Big Data offers opportunities and challenges in all aspects of human life. In relation to research ethics, Big Data represents a normative difference in degree rather than a difference in kind. Data are more messy, rapid, difficult to predict, and difficult to identify owners; but the principles of informed consent, confidentiality, and prevention…

This article explores potential uses, misuses, beneficiaries, and tensions of learning analytics in higher education. While those promoting and using learning analytics generally agree that ethical practice is imperative, and student privacy and rights are important, navigating the complex maze of ethical dilemmas can be challenging, particularly…

In today's digital world, higher education institutions collect and use more data than ever. However, institutional silos create barriers for stakeholders who need data for daily operations and strategy. This article presents a vision of a unified, collaborative future for data governance and actionable steps stakeholders can take.

This paper describes the study of enforcement of prerequisites in the Computer Science program at a regional university in the Southwest. Prerequisites are a significant factor in programs of study in higher education. Allowing students to register in courses may assume that they have existing knowledge and skills. Some programs treat…

Public educational systems and institutions have increased their adoption of proprietary educational platforms offered by large private corporations. Platforms now critically mediate content creation and storage, interaction and communication, record-keeping and institutional memory. This platformization of education has led to significant risks…

Increasingly, data collection and analysis are core functions of higher education institutions. However, an EDUCAUSE QuickPoll revealed that just one in four (25%) of respondents believed the structure of data functions at their institution was ideal for their analytics needs, and only 16% of respondents indicated that their institutional data…

State legislators have the opportunity to create and support legislation that positions data as a tool to help decisionmakers at all levels take action to support student success. This checklist can serve as a guide to crafting legislation that addresses education data. It applies specifically to education data legislation which includes bills…

Purpose: This paper aims to address research gaps around third party data flows in education by investigating governance practices in higher education with respect to learning management system (LMS) ecosystems. The authors answer the following research questions: How are LMS and plugins/learning tools interoperability (LTI) governed at higher…

More data are collected, analyzed, and stored now than at any other time in history. Data processes play a foundational role in just about every professional discipline, and data stakeholders all over the world are grappling with modernizing and optimizing data governance policies and practices. In this rapidly evolving landscape, what challenges…

The use of educational technologies in schools is being reshaped by a new kind of intermediary organization that brokers relations between schools, academia, governance, and industry. In this article we define and examine 'edtech brokers' as organizations that operate between the edtech industry, public schools, research centers and governments,…

This article presents the findings of a systematic qualitative analysis of research in the ethics of digital trace data use in learning and education. From the resulting analysis of 77 peer-reviewed studies, we (1) map the characteristics of research by study type, academic community, institutional setting, and national context; (2) identify the…

Students, families, colleges, and lawmakers need clearer information on postsecondary outcomes to make informed decisions. By leveraging data available at institutions and federal agencies, a nationwide student-level data network (SLDN) would close information gaps that persist in our higher education landscape to answer critical questions about…

The Education Insights Center produced a series of reports culminating in recommendations for the structure and governance of a preschool through higher education and into the workforce (known as a P20W data system). This brief follows up on that series, with a focus on data quality; the brief was informed by the author's experience using…

Since the advent of online education, some colleges and universities have looked to third-party companies for help developing, marketing, and providing their online degree and certificate programs. But in recent years, those companies have expanded to run more and more of their clients' online programs. An industry has developed around online…

This playbook provides ways in which Higher Education Agencies (sometimes referred as the State Higher Education Executive Officers) and teams can blur the lines between high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce. Higher Education Agencies (HEAs) play a significant role to Raise the Bar for student success by developing an…