Big data on students is raising new ethical dilemmas

Institutions are facing unprecedented ethical questions as the growing quantity and quality of data offers them more ways to predict and intervene in student success, writes Carl Straumsheim for Inside Higher Ed. By way of example, the author asks whether a university that knows students from certain zip codes perform poorly in a specific course should take measures to prevent those students from taking that course. Writing for the Chronicle of Higher Education, Goldie Blumenstyk explores the takeaways from a recent forum on the subject, which highlights the importance of treating data collection and analysis as a “joint venture” between students, institutions, and instructors, who all hold a meaningful role in determining how the data is collected and used. Inside Higher Ed | Chronicle of Higher Education (Subscription Required)