Student Sam refuses to provide the college with a social security number. Can the college force Sam to provide his SSN?
The college must admit the student even if the student refuses to provide a social security number (SSN). The State Board has enacted a rule which requires each college to establish an open-door admission policy to all applicants who are high school graduates or who are at least 18 years of age.23 N.C.A.C. 02C.0301 Given the absence of any superseding authority, the open-door policy acts to require the admission of students so long as they are either high school graduates or at least 18 years old. Denying a student admission based upon their refusal to provide an SSN violates the open-door rule. The use of the SSN for the identification and record-keeping purposes is an increasingly significant concern for students as students become more aware of the potential harm that can be caused the student if his or her SSN is compromised. The federal government took the first notable step to limit the use of the SSN when it enacted the Privacy Act of 1974. This federal law limits the ability of
