CHEYNEY, Pa.—A historically black college near Philadelphia is urging students to check their credit reports after an inadvertent release of their Social Security numbers and other personal data.

Cheyney University apologized to students in a letter sent Friday. It says it's using a credit monitoring firm to prevent misuse of the information.

The university says an administrative email sent to all students on Thursday accidentally included a file with personal data. The 240-page file contained names, addresses and Social Security numbers of about 2,100 current and former students.

Cheyney is one of 14 state-owned universities in Pennsylvania. It's located about 20 miles west of Philadelphia.