Improving the Quality and Productivity of the Higher Education Sector

a White Paper for the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching

This discussion paper responds to the high level of investment higher education leaders are currently making in data analytics. Australian higher education institutions are devoting considerable resources to better understand the factors that impact student retention and success. The imperative for developing a national learning analytics policy and strategy that evaluates current international practice and proposes key enabling suggestions to guide education executives and government officials in future decision making is presented. The need for a more coordinated and systemic approach arises from pressures surrounding quality assurance and reporting mechanisms, increased student diversity and mobility, budgetary constraints and establishing a competitive advantage for Australian universities within the global education market. To better assist the higher education sector in building a culture of learning analytics it is necessary to engage key stakeholders in order to identify and address the issues and requirements for developing the technical and policy base for implementation. These concerns include shared data infrastructure; privacy and ethics; and the exemplar predictive models and practices that actively contribute to improved student learning outcomes and success.