Development of an approved learning analytics ethics position.

Abstract

Learning analytics promise significant benefit to online education providers through improved, better-targeted student services. Much has been written about the potential of analytics and how they might be technically implemented, and various ethical considerations are published highlighting the significant potential risk of gathering, manipulating and applying student data to education. Developing an ethical position provides institutions with an opportunity to critically appraise their assumptions and practice however how best to articulate one is far from clear. This case study outlines the development of an ethical framework at Open Polytechnic of New Zealand and demonstrates how international ethics guidelines for learning analytics have shaped practice and informed policy development.