SUNY-ESF agreed to pay $32,500 for tracking program, contract shows

UPDATED: Dec. 17, 2019 at 4:23 p.m.

SUNY-ESF agreed to pay $32,500 to a Kentucky-based company for access to an online tracking program that gathers data on prospective students, according to a contract obtained by The Daily Orange. 

The year-long contract between SUNY-ESF and Capture Higher Ed, an admissions consulting firm, runs until Jan. 31, 2020.

SUNY-ESF might have to pay the firm more money if the number of prospective student applications exceeds 2,500, according to the document. 

“There were no additional costs beyond those specified in the contract,” a SUNY-ESF spokesperson said in an email Monday. 

The D.O. filed a Freedom of Information Law request for the contract in mid-October after The Washington Post published an investigation into Capture Higher Ed and Ruffalo Noel Levitz, an Iowa-based admissions consulting firm. 

SUNY-ESF Capture Higher Ed … by The Daily Orange on Scribd

The Post reported that colleges across the United States are building vast data repositories on prospective students and work with consultants to track teenagers’ web activity in the hopes of identifying recruitment targets who can help meet revenue goals. 

SUNY-ESF has used Capture Higher Ed’s tracking cookies to show website visitors pop-up ads, The Post found. But the school’s privacy policy says esf.edu “does not use cookies.”

“Our use of a tracking product is one tool we have utilized to reach out to potential students who already visit our website to inform them of the opportunities available to them at the college,” the SUNY-ESF spokesperson said Monday. 

On Tuesday, the spokesperson said in an email that SUNY-ESF “does not utilize tracking information of any visitors to its website.”

“Single-session cookies are used to activate a pop-up ad during a single session only on the esf.edu website encouraging students to apply, visit campus or contact ESF for more information.”

The spokesperson did not specifically respond to questions about the privacy policy. 

The contract obtained by The D.O. provides further insight into the nature of SUNY-ESF’s relationship with Capture Higher Ed: 

• The firm said it would not share student data with third parties absent the prior consent of SUNY-ESF “except as required by this Agreement or as otherwise required by law.”

• Capture Higher Ed told SUNY-ESF it would collect analytics on the engagement of “known and unknown visitors to the esf.edu Site.” Emails obtained by The D.O. under a separate Freedom of Information Law request show that Capture Higher Ed sent data on website visitors’ enrollment years to a SUNY-ESF admissions official.

• Capture Higher Ed agreed that it would provide SUNY-ESF with recommendations on esf.edu “messaging” for anonymous and known visitors “based on their behavior and their status in the admissions process.”

The SUNY-ESF spokesperson initially did not respond to questions about whether the school plans to retain Capture Higher Ed next year.

After this story was published Tuesday, the spokesperson said SUNY-ESF is “reviewing the need to continue the contract.”

This post was updated with additional reporting.