Weighing in at over 800-pages of legislative legal-jargon, the Higher Education Act (HEA) recently passed in mid-August to update the original act poses a lot of changes, many hidden well within the bill. The Act, HR 4137, focused mainly on updating Pell grant awards, simplifying the FAFSA process, and bringing down the cost of textbooks for students. However, not all the changes were this benign.
Some of the most controversial change made involves on-campus file sharing. A proverbial leash is being tightened around the neck of non server-based computer file sharing, which currently allows a great magnitude of audio, video and digital files to be illegally dispersed between students. This is currently illegal and under great pressure from the media industry the HEA included language forcing schools receiving federal money to actively halt this kind of file sharing. However, the same file sharing that passes Abba’s ‘Mamma Mia!’ hits from one dorm to the next also provides great opportunities for shared use of multitudes of educational documents.
Non server-based systems also have many technical advantages over a server system. Like a spider web, there are many points of support that increase as the “web” grows with the addition of new students or new campus computers. Due to the multi-support structure, there is no single point of failure. This system is obviously popular with colleges, as now nearly every student shows up with a laptop. Fast distribution, storage features, and a more prolific bandwidth also make the non-server system an even sweeter setup.
By “bringin’ integrity back,” the HEA is demanding alternative development in either controlled file sharing programs or increase security to curb illegal downloading. Educause, a non-profit organization working to advance technology in higher education, is also the main group opposing HEA’s plans to crack down on illegal file sharing. They argue that controlling illegal downloading on campuses doesn’t necessarily improve the education system or increase enrollment, which are perhaps the most important goals HEA wishes to accomplish. Rather,Educause estimates this simply equates to $400 million going directly to entertainment industries from student sales. Additionally, education costs would most likely increase as institutions will need to continually upgrade their systems to keep up with this new law and disallow illegal downloads.