We've spent the last few weeks focusing on Assignment 3 and discussing the role of IT professionals as stewards of individual's information. A few years ago a CSUMB student's parents requested copies of their child's emails (both sent and received) after the student committed suicide. If you were the Chief Information Officer for the university how would you respond to their request? State the ethical issues involved and your rationale for the action(s) you would take.

 

 

I think that the CIO is responsible for one thing (mainly): The safekeeping of the information of students and faculty here at CSUMB.  If this student had committed suicide, and there are items related to that in the emails, both the student and the recipient of the emails have a right to their privacy, and as the CIO, my responsibility would be the safekeeping of that information.  

 

If i was in the position of the CIO of CSUMB, i would have to respectfully decline the parent access to the information.  The student is (most likely) over 18, and as such he is an adult with his own rights.  The parents may have been sending him to school, but his privacy is still his own.