One of the members of our lead partner, Prof John Domingue, contributed to a report on the mass data monitoring of universities, through learning analytics, for increased student successes.

John Domingue says more comprehensive use of learning analytics could indeed transform the sector. “Each week students are making moves as you make moves on a chess board,” he says. “Some combinations of these moves lead to success and some lead to failure so we push students to take the nearest path that students like them have taken to lead to success.

Prof Domingue also suggests that there are ethical issues regarding the collection and analysis of such data, but there is a moral obligation from universities to utilise the data that they currently have to maximise the success of their students. The increase in tuition will urge students to demand more for their money regarding higher education.

Within this report, John Domingue mentions EDSA as a project that can facilitate the training and education of individuals and organisation who can indeed analyse such data and perform worthy contributions to this sector and the successes of its students. The full article can be found at http://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/jan/19/big-brother-universities-data-higher-education-students.