Identification of 'at risk' students using learning analytics: the ethical dilemmas of intervention strategies in a higher education institution

• Published in: Educational technology research and development Vol. 64; no. 5; pp. 957 - 968
• Main Authors: Lawson, Celeste, Beer, Colin, Rossi, Dolene, Moore, Teresa, Fleming, Julie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer Science+Business Media 01-10-2016; Springer US; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: At risk students; Australia; Case Studies; Classification; Data Analysis; Data Collection; DEVELOPMENT ARTICLE; Education; Education parks; Education, Higher; Educational Objectives; Educational Research; Educational Technology; Ethical aspects; Ethics; Foreign Countries; Higher education; Instructional Improvement; Labeling (of Persons); Learning Analytics; Learning and Instruction; Outcomes of Education; Privacy; School facilities; School Holding Power; Student Records; Students; Teaching Methods; Australia; Ethics; Privacy; Learning analytics; Higher education; Data ownership
• ISSN: 1042-1629; 1556-6501
• DOI: 10.1007/s11423-016-9459-0

Learning analytics is an emerging field in which sophisticated analytic tools are used to inform and improve learning and teaching. Researchers within a regional university in Australia identified an association between interaction and student success in online courses and subsequently developed a learning analytics system aimed at informing learning and teaching practices. Contemporary literature draws attention to ethical considerations and moral tensions in the implementation of learning analytics. This paper presents a case study of the ethical implications of a learning analytics implementation at CQUniversity, a regional Australian university. There was an institutional assumption that student data, consensually gathered at enrollment could be analyzed beyond the scope of the original consent. Further, academics were using the data in a manner not intended by the designers of the learning analytic system, and academics interpreted the student's individualized data to label students based on their estimate of success. The learning analytics system is still being used and the ethical findings from this paper have implications for CQUniversity, academics and students. In order to resolve the ethical dilemmas the university could increase transparency of the process to students and obtain consent at multiple levels throughout the student journey.