A little-known computer program at Tufts that allows professors to view photos of students in their classes before the start of each semester is raising privacy concerns among students.
The program, MyAdvisee, runs over the University-wide online network BlackBoard and allows professors to gain access to all of their students' University ID photos, according to Dean of Students Bruce Reitman.
Professors use the photograph database primarily to familiarize themselves with new students and to match faces with names. "I find [MyAdvisee] very helpful when, early in class, I want to be accurate about names," said English lecturer Joe Hurka, who has used the program since last spring.
Student opinion on the availability of their photos is mixed. Some think that MyAdvisee streamlines student-professor relations, and others fear a breach of privacy.
"I think it's fine [for MyAdvisee to be implemented], and if it keeps them from doing roll-call style attendance in every class, I'm all for it," junior Preston Dickey said.
But junior Qhoa Truong said that he was never made aware that his picture would be available to his professors. "I don't think this is right," he said. "I don't want my picture being distributed to anyone without my knowledge."
Truong said that he and other students had never been given permission for their pictures to be included in the program. "We should be notified before a picture is given out to anyone, and as far as I know, I was never asked if it was OK for professors to see my ID photo," he said.
Reitman said that, because of the security measures used in MyAdvisee, students need not worry about personal information falling into the wrong hands.
"I'd only worry about this system if there weren't so many controls," he said. "It's done through a very controlled system that allows professors access only to the photos of students in their particular classes."
Hurka said that, originally, he too was curious about a possible infringement on students' rights, but he thought that students were generally aware of its existence. "I assumed ... that they signed off on the use of their ID's," he said.
Even some professors are unaware that the program exists, however. "In a political science course last year, my professor had us all photocopy our ID's so that he could remember our names and faces," Dickey said.
Tufts professor and Director of the Center of Eastern Mediterranean Studies Leila Fawaz is another professor who was not aware of the program's existence. "I really did not know about this, and I use BlackBoard for my courses regularly," Fawaz said.
Hurka was also unaware that students had not been notified of the resource's presence. "I was a little surprised that [students] were surprised the photographs were being used," he said.
