Anderson College officials call it a breach of policy.
Wednesday, a bag containing documents with students’ Social Security numbers was found off campus.
Officials said those items should have been shredded.
The paperwork was the room assignments for about 800 students staying on campus last year.
The documents were destroyed Thursday.
School officials spent the day trying to figure out what happened.
They told WYFF News 4’s Kisha Foster that they believe this was simply a mistake, and no foul play involved.
Communications director Barry Ray said a passerby walking on Kingsley Road, which runs around the campus, found the bag.
Ray said he is certain no student information was taken from the bag.
"I believe it was an extreme rare occurrence involving moving and those sort of things. We are taking steps to ensure this type of thing is not possible,” he said.
Ray said protecting students from potential identity theft has been a concern.
This past spring, the school switched over to a new student ID system. The system will not use Social Security numbers. Instead, a computer picks random numbers for students.
The information service director said the new program will also prevent professors and other unauthorized staff from being able to access or print student Social Security numbers.
That information would only be available to the registrar or financial aid offices.