Some people fear the situation is headed in that direction. Colleges and universities have hugely increased the personal data they collect from students, and a new DOE proposal may go beyond the boundaries of acceptable.

Bad ideas born in Federal office buildings resemble cats; both can have nine lives.

Consider the desire by officials at the Department of Education (DOE) to collect
individualized student "unit" data on every college student in the United States who studies at an institution of higher learning which receives Federal funds.

The statement may rely on reassuring phrases, such as "privacy safeguards," but there are several reasons to challenge the need and practicality of such a system.

If the information is truly necessary, why is the data not anonymized to protect the identity of individuals? Why should the Federal Government want to track all individuals enrolled in a college or university, including those who are not collecting Federal financial aid. Earlier, DOE had thought it necessary to obtain Social Security numbers of students. It's unclear whether SSNs are to be collected or some other form of identifier, perhaps a bar code, which also could be copied by identity thieves to obtain personal information.

Potentially scary stuff. Would you be comfortable sharing so much information about yourself?