Colleges and universities are swimming in an ever-widening sea of data. Human beings and machines together generate about 2.5 "quintillion" (10[superscript 18]) bytes every day, according to IBM's latest estimate. The sources of all that data are dizzyingly diverse: e-mail, blogs, click streams, security cameras, weather sensors, social networks, academic research, and student portfolios, to name just a few. And it's all coming at warp speed: Google alone reportedly processes 24 petabytes (that's a "quadrillion"--10[superscript 15]--bytes) every day. The industry buzz phrase for this phenomenon is "Big Data," which loosely refers to data sets too large and/or diverse for conventional tools to manage and mine efficiently. For colleges and universities, Big Data presents a challenge that will only get...well..."bigger". But approached with the right tools and strategies, Big Data also offers an incredibly rich resource for improving retention rates, fine-tuning curricula, and supporting students, faculty, and administration in myriad ways. This article, the first installment of a two-part series, explains Big Data and its potential for improving student learning and success.