In the midst of registration season, a possible new university policy is cause for worry among students.
A Student Statement of Financial Responsibility has been drafted and issued by the Bursar's Office and authorized by the vice president for finance and chief financial officer. This policy would have to be signed by students prior to course registration. Without signing, they could not register for classes.
The draft contains policies that are not yet in effect, but the outlined policies address procedures regarding student telephone numbers. What strikes students as disconcerting is the potential policy’s language.
It requires that students “give express consent” not just to the university, but to “third party vendors,” to access their phone numbers at any point.
Student phone numbers are already on file with the university. However, the idea of "third party vendors" having access to student phone numbers, with no explicitly written limitation, is the concerning part for several.
An additional concerning factor for students is that they had never seen or heard of the third party aspect of the policy. It is not listed in the USC Policies and Procedures Manual on the university website. If it goes into effect, even if students are aware of it, they can't refuse to sign because they would not be able to register for classes until they agreed to it.
The prospective policy took first-year public health student Tara Suhs by surprise.
“It’s kind of unnerving to me that they’re just handing out contact information for just anybody … It just makes me nervous,” Suhs said. “I don’t understand what their benefit is from it.”
First-year biology student Jessica Suggs was not as taken aback.
“I’m not surprised, frankly," she said. "You see this in every single thing you ever have to provide your phone number for."
Suggs also suggested that third party vendors could possibly include potential internships, job interviews or other opportunities that students would choose for their ultimate benefit.
“But, frankly, anybody can get hold of your phone number. All they have to do is start dialing random numbers, so it really doesn’t do you any good regardless,” Suggs said. “All you’re saying is that if you start getting random phone calls, it’s legal.”
Another concerned student is third-year mass communications student Alexandra Bentzlin, who brought up the ambiguity of the policy.
“That doesn’t seem right if they don’t mention who [third party vendors] are,” Bentzlin said. “I don’t want people having my number that I don’t know about. I mean, it’s one thing if the university does, but if they don’t mention who these third parties are, that’s definitely concerning.”
The Daily Gamecock has reached out to the university for comment.