But after rereading the contract and talking to the company, he found that MascotNetwork had agreed that while it would not provide advertisers with information linked to students' names, it could track a student's Web habits and then use the information to attract advertisers and to aim ads at the students accordingly. Mr. Finger, who says he chose MascotNetwork because it seemed less commercial than some of the other companies did, says such a shift in its focus might prompt him to reconsider his arrangement. Tracking has also prompted some concern at the University of Oregon, which is testing Campus Pipeline. Older people found the sponsorships more offensive than the students did. Campus Pipeline's Mr. Muir says that the company would direct ads and e-commerce offers only if the students had authorized such activity, and that even then, the messages wouldn't be individualized.
Colleges using the portal companies say they are mindful of privacy concerns.
Appalachian, he says, would have preferred to acquire the services without a commercial component. But the price that the company wanted was too high. As a result, students will see ads whenever they register for class, send e-mail, or check their schedule. Mr. Williams notes that students see ads all the time on the Internet. Well, we're exposing them to a few more.