ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The American Civil Liberties Union is raising questions about Mizzou tracking new students this semester through a cell phone app.
Mizzou says the test program is an expansion of an app already used to track student athletes, to tell whether they show up for class.
The phone app, Spotter, also notifies students when they are not in class, in case they forgot or overslept.
Tony Rothert, Legal Director for the ACLU of Missouri, says the program sends the wrong message to students about their privacy rights.
"It's troubling when you're talking about young people going to college for the first time, and setting this expectation that you surrender your privacy," Rothert said, "It sends a bad message to young people, and it sets them up to go into a world where they get comfortable giving up their privacy."
Supporters of the program say it will boost attendance which could help raise academic scores. The Associated Press reports that the Spotter app was developed by former Missouri assistant basketball coach Rick Carter. Carter told the AP the app is not invasive, and it doesn't track where students are if they aren't in class.
The ACLU says the app is inappropriate because it's "paternalistic," at a time when students need to learn to be their own boss.
The Associated Press is reporting that dozens of schools across the country use similar technology, including Duke, North Carolina and Syracuse universities .
"As Spotter continues to expand and enter new marketplaces, we have been made aware of numerous false reporting done by various sources regarding how our platform operates. First and foremost, our number one priority has and always will be, student privacy. Unfortunately, these sources have not taken the time to understand and experience how our platform works, therefore reporting inaccurate information.
"Spotter was founded five years ago on a simple premise: attendance increases performance yet accurate attendance is hard to come by. Existing solutions to attendance such as sign-in sheets and swipe cards were easy to cheat, time intensive for professors and only recorded a single point in time. So, the goal became: how can we create a solution that continuously monitors attendance, creates less work for administrators, and will protect student privacy— no more invasive than a professor looking out at their class of students. Spotter decided iBeacons were the answer.
"The iBeacon’s that Spotter utilizes are small battery powered devices that emit a Bluetooth signal. They are not connected to the internet or any existing infrastructure, and simply broadcast a signal saying “this is classroom XYZ.” Classrooms utilizing our platform have a beacon installed in it and the signal strength adjusted such that it only reaches the perimeter of the classroom. Therefore, if someone can pick up the signal coming from the beacon, we know they are inside the room.
"With a way of now identifying each classroom, we set out creating an application that students would use to self-report their attendance. The mobile application is downloaded onto a students phone. A students schedule is uploaded to our platform. This schedule contains what iBeacons to look for and when to look for them. During a class, if a student comes in range of the beacon, their device communicates with the Spotter platform that they are present, using Bluetooth technology. If they leave the range of the beacon, the app communicates that they are absent. Importantly, since the Spotter app is only monitoring for the beacons in the classes in the students schedule, if the student gets up and leaves, we have no idea where they go. Just like how a professor can only determine what students are inside of their classroom and not who might be just outside the door, Spotter only knows if a student is where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be there.
"This inverted system where the student is reporting their attendance instead of a system locating the student is what empowers the student to be in control. Protecting student privacy. At any time, the student can turn off access to Bluetooth and Spotter would not be able to detect any beacons at all. The student can also control when the app runs; automatically in the background during class, only when they have the app open in front of them or not at all. The student remains the owner of their device and their attendance, just like how they have always been whether it be with a manual sign in sheet or a card swipe.
"In recent months the issue of tracking, privacy and data collection regarding students has entered the forefront of discussions nationwide. Since our inception we have made a few promises to every school we’ve partnered with and they are more important now than ever:
"1.Student data is the schools and only the schools. At no time will Spotter sell or distribute any information to any other party.
"2. We are not tracking students. Spotter only collects and stores location data for the location where the student is supposed to be starting 30 minutes before a given class period until 30 minutes after a given class period.
"We hope this simple explanation clears the air, and allows you to understand how Spotter ensures student privacy. Our goal is to benefit both the student and the university, by opening lines of communication. With the use of technology changing the landscape of how we communicate with each other, we want our platform to open lines of communication, essentially providing valuable information for professors and support networks to keep students on track.
"If you would like a demonstration or more information on how Spotter operates, please e-mail us at info@spotteredu.com.
"Rick Carter
"SpotterEDU CEO"