About DataU: A Laker-Led Dive Into Student Surveillance
This limited series explores how universities collect, monetize, and manage student data. Through interviews and in-depth discussions, SUNY Oswego's COM527 Spring 2025 class unpacks the hidden systems behind campus tech and raises critical questions about privacy, consent, and control in higher education.
In the final episode of the series, the team reflects on the insights gained from investigating student data systems in higher education. This closing conversation brings together key takeaways across episodes—covering surveillance, policy, profit, and power—and offers thoughtful recommendations for how data practices can become more transparent, ethical, and student-centered. The episode invites listeners to consider how meaningful change can emerge when students understand and challenge the systems that shape their digital lives.
7 May 2025
Episode 5: Protection, Privacy & Policy
This episode takes a close look at how educational institutions frame their responsibilities around student data privacy. Using SUNY Oswego as a case study, it breaks down what types of information schools collect, how they’re allowed to use it, and what protections are actually in place. The episode features an interview with a federal intelligence specialist in forensic linguistics, who explains how privacy policies use language to obscure rather than clarify. From outdated federal guidelines to the overlooked risks of campus Wi-Fi, the episode challenges listeners to think critically about informed consent, digital exposure, and the need for clearer, student-centered data policy.
7 May 2025
Episode 4: The Business of Student Data
This episode investigates how student data is commodified in higher education, turning personal information into a source of profit for institutions, testing services, and third-party platforms. Featuring insights from Dr. Roderic Crooks of UC Irvine, the episode unpacks how consent is often obscured and how data systems disproportionately affect marginalized students. Using frameworks from STS theory, it challenges assumptions about neutrality, equity, and control in the digital education economy.
7 May 2025
Episode 3: The People with the Data
This episode explores how artificial intelligence is used in immigration and education surveillance systems that target international students. Focusing on programs like “Catch and Revoke” and examining the roles of corporate platforms like Zoom and government entities such as the Department of Justice, the episode unpacks how student data is monitored, shared, and sometimes weaponized. They also discuss corporate protections, global network policies, and the ethical implications of cross-border data tracking in academic spaces.
7 May 2025
Episode 2: What Data Collection?
This episode explores the complex landscape of student surveillance, focusing on how data is collected, used, and the implications for privacy rights, particularly for marginalized communities. Through interviews with experts Clarence Okoh and Dr. Lindsay Weinberg, the conversation delves into the intersection of race, law, and technology, the risks associated with data collection, and the role of private companies in shaping educational environments. The episode emphasizes the importance of raising awareness about these issues to protect student privacy and advocates for a more just and equitable approach to technology in education.
7 May 2025
Episode 1: Series Overview
Meet the team behind DataU, and get a preview of the data trail we’re about to expose. This short intro episode sets the stage for our investigation into student data collection in higher education — who’s collecting it, who profits, how it's used, and what’s at stake.
Consider it a digital orientation.
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