University student records : privacy and research access

This thesis examines the legal, ethical, and procedural issues faced by Canadian university archivists who seek to develop sound policies for research access to student records. The study begins by reviewing the basic types of student records created by university administrative offices--including academic, personnel, financial, medical, and counselling files—as well as some of the current and potential uses of the records by researchers. The thesis then turns to a study of the "right to privacy" itself, and explores how the privacy concerns of the subjects of personal records have been been addressed in government studies and in Canadian law. The existing records policies of Canadian universities and various ethical statements of both university administrators and researchers are also examined. In this manner, the complex problem of balancing privacy rights with research needs is viewed from the perspective of the subjects, creators, and users of student records. The study concludes by reviewing the choices open to archivists with regards to the formulation of access policies. Several opposing views of privacy are evaluated in order to identify those views which can be supported by archivists and those which cannot. The argument is made that archivists need to construct a solid theoretical framework for their access policies by analyzing carefully such factors as the ends to be served by the protection of privacy, the types of research access to be provided to student files, and the nature of the university administrative environment. It is contended that such an analysis indicates a need for policies consisting of graduated sets of access restrictions--policies which are sufficiently flexible and sensitive to guard against unwarranted invasions of student privacy while still permitting a broad range of research studies to be conducted.Arts, Faculty ofLibrary, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School ofGraduat