“Trust the Process!”: Implementing Learning Analytics in Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

Using quantitative data analysis to improve and develop universities is becoming an increasingly important topic. Results from the emerging research field of Learning Analytics (LA) can supplement existing data analytics at higher education institutions (HEIs). But the adoption of LA in a large scale is a comprehensive process taking time and effort since different challenges have to be tackled. For instance, it is crucial that all stakeholders trust in the system since a lack of acceptance can lead to failure of any LA implementation. Therefore, to reach the full potential of an implementation for the HEIs, it might be appropriate to start LA at a small scale and evolve it to meet the specific needs of the HEI and its stakeholders. The chapter describes how the implementation process of LA can succeed in an evolutionary way and how a well-known LA adoption model can be adapted to guide a bottom-up adoption. Thus, the major development stages and milestones of the adoption process at the Study Support Center (SSC) of Aalen University of Applied Sciences (UAS) are presented as a case study. Starting at a small scale, research results from the SSC initiated a bottom-up process resulting in an institutional LA framework supporting stakeholders of different levels. Moreover, it is shown how institution-wide analytics can support educational decision-making. The evolutionary process is then regarded in terms of the adapted adoption model. The contribution closes with a summary of experiences, an outlook on open challenges for the adoption process, and a conclusion.