VCU news

By Malorie Burkett

Virginia Commonwealth University on Wednesday instituted a new eight-digit student number as an alternative to Social Security numbers that will better protect the privacy of the university community and increase protection against identity theft.

The adoption of the alternative student number is the first step in an ongoing university-wide transition to eliminate the use of Social Security numbers as the primary personal identifiers for VCU students, faculty and staff.

“University administration has an obligation to protect the privacy of students, as well as faculty and staff, and to safeguard any personal, non-public information that is unnecessarily accessible,” said Stephen D. Gottfredson, Ph.D., interim provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.

Unique to every VCU student, the eight-digit, system-generated number will be available beginning Sept. 26. The new Student Number will be in use at student service centers, the offices of Records and Registration, Financial Aid, Undergraduate Admissions and Graduate Admissions and the Student Accounting Department. It also will be available for use in student and university transactions in the Student Information System and through “eServices,” VCU’s Web-based program that provides records access to students.

In addition, the new Student Number will be used as a student’s personal identifier on class and grade rosters and can be distributed to faculty for internal purposes.

Students will not be required to use the new Student Number exclusively as it is interchangeable with the Social Security number for student information system transactions. Although the Social Security number will continue to be collected and maintained in official university records, it will only be used for mandated functions such as tax reporting to federal and state agencies, financial aid processing, acceptance of transfer credit, as well as other official university activities as appropriate and necessary to ensure accuracy and integrity of official records.

VCU’s Office of Records and Registration officials said the transition to the full use of the Student Number will take some time to implement. During the transition period, it is possible that some departments will continue to ask for the Social Security number, but once the transition has been completed, departments needing Social Security numbers to meet federal and state reporting requirements will be able to do so using only the new Student Number.

VCU officials also said the new Student Number is an additional means of protection, but does not reduce the importance of personal awareness and responsibility in terms of privacy.

“A key part of security is for the user to be alert and responsible in helping to maintain protection of identity in an environment that is increasingly dependent upon electronic processing, both as a matter of organizational efficiency and personal convenience,” said Gottfredson.

VCU also plans to create a new unique personal identifier for faculty and staff — operating in the same manner as the new Student Number. This will be available as part of the new administrative information systems to be implemented in 2006.

In order to obtain their Student Number, students should log onto “eServices” at https://iserver.adm.vcu.edu/AIS/STU/S_ESERV_HOME.html and select Personal Info.

For more information, and a list of frequently asked questions on the new Student Number, visit www.vcu.edu/studentnumber.