Confidentiality of academic staff information essential

The potential breach of personal information relating to university academic staff is of great concern says Universities New Zealand – Te Pōkai Tara Chair Professor Pat Walsh, following the theft of information from a member of the Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) Health Panel in Auckland recently.

“We would urge the individual involved to immediately return what was stolen and not to misuse or disclose the information,” says Professor Walsh.

“Our academic staff have every right to expect that this personal information will be kept in total confidence and only viewed by those involved in the process.”

“The TEC has provided assurance that it is doing everything it can to recover this information, and Police are investigating the theft.”

The PBRF, managed by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), assesses the research undertaken by the academic staff of tertiary education organisations and funds these organisations on the basis of their performance. Universities are required to submit information about the research of individual academic staff to the TEC.