Beyond The Dashboard:Why Learning Analytics Don’t Guarantee Student SuccessCABS Learning, Teaching and Student Experience27 April 2016Benjamin Stein, Director Student Success

Today’s agenda

Q&A

Beyond the dashboard: what next?

What’s driving dashboards

Why we’re here

Technology supports action

Our dashboard moment

123 Genuine new insights can be derived

Government and regulatory requirements

No lack of important data to capture and share

Dashboard drivers

4 Data are easier to manage than people

5 Technology providers

Necessary but not sufficient

? What data to include/exclude?

Campus attendance

VLE login in/activity

Library usageTutorial attendance

Organisations and activities Marks

Pre-enrolment information

Personal characteristics

Fees paid or pendingStudent card purchases

Campus portal logins

Professional support resources

Necessary but not sufficient

? Does a deeper understanding of the problem actually lead to a solution?

”We want to show students how they’re performing and rely on their intelligence to improve their performance.”

– ABCDE University

Marks: the original dashboard

An advanced MRI without a prescription

Necessary but not sufficient

? Ultimately it’s what you do with the information that makes the difference

“This means using analytics to encourage students to reflect on how they are learning, or to initiate a conversation between a tutor and a student about how the student is doing, instead of using the system to define the student’s performance or ability.”

I. Formative v. Summative

Necessary but not sufficient

? Ultimately it’s what you do with the information that makes the difference

“At the end of the day, even the best systems and the best data depend on people to translate them into actions and behaviors that can influence student retention and completion.”

II. People make the difference

Necessary but not sufficient

? Ultimately it’s what you do with the information that makes the difference

“Just assuming that all students will be their own change agents is unrealistic. It’s vital to focus on what happens next…We would suggest that the successful implementation of learning analytics will still require messy, complicated interactions in the real world in order to succeed."

III. True impact comes from real-world action

Closer to home

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Insufficient tech resources

Too many tech resources

No student buy-in

Lack of executive support

Insufficient financial resources

No academic buy-in

Not knowing what works

Poor cross-dept coord

Data silos

Cultural barriers

Importance

Importance

A holistic picture of every student Intelligent data integration

VLE Starfish OthersSRS

Put students at the centreA digital hub connects dozens of success factors

Match intervention to riskQuickly determine who needs help and take action

Remove obstacles between students and supportBuild a role-based success network

Show next steps and resourcesOffer specific tasks that connect to other providers

Give students a voiceLet students initiate their own help-seeking

Connect, record and share appropriatelyOnline appointments synched with your external calendar

Capture academic feedback without disruptionHarness critical academic relationships

Questions?

benjamin.stein@hobsons.com

0207 250 6619