In response to a new state privacy law that became effective Jan. 1, UF Vice President of Student Affairs Patricia Telles-Irvin sent all students an e-mail Monday to raise awareness about the safety of releasing personal information.
Steve Orlando, UF spokesman, said the e-mail was not prompted by any security-related incidents, only a Jan. 31 deadline given by Florida Gov. Charlie Crist to alert students.
Orlando said the new law requires UF to explain how the University Privacy Office protects students' personal information.
He said the plan to notify the campus was implemented in stages, with the people most affected by the law informed first. This group included deans of colleges, department directors, faculty and staff.
UF chose to carry out the process step by step because it did not want to cause alarm in the UF community. The e-mail advised recipients to call the privacy office if they have further questions or believe their information has been put at risk, Orlando said.
In the e-mail to students, Telles-Irvin specifically emphasized that students should not use their social security numbers for anything at the university. This is the reason students have a UF identification number, she said.
