This article explores potential uses, misuses, beneficiaries, and tensions of learning analytics in higher education. While those promoting and using learning analytics generally agree that ethical practice is imperative, and student privacy and rights are important, navigating the complex maze of ethical dilemmas can be challenging, particularly…

Research based on educational data mining conducted at academic institutions is often limited by the institutional policy with regard to the type of learning management system and the detail level of its activity reports. Often, researchers deal with only raw data. Such data normally contain numerous fictitious user activities that can create a…

This study conducted a systematic literature review of articles on learning analytics published between 2004 and January 2024. A total of 1,064 articles, identified using the keyword "learning analytic*" in the Scopus database, were analyzed. The study integrated systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis approaches to…

The last few years have witnessed an upsurge in the number of studies using Machine and Deep learning models to predict vital academic outcomes based on different kinds and sources of student-related data, with the goal of improving the learning process from all perspectives. This has led to the emergence of predictive modelling as a core practice…

Data-driven decision-making and data-intensive research are becoming prevalent in many sectors of modern society, i.e. healthcare, politics, business, and entertainment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, huge amounts of educational data and new types of evidence were generated through various online platforms, digital tools, and communication…

The need for data-driven decision-making primarily motivates interest in analysing Big Data in higher education. Although there has been considerable research on the value of Big Data in higher education, its application to address critical issues within the sector is still limited. This systematic review, conducted in December 2021 and…

Determining whether a state's young people are on track for a life of opportunity is a difficult task for governors and state leaders. States can be both awash in data and unable to easily access and use that data to inform policy. State longitudinal data systems that meaningfully connect workforce, higher education, K-12, and early childhood…

There has been an increasing interest in learning analytics (LA) research especially in higher education (HE) in recent years. In this study, we conducted a systematic focused review of research, from 2016 to present, on using analytics in HE (specifically system- or user-generated data) to understand in what way such analytics has been…

The potential of data analytics in higher education is well acknowledged. Yet, there is a notable gap in the literature regarding the practical application of theoretical frameworks for its implementation and evaluation. While research has investigated data analytics for personalised learning, student success prediction, and programme assessment,…

Despite best efforts, the student experience remains poorly understood. One under-explored approach to understanding the student experience is the use of big data analytics. The reported study is a work in progress aimed at exploring the value of big data methods for understanding the student experience. A big data analysis of an open dataset of…

This collection focuses on the role of higher education institutions concerning datafication as a complex phenomenon. It explores how the universities can develop data literac(ies) shaping tomorrow skills and "formae mentis" to face the most deleterious effects of datafication, but also to engage in creative and constructive ways with…

Data--their collection, analysis and use--have always been part of education, used to inform policy, strategy, operations, resource allocation, and, in the past, teaching and learning. Recently, with the emergence of learning analytics, the collection, measurement, analysis and use of student data have become an increasingly important research…

Big data is an important part of innovation that has recently attracted a lot of interest from academics and practitioners alike. Given the importance of the education industry, there is a growing trend to investigate the role of big data in this field. Much research has been undertaken to date in order to better understand the use of big data in…

Learning analytics offer centralization of a particular understanding of learning, teaching, and student support alongside data-informed insight and foresight. As such, student-related data in higher education can be imagined and enacted as a 'data frontier' in which the data gaze is expanding, intensifying, and performing new meanings and…

This paper presents an analysis of learning analytics practices which aimed to achieve personalised learning. It addresses the need for a systematic analysis of the increasing amount of practices of learning analytics which are targeted at personalised learning. The paper summarises and highlights the characteristics and trends in relevant…