I *have* to have my two penneth here as I have direct experience of where
this type of thing can go wrong. Also you will find that the Association of
Colleges have views on this.
If it is vital that the parent speaks to the offspring, then they should be
contacting the administration side of the establishment not lecturers. Do
students not get forms to fill in stating who is "next of kin" or who to
call in an emergency? If a parent calls then the establishment, if they do
not know otherwise, should take details and pass them to the offspring. If
the student is an adult this should be sufficient.
What happens (and there have been incidences of this) when the parent of an
ethnic minority girl believes she is attending college behind their backs
and they set out to prove this? The student must come first. This is a real
concern for those dealing in the sharing of student data between
departments, because some ethnic minorities actively discourage girls from
gaining further education.
If it's life and death then it should be possible to get word to the student
and they can decide themselves. To give ANY information away that may locate
them and/or give information to unauthorised people, should in my opinion,
be a great case for a claim for damages.
My direct experience of this is a friend who was escaping an abusive father,
even though she was 20 years old. She left home and managed to get a place
at University. Her father got wind of this and visited what was then the
Grants office and asked if she had made any applications for a grant. He was
not only told that she had but was given a photocopy of her form showing her
new address. The ending is a happy one, no thanks to the idiot who gave her
details away.
Parents or not, once they are an adult students deserve and should expect
confidentiality. No if's or but's.
Simon Howarth.
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