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Learning Analytics is defined as follows: "the measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for the purposes of understanding and optimising learning and the environments in which it occurs." (International Conference on Learning Analytics, 2011). The University of Leeds has adopted this definition for the purposes of this Code of Practice and the Learning Analytics Strategy.
The University of Leeds uses learning analytics to enhance taught student education and support student success for registered students. The University will use learning analytics to: (i) support individual learners – through actional intelligence for students, teachers and professional staff; (ii) help understand cohort behaviours and outcomes; (iii) help understand and enhance the learning environment. This means that we will gather and analyse data relating to students’ education and present these in appropriate formats to staff and students, to support students’ learning, progress and well-being. The University recognises that data on their own cannot provide a complete picture of a student’s progress, but provide an indicative picture of progress and likelihood of success.
This document sets out the responsibilities for staff, students and the University to ensure that learning analytics is carried out responsibly, transparently, appropriately and effectively, addressing the key legal, ethical and logistical issues which are likely to arise. This not only covers the presentation of learning analytics data to students and staff but also possible use in research projects and management information. It is important to note that the University currently holds and processes the data sources identified in this document. This Code of Practice covers all uses of learning analytics data for registered taught students across the University. We will train and support our staff to help them make most appropriate use of learning analytics data to support students. This document should be read in conjunction with the following existing University policies: Student Privacy Notice, Staff Privacy Notice, Information Protection Policy, Use of Computer Systems Policy and GDPR data protection.
It is recognised that learning analytics is a developing area and this Code of Practice will be reviewed annually and updated in line with future developments. The University’s Learning Analytics Strategy Group will monitor developments in learning analytics and, following consultation, will propose any changes to this Code of Practice to the Taught Student Education Board detailing the associated consultation that has taken place. The Taught Student Education Board is responsible for this Code of Practice document and will endorse any changes made to it. Any changes to this document will be widely communicated within the University.
Version: 1.2
Document owner: Prof. Jeff Grabill (Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Student Education)
Copyright: University of Leeds
Licence: CC: BY-NC-SA
Data approved: Learning Analytics Steering Group 9th June 2022 (LA- 21040)
Date for review: May 2023
This Code of Practice is informed by the following principles:
The objectives for the use of learning analytics at the University of Leeds are:
The University already holds the data listed below, and processes these in relation to student administration and education. The sources listed may be used for learning analytics, based on the functionality of the system(s) in use at the university and following the principles set out in Section 2 of this Code of Practice. Information will be provided to all users about which data sources are being used within each system, when available. Only data that are appropriate to inform and support student success will be used in a learning analytics system and only at a level appropriate to highlight to staff where students may benefit from additional support and for students to understand their own learning progress. Data which could identify the personal interests of an individual and specific details of their activities will not be included.
The University collects data from students for the administration and delivery of the student contract and for statutory requirements. Where these data are used for learning analytics it will be made clear the reasons why students cannot opt out of providing these data. As the use of learning analytics develops at the University, additional data sources may be considered useful to support staff and students. In such instances, students and staff will be informed in advance of its use and consent will be requested for data where consent is required. In such instances this code of practice will be updated accordingly.
The University may also process “special categories of data” as described under the GDPR. These are more sensitive personal data which require a higher level of protection. Student consent is required for the collection and use of special category data (see Student Privacy Notice). The University may process special categories of data at an aggregate level through the work of Student Success and Student Support teams to identify trends and patterns to inform institutional and local changes and practice, and to offer differential support for groups of students who may benefit from additional support. This information will not be in dashboards presented to staff and students. The Special Categories of personal data consist of data revealing: (i) racial or ethnic origin; (ii) political opinions; (iii) religious or philosophical beliefs; (iv) trade union membership. They also consist of the processing of: (i) genetic data; (ii) biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying someone; (iii) data concerning health; (iv) data concerning someone's sex life or sexual orientation.
