NTU Student Dashboard
CADQ/ IS Staff Briefings September 2014
www.ntu.ac.uk/
studentdashboard
Overview
• Learning analytics & dashboards
• 2013-14 pilot
• What does the dashboard do?
• Ethics & access to student data
• How to use the dashboard
• What to expect in the next few weeks & support
• Future developments
www.ntu.ac.uk/studentdashboard
Why are we developing the dashboard?
• Potentially helps solve problems
• HERE Project: NTU, Bournemouth, Bradford (2008-2011)
– Up to 1/3 of NTU 1st years have considered leaving, report poorer quality
experience
– Factors associated with improved experience
– Being known by staff, working relationships with staff, coping with the transition
into HE
• Internal audit report (summer 2012)
– Good overall retention, however patchy use of data for tutors & teaching staff
• IS sense checking in the market, testing the possibilities for
technology (2012-13)
– Strong interest in the sector, lessons coming from North America, lots of data
being under-utilized
• After tendering process we are working with an external vendor,
DTP SolutionPath, the dashboard is driven by HP Autonomy IDOL
Benefits for staff & students
• Early warning of the risk of disengagement & withdrawal
– Appropriate retention
• Building a sense of belonging
– Students want to feel known – may be particularly useful for groups with
traditionally lower progression & attainment (male, BME, poorer SE
backgrounds)
• Puts lots of information about students in the hands of tutors
– Grades, Disability Access Statement, potential at risk factors
• Large scale analysis of behaviours
– Warning students of risks of current levels of engagement
• Future developments
– Feedback, attendance monitoring, possible diagnostic testing, increased
planning tools
Who is the dashboard for?
• Primarily students and course
tutorial tutors
Course administrators
Academics on course
• Both see identical screens
• However, all staff can input
comments in free text boxes
• Based around course tutorial
structure
Student
Tutor
Student Support Services
Limited library staff
– To give manageable groups
Limited careers staff
• Other NTU staff can access &
use it
Dashboard Pilot (2013-14)
• 4 first year courses, 50 staff, 400 students (Sept-June)
– Education, NBS, Social Sciences
• Student views
– Can see potential benefits
– Feel strongly positive about the dashboard
– But also have strong concerns of abuse
• “Will this be used against me if I fail?”
• Staff views
–
–
–
–
Strongly positive
Dashboard not perfect, but can see how they can use it in own practice
Useful for relationship-building
Valuable to understand what happened to students who may be disengaging &
may also have an impact on driving up engagement
– For most staff use was considerably less than 30 minutes per week
Ethics
Student perspectives
• Students grant permission to use the dashboard as part of their
enrolment conditions
• We’ve checked with legal services to ensure that current terms &
conditions are appropriate
• We’ve communicated via a number of central communications
channels
• As the primary use is between students and tutors, please would
staff introduce it as part of new student/ returners inductions
– We’ll forward a couple of slides via school contacts
• Low engagement – risk of labeling
Staff Access
• Apart from the engagement rating, staff already have access to all
the data in the dashboard
• However, ease of access makes it important to impress the
importance of data protection & privacy
• Staff computer use regulations make it an offence to abuse personal
data
• Use of the dashboard is to support student experience
Access levels
Level
Access
Who?
0
Whole dashboard
Student Services, some library & careers
staff, developers
1
College level
Course/ subject administrators
2
School level
Deans, associate deans, QMs, LTCs etc.
3
Division level
Most academics
NB we are trying to capture staff who teach outside their
division & school using timetabling software. Please be on the
lookout to ensure you have the necessary access
Working with the dashboard
What does the dashboard do?
Student biographical
info, e.g. enrolment
status
Can make
comments
in free text
box
Staff
view
Student
view
Evidence of student
engagement
•
Door swipes
•
Library books
•
NOW use
•
Attendance at
tutorials
(where appropriate)
•
Dropbox
submissions
•
Academic history
NTU
Student
Dashboard
Compares student
engagement across
the cohort & gives
rating
Raises
alerts!!
Log in
Via My Tools in NOW
or
www.ntu.ac.uk/student
dashboard
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Name
Entry age
Disability Access Statement
Gender
Home address
Residency
Entry qualifications
Enrolment status
Course name, level, & year
Study mode
Repeating
Detail
Points to note
• Sortable – each heading is
dynamic
www.ntu.ac.uk/studentdashboard
Points to note
Disability Access Statement
Other contact details
Tutor name
Student Engagement Rating - Cumulative
Student Engagement Rating – week-week
Engagement based on student behaviour
Potentially useful if you inherit a new group
Will be able to see how students are navigating their way
through
Looking at student engagement
Patterns of disengagement & then withdrawal
• Early analysis looks like association between low engagement &
withdrawal
Three examples of
withdrawn first year
students 2012/13
Not in the pilot
Different patterns of
withdrawal, some
may be more
amenable to support/
early warning
Potential impact of responding to low
engagement
Tutor Notes
18/11/13 Concerned about student attendance. Emailed student to request a
meeting : added on 20131120 for N0*****
Tutor Notes
Arranged to see [student] as attendance was poor. We had an open and honest
discussion about this and I explained to him the relationship between attendance
and success! We talked about the barriers to his attendance, which related to too
many late nights! Will meet again to review his attendance [tutor name]
[student] has not attended my lectures for a few weeks. Emailed him to ask him to
attend a one to one tutorial [tutor name]
Working with the dashboard
www.ntu.ac.uk/studentdashboard
Staff working with the dashboard
• Would tutors please:
• Tutors check the mid-Sept email alert contains the right information
• Introduce the dashboard during induction/ welcome back
• Respond to the two automatic alerts
• Complete registers for tutorials in NOW
• Check in fortnightly, or whenever you meet individual students
• Use the dashboard & particularly the free text field during meetings
with students (all staff)
www.ntu.ac.uk/studentdashboard
Future developments
• November – December 2014 – detailed analysis of student
engagement data
– Look at the pilot groups, start to look at cohorts with lower levels of
engagement
• Explore bringing feedback into the dashboard
• Explore potential of analytics
– Diagnostic testing
– Risks associated with particular engagement patterns
Thanks for listening
Discussion, questions?