Personal Information Of 23,000 Ivy Tech Students Sent Out Over E-Mail

INDIANAPOLIS -- The personal information of about 23,000 Ivy Tech students was accidentally sent out in an e-mail to 1,400 people, according to a letter from the school.

In the letter Ivy Tech Indianapolis Vice President of Administration William Morris writes that the e-mail was sent during the last week of July.

He said an employee intended to e-mail the list -- which included the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of students who were enrolled in distance-education courses -- to a colleague. Instead, the file drop was sent to an e-mail group that included about 1,400 current and former Ivy Tech Indianapolis employees, including some current and former student employees.

The letter stated that electronic records showed only 102 people attempted to open the file and that the file was deleted from the school's system when the mistake was discovered.

The school had not received any complaints of misuse, said Jeff Fanter, executive director of marketing and communications for Ivy Tech Indianapolis.

Fanter said the letter -- which was dated Aug. 28 but received by students this week -- was sent out as soon as school officials fully investigated what had happened.

Anyone with concerns about the breach should call 1-866-847-2525. Fanter said about 80 students had called the number so far. The school had also set up an internal Web site to provide students with more information.