Online Colleges Could Spy On Students – By Law

skeazer writes "Tucked away in a 1,200-page bill now in Congress is a small paragraph that could lead distance-education institutions to require spy cameras in their students' homes. It sounds Orwellian, but the paragraph — part of legislation renewing the Higher Education Act — is all but assured of becoming law by the fall. No one in Congress objects to it."

Comments

Re:I tend to masturbate at home during work breaks

[ad0n]

In all seriousness, isn't this why we have proctors, so that someone can watch you while you perform tasks required for your grade?

Simple answer: cost. I work at a community college, and although we do have an academic testing centre -- the priority is to provide an alternate testing environment for students with disabilities. The secondary priority is students who miss tests for legitimate reasons (medical, weather, etc.).

There simply isn't capacity to allow every student in every online course to come onto campus to complete their assessments. It isn't built into the costing/tuition.

Re:Right.

[EvanED]

For any "online" institution I've known, the tests need to be done at an approved institute under supervision, and after presenting proper ID, etc.

Well, that's the thing... they're trying to break that restriction.

Re:So, just what was your room number in college?

[fishbowl]

>Everyone and his uncle demands to know my mother's maiden name.

This is culturally insensitive also. It is quite common for one's name and one's mother's maiden name to be the same name.
It's taken for granted as an assumption in the question, that you had married parents, and that your mother changed her name to your father's name, and that your parents gave you your father's name.

Not everybody does that.