The Deputy Vice Chancellor: Student Education has overall responsibility for the legal, ethical and effective use of learning analytics within the University of Leeds. The following identifies where responsibilities are held for specific areas of Learning Analytics within the University:
The University Executive Group is responsible for the learning analytics strategy, and for managing the resources required for delivery of learning analytics initiatives.
The Senate, via the Taught Student Education Board (TSEB), is responsible for the Learning Analytics Code of Practice and for implementing the University’s strategy for the use of learning analytics in line with this Code of Practice.
The Digital Education Committee, reporting to the Taught Student Education Board, is responsible for monitoring the pedagogical uses of learning analytics across the University and the technologies in use. This will take into consideration the quality of the student experience and ensure adherence to the University’s student education principles.
The Learning Analytics Strategy Group reports to the Taught Student Education Board via the Digital Education Committee. It has the operational responsibility for the delivery of learning analytics across the University. This includes reviewing all aspects of service provision and realising the benefits of learning analytics in line with the University’s standards of student education.
The University will establish a Learning Analytics Ethical Review Committee, aligned to the Faculty-based Ethical Review Committees, which operates according to agreed ethical review principles and under the auspices of the University’s Research Ethics Committee. The committee will be responsible for ensuring learning analytics data are used according to the University’s ethical principles, and will review and oversee all proposed research projects in relation to learning analytics data.
Student representatives and key staff groups from across the University will be consulted and involved in the design, development, roll-out, monitoring and on-going review of the University’s use of Learning Analytics. Other groups will be consulted as required in relation to this Code of Practice and delivery of the Learning Analytics Strategy.
Learning analytics data will be provided to students to help them understand their own learning progress. Appropriate University staff may suggest actions for consideration by students to help improve their progress. Students are responsible for deciding the best application of any suggestions to their learning approach. Students are also responsible for understanding the datasets which are being used to show their learning progress.
Staff are responsible for accessing and using learning analytics data in accordance with this Code of Practice. As a minimum, anyone accessing learning analytics data will have completed the Information Security Essentials and Information Security Advanced training courses.
The University will be transparent, explaining clearly to staff and students the data sources used, the purposes of the analytics, the metrics used, who has access to the analytics, the boundaries around usage and how to interpret the data.
The University processes student data for the administration and delivery of students’ contact with it. Information on what data is collected and how it is processed can be found in the Student Privacy Notice.
Students will also normally be asked for their consent for personal interventions to be taken based on learning analytics data. This will usually be done at the point where a specific intervention is proposed. However, there may be legal, regulatory, safeguarding or other circumstances where students are not permitted to opt out of such interventions. Where this occurs the reasons will be clearly stated and justified.
Access to learning analytics data by students and staff at the University must be in line with all relevant policies. These include but are not limited to Student Privacy Notice, Staff Privacy Notice, Information Protection Policy, Use of Computer Systems Policy and any compliance requirements as identified by the University in relation to data protection and GDPR.
Access to student data and learning analytics is restricted to those identified by the University as having a legitimate need to view them. The following groups will have access to learning analytics data held by the University of Leeds:
In the case of providing individual student support (including academic and pastoral support) it will be necessary to present learning analytics data where students are identifiable. These data will only be available to the individual students they relate to, and at appropriate access levels to University staff who have the relevant permissions to view them. Where learning analytics data are made available to other individuals or organisations, such as for supporting students working with external organisations, it will only be at levels appropriate for the support required, which might include identifying data. Examples of this may include but are not limited to individuals employed by external organisations providing placements or degree apprenticeship places, where these individuals are involved in supporting a student’s University studies. Outside of this, learning analytics data will be anonymised or pseudonymised as necessary for use.
Where anonymised student data collected for or generated by learning analytics is published the University will ensure it is not possible to identify individuals from metadata or by aggregating multiple data sources. Where data is to be used anonymously particular care will be taken to avoid:
Where access to learning analytics data has to be shared with external individuals and organisations, the appropriate contracts, data processing and data sharing agreements will be in place in compliance with University policies and GDPR. Circumstances where data and analytics could be shared externally – e.g. requests from educational authorities, security agencies or employers - will be made explicit to staff and students.
