decided to log back in using my course unit (INF180) as the username and password...I didn't go any further. I simply logged out and stayed quiet (and uneasy) about the whole thing. I was too scared to report it in case I was thrown off the course for 'hacking' the system.
Since when have this country's schools been run by idiots? Not you, but the people who would have let such an idiotic situation come about and on top of it, have created a climate where one would fear repercussions for reporting on it? Since when has this country become run by uncomprehending idiot authoritarians? When did this come about!? AFAIK, High schools and colleges weren't like this in the 80's.
For what it is worth, this was in a small town in Australia back in the early 80's... Simply a case of lazy admins (see my comment reply above). Probably even only down to one guy's slack work ethic.
I think the entire university's IT department at the time consisted of 4 guys running around trying to keep the mainframe running. There probably weren't any solid policies on password security.
Back in high school (private boarding school) it was one of the math teachers who was running the mainframe. (And teaching the programming class.) Security consisted of students trying to break into each other's accounts and leaving Easter Eggs in each other's BASIC games.
Speaking as someone who checked the security of quite a few colleges in the 90s, I can say that for the most part, almost no one then had any idea that security was even a thing. So if they really were somehow better in the 80s it didn't last long.
Back in college I did a few things that today, might have netted me a visit by the Net Cops [1], but since I knew the sysadmins of the systems in question, I never got into trouble. A friend of mine though, who wasn't friends with the sysamins, did get in mild trouble.
[1] Much like the Phone Cops [2], the Net Cops could have cut my career short.
It all comes down to the campus culture. Our CS Dean at the time was an 'old school' cranky pants kind of guy, so I don't think he would have taken kindly to such a breach.
On the other hand, the new Dean of the computing faculty that took over the year after was a really cool guy, and he is someone I wouldn't have had any hesitation to go to and report such incidents.
Since when have this country's schools been run by idiots? Not you, but the people who would have let such an idiotic situation come about and on top of it, have created a climate where one would fear repercussions for reporting on it? Since when has this country become run by uncomprehending idiot authoritarians? When did this come about!? AFAIK, High schools and colleges weren't like this in the 80's.