Unileaks Aims To Leak Universities' Secrets

Forget WikiLeaks. Unileaks is a new website devoted to providing "a place to post information on public interest matters relating to higher education."

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the site was launched earlier this month by Australian activists and targets postsecondary institutions in Australia and the United Kingdom, but ultimately hopes to host the secrets of American colleges and universities as well.

The site's anonymous administrator, a former student at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, told the Chronicle that although the site has not yet generated Wikileak-level hype, he has received an "overwhelming "amount of information from the UK -- including an "entire e-mail repository" of one "large prominent university in the United Kingdom."

For now, Unileaks' administrator remains confident that highlighting corruption in higher education is a worthy endeavor. He told the Age, "If you look at WikiLeaks, that's the motivation [but] given it seems to be an all-encompassing site we feel that this stuff should be decentralised and ... that in the area of higher education there needs to be something specific.''

Would you submit info to Unileaks? Let us know in the comments section.

Comments

[Homepagedaily]

08:13 PM on 03/22/2011

It appears that Unileaks have struck out again, there are allegations against a Strathclyde University's Vice-chancellor of plagiarism. The allegations have been reviewed before but not publically, It would be only fair to have an open and transparent examination into the accusations so as to fairly clear the Vice Chancellor's name and allow this matter to be put to rest

http://homepagedaily.com/Pages/article11664-did-the-vice-chancellor-of-strathclyde-university-plagiarise-his-phd.aspx

[miguel moseler]

11:30 AM on 03/03/2011

University are Business only care about the money

[MJVs Common Sense]

11:49 PM on 02/27/2011

One would have thought it was obvious at this point how terrible an idea this is. Wikileaks has been a foreign policy disaster, the unbridled "transparency" of the mass media has turned out political process into a circus, and now you want to "shine a light" on the people who educate the next generation. You are just asking for Universities to pander to the lowest common denominators of society for political gain. Transparency is one thing, but nothing good comes from this kind of paparazi, agenda-driven transparency. We should take our lessons to heart and not make more mistakes.

[Random Knuts]

04:10 PM on 02/25/2011

I'm sure a month into it they spill a quarter-million emails, revealing what everyone was thinking in the first place. But they'll be heralded as a great organization in the fight against corruption because someone who thought their understanding of corruption-busting can be justified by committing an act of corruption, through illegally obtaining a quarter-million emails.

If what they're doing is illegal, release it, otherwise, keep your fight for absolute government transparency and the citizen surveillance that necessarily comes with it out of my life - your screwing with everyone's privacy. You're fighting for a purer democracy in an undemocratic way - on your own terms.

[PCPrincess]

10:17 AM on 02/25/2011

I would absolutely like to know how much of a college foundations scholarships go to actual legitimate 'worthy' students and not to cousins, brothers, uncles, freinds or to other mysterious 'fees' and costs.

[SapphireBlaze9]

12:42 AM on 02/25/2011

Good idea. It would be good if this site is able to expose corruption and secrets of for-profit colleges. I would support this site, and help any way I could, although I don't think I can contribute any useful information to it.

[Anaxamenes]

02:27 PM on 02/25/2011

I'm sure there are plenty of closets full of secrets at public institutions too. Let's examine them all, for better transparency and quality.

[spotswood320]

09:18 PM on 02/24/2011

Submitted everything I have. Done.

[DrMandible]

04:27 PM on 02/24/2011

University education should be a right for all Americans. Denying people higher education in the 21st century simply because they are too poor is the real crime.

[bassaiguy]

07:35 PM on 02/28/2011

If it's worth money and it's a limited resource someone has to pay. I don't think it's my job to subsidize some young thing's four years of jello shots and spray tanning.

[Max Shaw]

03:57 PM on 02/24/2011

I only wish this existed in full-swing back when I was applying...

[DanSc]

03:41 PM on 02/24/2011

Maybe this will give Anonymous something to do besides share kiddie porn on 4chan

[Jeanms 247]

02:38 AM on 02/25/2011

You obviously have no idea how it works eh ?

[Atheissimo]

11:24 AM on 02/25/2011

Anonymous loves the idea that people think they are l33t hackerz living in a world of sin and depravity sharing heinous criminal activity as you suggest.

It's mostly recycled pictures of cats and trolling with Daily Mail stories

[Alant]

03:14 PM on 02/24/2011

Sounds like a reasonable idea-there are a number of areas where reporting by universities in the US seems sketchy: employment of graduates is one that everyone is interested in right now, and, also, reporting on loan counseling. Also, faculty status is badly reported-ost classes in higher ed are not taught by full-time faculty, but if you relied only on university information made publically available, or on federal government data,which depends on info voluntarily supplied, you would be hard pressed to find exact numbers.

[annersbananers]

03:03 PM on 02/24/2011

I totally agree with this. Someone should be keeping universities honest.

[Jessica Stapf]

02:39 PM on 02/24/2011

I absolutely would post to Unileaks. As a student at a public, four-year university, I feel it is extremely important to know what goes on within the confines of university administrations, especially now that my university is forced to undergo severe budget cuts and cut programs that they decide are no longer necessary for the University due to low enrollment numbers and other undisclosed reasons.

As more public universities may be forced to undergo department cuts, the reasons for cutting specific departments, professors, and other programs should be publicly accessible. There should be no secrets about it. If universities are unable (or in my university's case unwilling) to publish such information, someone else should.

[Clay Rehmus]

11:09 PM on 02/24/2011

Good luck getting those internal documents that prove the system's screwing you.

[JSiobhan]

02:09 AM on 02/25/2011

For public institution, the Sunshine Laws or Freedom of Information Act apply to state universities records. While I was employed at a state funded university, employee salaries were published and now post on-line. Contracts or official documents had to be made available on request. Private colleges and university do not have to adhere the Sunshine Laws unless the information involves federal funding.

My main concern is the release of information involving student records or files. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) makes it illegal to release any student information without the consent of the student---even to their parents. Currently I am an administrator at a private university and we are unable to divulge a student's name, email address or phone number to someone outside the school without the student's permission. Every college student deserve to have their privacy protection like any individual citizen in the United States.

I am a true believer in the philosophy of transparency. But if the information will be release without context or interpretation, the information will have no meaning or application in achieving the ultimate goals for websites Unileaks. Information can be powerful but if it use irresponsibility and without a code of ethic principles, Unileaks will lose their moral position to challenge the wrongdoings of others.