Education, Big Data, and student privacy are a combustible mix. The improvement of education and the protection of student privacy are key societal values. Big Data and Learning Analytics offer the promise of unlocking insights to improving education through large-scale empirical analysis of data generated from student information and student…

The "Disability Standards for Education 2005" (the Standards) are subordinate legislation to the "Disability Discrimination Act 1992" (the DDA). They do not create new obligations, but seek to clarify education providers' responsibilities under the DDA and ensure that students with disability can access and participate in…

For educators in the field of higher education and judicial affairs, issues are growing. Campus adjudicators must somehow maximize every opportunity for student education and development in the context of declining resources and increasing expectations of public accountability. Numbers of student misconduct cases, including matters of violence and…

Autonomy is the right of self-determination and self-governance of higher education institutions by independent academic boards without state government control. In "Sweezy v. New Hampshire," the U.S. Supreme Court defined a college's four essential freedoms: to determine who may teach, what may be taught and how, and who may be admitted…

The availability of general liability insurance policies is addressed to help trustees assess the adequacy of protection provided by state or institutional indemnification provisions, or through one of the insurance policies currently available. The board of trustees' responsibility to monitor regularly the policy it may have in force or that it…

The author reviews predictions for personnel in higher education, reviews the state of the art and charts a course for the work to be done. (Editor)

Explores some legal issues and principles relevant to university administrators' decision-making processes, focusing on three areas: discretion (i.e., level at which a decision is made); procedural fairness (when it is required, what it applies to, rules, and biases); and review of decisions. Emphasis is on the Australian context. (MSE)

This document is one in a series of papers designed to explore the legal aspects of potential issues and problems arising in higher education. This particular paper deals with the case of a student suing his school board for fraud. His reasoning for the suit is that he can read only on the 7th grade level but was awarded a high school diploma…

The legal situation of a college being sued by a group of students following elimination of a graduate program is outlined and analyzed in terms of other related court litigation, the possible directions of the case, and the college's possible legal defenses. (MSE)

Few claims for negligence or misrepresentation against higher education have been sustained, but several important cases in lower education have provided a framework for future litigation. It is noted that the students ultimately lost, but educators should not be lulled. The development of a new tort such as educational malpractice takes years.…

The first student consumer lawsuit against a university tried to a conclusion is examined in terms of the court proceedings. Focus is on the legal philosophies presented by both sides and the legal and educational underpinnings by the judge that influenced him not to allow the case to go to the jury and allowed him to award a directed verdict to…

The contractual relationship between the student and the institution is the key to understanding "academic fraud." (Author)

This brief report consists of a series of observations on governance, planning, and coordination in Montana postsecondary education. It offers an impressionistic overview of three selected issues: the regents and the 1972 Constitution (background, governance, accountability, and legal protection); Governance of Vocational-Technical Centers (the…

Government, through its legislative, executive, and judicial arms, has exceeded the appropriate involvement in institutional affairs. Universities have the ability and the responsibility to diminish government intrusiveness by developing internal mechanisms of accountability. (Author/MSE)

Harlan Cleveland's book concerning the benefits and costs of open governing board meetings is reviewed and critiqued, especially in its suggestions for modification of statutes in the cases of presidential searches and program and board evaluations. (MSE)