Jessie Balmert reports:
An error sent more that 600 Central Ohio Technical College students’ personal information to storage at Apple Tree Auction Center, where they were left unsecured for less than 24 hours.
On March 10, the Student Records Management Office was moving to another location in the same building when an enclosed file cabinet with 617 students’ registration cards was taken to the auction center, 1625 W. Church St., Newark., said Alice Hutzel-Bateson, director of marketing and public relations.
The cards included names and Social Security numbers for students who registered autumn quarter 2010 at any COTC campus, Hutzel-Bateson said.
The college used the auction center as a temporary storage facility, but it was not intended for students’ personal information, Hutzel-Bateson said. An auction employee discovered the registration cards, and they were removed immediately, she added.
College officials contacted the Ohio Attorney General’s Office on March 11 to seek legal guidance. Students were informed of the error in an April 14 letter.
Read more on the Newark Advocate.
Thanks to Bart Porter of Redemtech for sending in this link.