Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox Settles with Survey Company Over Sale of Student Information to Marketers; Attorney General Stops Undisclosed Release of Personal Information.

LANSING, Mich., Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Michigan has joined a multi-state settlement with a leading data collection company stemming from the company's undisclosed sharing of high school students' personal information with marketers eager to reach the teen consumers, Attorney General Mike Cox announced today.

Under the terms of the settlement, the National Research Center for College and University Admissions (NRCCUA) will voluntarily pay $300,000 to the 42 participating states and change its practices to safeguard the privacy and security of student data.

A Missouri not-for-profit corporation, NRCCUA regularly collects student data through surveys disseminated by high school teachers, guidance counselors, and the Internet. Instead of providing the data only to colleges, universities, and other education-related entities that were disclosed to students, NRCCUA also shared the data with businesses for non-educational purposes.

"Protecting our children's personal information is essential, particularly when considering the dangers of identity theft," Cox said. "Parents and schools must be vigilant in teaching children not to give out their information to anyone who asks, whether in person, over the telephone, by mail, or on the Internet."

The settlement requires that NRCCUA must:

* Not misrepresent how personally identifiable student information will be collected, used or disclosed, or how the collection of the information is funded;

* Disclose clearly and conspicuously why it collects personal information of students and describe the types of entities that may receive students' information;

* Include disclosures in all privacy statements, questionnaires, survey instruments, and other documents;

* Cease all future use of survey data if a parent (in the case of a minor) or an adult high school student requests that the student not complete the survey or directs NRCCUA to stop using information already collected;

* Provide schools with a notice for parents that explains the survey and how parents may opt their children out of completing the survey, in the event NRCCUA changes its current practice and allows others to use its survey data for non-educational, marketing purposes.

Parents and students wishing to restrict the use of students' information may contact their schools or the NRCCUA at http://www.nrccua.org/ . Tips on preventing identity theft are available on the Attorney General's Web site, http://www.michigan.gov/ag , or by calling the Consumer Protection Division's toll-free number, 1-877-765-8388.

CONTACT: Allison Pierce of Michigan Attorney General's Office, +1-517-373-8060

Web site: http://www.michigan.gov/ag http://www.nrccua.org/