Internet Privacy

If employers are allowed to read emails sent by their employees, what rights should universities and students have? Typically, the university provides the email system and owns the hardware and software. Note that in the conventional private employer/employee relationship, the fact that the employer owns the network underlies the courts' general view that employers are free to monitor their employee usage. How does this argument apply in the university setting? What about the arguments regarding propertization of data (i.e. that employers "own" data stored on the computer an employee uses because they own the computer)?