Skip to Main Content

tag: Asilomar II

Blog Post
May 8, 2018

Setting the Table: Responsible Use of Student Data in Higher Education

Martin Kurzweil and Mitchell Stevens in EDUCAUSE Review

Martin Kurzweil and Mitchell Stevens published “Setting the Table: Responsible Use of Student Data in Higher Education” in the May/June 2018 issue of EDUCAUSE Review.  As they note, “Rapid movement at the cutting edge of edtech has far outpaced changes in the laws, institutional policies, and ethical frameworks that were crafted to inform responsible use of educational information in the twentieth century. This makes for a jarring recognition, but also an opportunity to revisit and rearticulate guiding ideals of…
Blog Post
September 9, 2016

Leading the Way in Learning Analytics

Four Considerations

Earlier this week my Ithaka S+R colleagues and I published “Student Data in the Digital Era: An Overview of Current Practices,” in which we review how institutions of higher education are currently using student data, and some of the practical and ethical challenges they face in doing so. As we conducted research for this report, part of our Responsible Use of Student Data in Higher Education project with Stanford University, we heard recurring concerns about the growing role…
Blog Post
September 6, 2016

Stanford and Ithaka S+R Project on Responsible Use of Student Data in Higher Education

Newly available student data are making it possible to understand, improve, and represent student postsecondary learning and other outcomes in profoundly different ways. Yet the potential of these new uses remains under-realized. In addition to technical and coordination challenges, researchers, administrators, and instructors are facing complex questions about how to use these data responsibly. Ithaka S+R and Stanford University’s Center for Advanced Research through Online Learning (CAROL) have partnered on a new initiative to catalyze discussion, create resources, and begin…
Research Report
September 6, 2016

A Brief History of the Student Record

Abstract: This paper provides a brief history of the development and evolution of the student record. It argues that this history is best considered as generally consisting of three distinct periods: (1) an early period (1840-1910) that was characterized by large variation in student record keeping and a lack of defined relationships and hierarchy among educational institutions and levels. Uniformity in student record keeping—particularly with the adoption of the Carnegie Unit—became a way of solidifying practices of record keeping…
Research Report
September 6, 2016

Creating a Learning Higher Education Community

Every human undergoes a unique, life-long process of learning. Mostly, this process is informal, even accidental. Occasionally we choose to enter more structured learning environments – classrooms and seminars, schools and colleges – intentionally designed by more experienced individuals to foster, evaluate, and represent our progress. All of these experiences, from coincidental encounters to bureaucratized degree programs, make us who we are. Everyone involved in this process has decisions to make. Individuals engaged in learning make choices constantly: Should I…
Research Report
September 6, 2016

Student Data in the Digital Era

An Overview of Current Practices

Newly available data are making it possible to understand, improve, and represent student learning and other outcomes in profoundly different ways. With online learning platforms, technology-enabled educational tools, and other digital technologies, data about students and student learning in post-secondary settings have become unprecedentedly extensive and easy to access, interpret, and share. This growing ubiquity and granularity offer new opportunities for institutions, researchers, instructors, and other organizations to put student data to myriad uses: researchers can better understand student learning…
Research Report
September 6, 2016

Applications of Student Data in Higher Education

Issues and Ethical Considerations

The second Asilomar convention organized by Stanford University and Ithaka S+R in June 2016 brought together a group of academics to facilitate a review of how student data is currently used in higher education. The discussions aimed to synthesize current best practices to specify norms for the ethical use of student data; and inform institutional, national and global policies regarding the research, application, and representation of adult student data. This paper focuses on the applications strand which sought to yield…