Report Addresses Campus Efforts To Control File Sharing

A report submitted to Congress this week provides a snapshot of campus programs to provide legal alternatives to illegal file trading. Prepared by the Joint Committee of the Higher Education and Entertainment Communities, the report noted that the number of institutions offering legal download services has tripled during the past year, to 70, covering more than 670,000 students nationwide.

Campuses offering such services include a number of large and high-profile institutions, and many other colleges and universities are expected to introduce such programs. The report acknowledged that measuring the effect of legal options on student behavior can be difficult, and it noted that large numbers of students at some schools continue to engage in illegal file trading despite the option of a legal service. The most successful approach, according to the report, is for a campus to enforce copyright policies and work to limit illegal file trading while offering students a legal alternative.

Inside Higher Ed, 22 September 2005