University of the Highlands and Islands

Learning analytics status:

Analytics functionality is in place within various platforms and is currently being scoped for further development in the new VLE which was introduced in 2019.

System in place: 

Brightspace (Desire2Learn), in addition to a new analytics dashboard.

Journey so far:

UHI is a federated university comprised of 13 Academic Partners. The majority of the partners use a traffic light system to help meet their learning analytics objectives. This system is called BRAG: (Blue, Red, Amber, Green) provides data relating to student engagement.

This, and other applications of analytics, are currently being used to gauge student interaction at key points, to support learning analytics focused on engagement, progression and retention. Following initial scoping to further develop a more sophisticated, university wide solution to learning analytics (which was put on hold pending the identification of the university’s new VLE), UHI is now progressing their work to implement an ethical approach to learning analytics. This is part of a wider solution around identifying students who are at risk as early as possible and enhancing learning and teaching through identifying ‘crunch points’ and other challenges for students in the design and delivery of curricula.

The student body has been involved from the outset in scoping these developments. The term ‘engagement indicators’ has been agreed upon in relation to assessing engagement through attendance, interaction with key platforms and services, and utilisation of the VLE and assignment submissions, to allow module leaders, programme leaders and personal tutors to become aware when cohorts may require additional support and when individual students are potentially at risk of becoming disengaged.

Future goals:

UHI has three key priorities moving forward: early intervention (including social inclusion and well-being), identifying patterns of engagement to improve learning and teaching practice, and to support personal academic tutors.

To drive forward the above work, the university has undertaken extensive research and benchmarking to produce an institutional plan for learning analytics development. A learning analytics steering group has also been convened to progress the implementation of the Brightspace Student Success System (SSS) which will provide predictive and other learning analytics interventions going forward. In the first instance this will be run as part of a pilot study to enable UHI to understand the practicalities and to provide time to develop appropriate procedures and policies. In time the university intends to link this to the wider institutional datasets to provide a more holistic picture of student learning.