In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, students will be able to access all learning analytics performed on their data in meaningful, accessible formats, and to obtain copies of their data in a portable digital format. Students will be able to correct inaccurate personal data held about themselves.
The University will undertake regular Data Protection Impact Assessments for its use of learning analytics across the organisation.
The quality, robustness and validity of data and analytics processes will be monitored and regularly reviewed in order to develop and maintain confidence in learning analytics and ensure it is used to support and enhance student education at the University of Leeds.
The University will ensure that:
Students will be provided with access to a system that will show their learning analytics data and insights generated, and they can choose whether to access these data. There may be cases when data are not shared because it might have a harmful impact on the student’s academic wellbeing. Students still have a right to see their data if they request it.
Relevant staff will be able to access students’ learning analytics data to support students. Staff will discuss these data with students, and may suggest actions to students based on data within the learning analytics system. Where staff suggest actions to students, these will be agreed through dialogue. In this case, staff will normally mean a personal tutor, but could also include module and/or programme leaders, or professional staff, as appropriate.
The allocation of resources for learning analytics for learners with different requirements will be decided by the University and in a way that ensures diverse groups and individuals are treated equitably.
The University recognises that analytics can never give a complete picture of an individual's learning and may not take into account personal circumstances. It also recognises the importance of individual conversations alongside data analysis to obtain a more complete view of a situation. Steps will be taken to ensure that trends, norms, categorisation or any labelling of students do not bias staff, student or institutional perceptions and behaviours towards them, introduce discriminatory attitudes or increase power differentials.
Learning analytics systems and interventions at the University of Leeds will be carefully designed and regularly reviewed to ensure that:
Student Support is set within the context of the university’s primary role as an education provider. Our intention is to enable and empower students to be able to engage fully with all aspects of their student lives, removing barriers as necessary, in order for them to achieve their maximum potential and succeed in their studies and life after Leeds.
Learning analytics provides the opportunity for an earlier, more proactive and informed, discussion with students regarding support and, where necessary, the provision of information regarding specialist support services (https://students.leeds.ac.uk/#Support-and-wellbeing). It provides an additional element of information and data which will help inform our approach to supporting students, it does not in itself, change our intentions or responsibility to support students.
Data for learning analytics will comply with existing University of Leeds data policies and the Data Protection Act 2018, and, in particular, be:
On request by students any personal data used for or generated by learning analytics will be destroyed or anonymised, with the exception of certain, clearly specified data fields required for educational or statutory purposes such as grades.
Learning analytics data can only be captured and accessed via the approved University learning analytics systems and processes and only in line with this Code of Practice. Once systems and process are in place, this document will be updated to include their details.
The following are University policies and guidelines that directly or indirectly relate to the use of Learning Analytics at the University of Leeds:
© University of Leeds. This document is made available under the following Creative Commons Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC: BY-NC-SA.
This document was produced using the JISC Code of practice for learning analytics as a template (Jisc, 2015: Code of practice for learning analytics. Published under the CC BY 4.0 licence.
This document also draws on elements from the University of Edinburgh – Learning Analytics Principles and Purposes (© University of Edinburgh 2018, made available for reuse under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0)
This document also draws on elements from the University of West London Learning Analytics Policy (opens as a PDF) released under the following Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC: BY-NC-SA
The following documents were also reviewed during the drafting of this document: (i) University of Exeter Code of Practice for Effective Learning Analytics;;) and (ii) Aston University: MyEngagement – Learning Analytics Interventions Policy’ (https://www2.aston.ac.uk/clipp/documents/Quality/Attendance%20Monitoring%20and%20Learner%20Analytics/My%20Engagement%20Interventions%20Policy%202018-19.pdf) (opens as PDF)
~Code of Practice~
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