain that their document requests are within reason and that the university’s new policy of shielding administrators from interviews is hurting the newspaper’s coverage.

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