Metro State is working with the Denver and Auraria Police in the investigation of the theft of a computer stolen from campus that contained the names and Social Security numbers of 988 former students.

The laptop computer was stolen Feb. 28 in the late afternoon from its docking station in a Metro State faculty member’s office in the Department of Psychology. The case remains under investigation.

The stolen computer, which was password protected, contained roster information of students enrolled in the faculty member’s classes from the beginning of the 1999 fall semester to the end of the 2002 fall semester.

The names and Social Security numbers of these students may have been compromised through this theft. The Social Security numbers were used as identifiers of the students as they pertained to the faculty member’s classes.

President Stephen Jordan said that this is a very specific incident. “Last spring, it was mandated that all College reports or studies that access private student information, including Social Security numbers, were to be approved through the President’s Office,” he said, adding that the College is completing a previously instituted project to have College-owned laptops turned over to the Information Technology division for scanning and encryption of the data contained on their hard drives.

“It is critical that all employees respect the privacy of student information,” said Jordan. “We are completing an investigation as to why Social Security numbers continued to remain on the faculty member’s computer.” He added that the investigation could lead to disciplinary action.

At this time the College has no evidence that personal data were actually retrieved or misused. However, Metro State is making every reasonable effort to notify by mail all individuals whose names and Social Security numbers were on the computer and, as a precaution, suggest they consider a fraud alert on their credit report.

The College has created a special Web site for individuals who are concerned that their information may have been on the stolen computer: www.mscd.edu/securityalert/.

The Web site contains helpful phone numbers, information on next steps to take, and links to credit reporting agencies. In addition, the College has a toll-free number at 1-866-737-6622 to answer specific questions not addressed on the Web site.