SMS MSc Student Handbook 2021/2022 (Sep 2021 Start)
17. What is Learner Engagement Analytics and what does it have to do with me?
Let’s begin with the basics! Learner Engagement Analytics is a term that is used to describe the data the University holds about your engagement with various services, as well as your demographic data. Learner Engagement Analytics is often referred to as LEA, so you may also have heard about it under that name. Currently, your engagement data comes from your digital footprints that you leave when you use QMPlus and other University systems and data about your grades and academic history. When all this data about you is brought together in one system, it’s called Learner Engagement Analytics.
The following types of data may be used for the LEA system at Queen Mary:
· Background information: your name, identifiers used by the University/College, contact details, and a link to the photo we hold of you.
· Details about your course, the modules you are taking, the credits you have achieved and your advisors.
· Details of your assessments, marks and grades obtained.
· Details of your activity in QMPlus and other digital systems: logins, resources viewed, assessments submitted and graded, and session timeouts.
· Details about your engagement with teaching activities.
· Any extenuating circumstances that have been approved.
· As part of the ongoing development of the LEA platform we will be including some data about your use of reading lists and may pilot the inclusion of some other data about your library usage.
· We may link data for Statistical Purposes only to your date of birth, ethnicity, gender, declared disabilities, entry qualifications, whether your parents were in higher education, your socio-economic background, whether you are an overseas student. Two of these data types are what is known as special category personal data: Ethnicity and Disability. They are being included within our models with the aim of improving our monitoring of equality of opportunity and to improve the accuracy of the models. These statistical analyses will allow us to identify different patterns of engagement between different groups. They will not be used to identify individuals.
As you can see, LEA has a lot to do with you – its data about you! The University has collected this data about you for a long time, but the University has decided to create a system that brings your data from different sources together, and this new system is going to be used to analyse your data to better understand and support your journey through the University.
What will my data be used for?
It’s good to be careful with your personal data, and we can assure you that your data will only be used to improve the student experience and provide tailored support when you need it. For example, in schools where LEA has been implemented in 2021-22, if we can see that your engagement has decreased, your Advisor and the student support staff in your school might reach out to you to see if you need a bit of extra support to get back on track. Another benefit is that the engagement data from all the students in your cohort can help academic staff to improve their learning materials. If a lecturer can see that most students in your class aren’t opening the resources on QMPlus, it might be sign that they need to redesign the QMPlus page, so it is easier for you to access the right resources at the right time.
Now that you know what we do with your data, we also want to make it clear that your data will never be used for assessment unless you have explicitly been told that this is the case (this is only the case for a small minority of courses that have relied on engagement data for assessment for a long time, so this isn’t a new feature of the LEA system). Similarly, if we can see that you have disengaged, the LEA system will never be used to make any automatic decisions about your progression. Finally, your data will never (not now, not in the future) be used for the purpose of the Prevent scheme.
Your data – like all other kinds of data the University collects about you – will be processed in accordance with the University’s Data Protection Policy and Student Privacy Notice.
Who will have access to my data?
We know that you probably don’t want lots of people to see your data, and only a small group of people will have access to your data. Only two groups of people will have access to your data. The first group is staff whose job it is to support you and your learning. This includes your Advisors, academic staff and student support staff. Only staff that work directly with you (so not all staff across all parts of the university) have access to see your data. The second group is staff whose job it is to develop and maintain the LEA software. This may include IT staff and staff from external software suppliers. When staff from both of these groups access your data, they must adhere to strict data protection rules. Your data will also be combined with other students’ data to find trends and enable comparison. When your data is used this way, it will not be possible to identify you.
What will happen if my LEA data shows a lack of engagement?
Our first step will always be to try to get in contact with you to find out what is going on. Usually, your Advisor or someone from your Schools’ student support team will contact you. If you’re going through a difficult period or you are struggling to keep up with your academic work, the staff member will signpost you to relevant support services and see if any additional support needs to be put in place.
We know that all students have different study habits, so if you feel the LEA data doesn’t accurately reflect your engagement, you can discuss this with the staff member that contacts you.
Your LEA data will never be used to make automatic decisions about your progression – a staff member will always reach out to you before any decisions are made!
What’s the future of LEA?
First of all, we’re working on a dashboard that will give students a simple way to see their own Learner and Engagement Analytics. The intention is that students can choose to use this data to monitor their progress and get an accurate idea of their progress compared to the rest of their cohort. It will of course not be compulsory to check your LEA Analytics data – it’s a tool you can choose to use if you find it helpful.
As the LEA system develops, the system will also be able to make predictions based on the data that comes into the system. This feature is not available yet, but when it becomes available, it will allow staff to identify if you might need a bit more support. It will also be a way for you and your Advisor to discuss your expectations for your academic results and see if you need to adjust your engagement to make it more likely that you can achieve the results you want.
I have a concern or a question. Who can I contact?
We want to be completely transparent about the way LEA works at Queen Mary, so don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have a concern or a question. In the first instance, please contact your Advisor.