Big Data is an emerging field that has impacted every industry in America. This impact has stretched to education, and Georgia State nursing school has began to use Big Data to predict student success. They were surprised to see that your performance in an introductory Math class would be a good predictor for your success as a junior or senior. Studies showed that less than 10 percent of students that earned a C in that math class graduated, while 80% of students with a B+ graduated.
This has led data analysts at Civitas Learning to conclude that students are much less likely to graduate if they got less than an A or B in a foundation course for their major. This article by the New York Times cites University of Arizona as having uses for big data. Studies from the University of Arizona have shown that a student's grade in English comp is crucial to graduation. In the U of A, 41% of students that received a C in English comp graduated, while 61% of students that received a B graduated, and 72% of students that received an A graduated. Conclusions like these can allow colleges to decide where to deposit resources to ensure higher graduation rates. If studies like this prove causality between performance in a certain class and graduation rates, it is not far fetched to assume more resources will be thrown at the students that aren't performing well in select classes.
It is incredibly interesting to see the long term benefits that universities can encounter if they use big data. The Insite Center for Business Intelligence and Analytics in the U of A MIS department is experimenting using big data on current freshmen. They are measuring social interactions, such as whether freshmen go to the gym, where they buy their food from, and even when they buy clothes from the bookstore. They are putting all this data into algorithms to measure the likelihood that a freshman would make it to sophomore year. This attacks the idea that comfort with a student's environment could impact how successful they are academically. Insite has tracked 30,000 students over the past three years, and have cited an accuracy rate of 85%!
Of course this information could be use in a negative manner, which makes security of this information of utmost importance. It is imperative that this information not land in the wrong hands, but rather be used to advance the student's goals and aspirations.
I have a couple questions regarding this topic for you all!
1. Do you believe that every day interactions within a campus can have an impact on how successful a student is?
2. Would you like big data to predict your future for you? Such as your likelihood of graduation, best major for you, or even how you should interact with others on campus.
3. Do you think that big data can be abused? How?
This has led data analysts at Civitas Learning to conclude that students are much less likely to graduate if they got less than an A or B in a foundation course for their major. This article by the New York Times cites University of Arizona as having uses for big data. Studies from the University of Arizona have shown that a student's grade in English comp is crucial to graduation. In the U of A, 41% of students that received a C in English comp graduated, while 61% of students that received a B graduated, and 72% of students that received an A graduated. Conclusions like these can allow colleges to decide where to deposit resources to ensure higher graduation rates. If studies like this prove causality between performance in a certain class and graduation rates, it is not far fetched to assume more resources will be thrown at the students that aren't performing well in select classes.
It is incredibly interesting to see the long term benefits that universities can encounter if they use big data. The Insite Center for Business Intelligence and Analytics in the U of A MIS department is experimenting using big data on current freshmen. They are measuring social interactions, such as whether freshmen go to the gym, where they buy their food from, and even when they buy clothes from the bookstore. They are putting all this data into algorithms to measure the likelihood that a freshman would make it to sophomore year. This attacks the idea that comfort with a student's environment could impact how successful they are academically. Insite has tracked 30,000 students over the past three years, and have cited an accuracy rate of 85%!
Of course this information could be use in a negative manner, which makes security of this information of utmost importance. It is imperative that this information not land in the wrong hands, but rather be used to advance the student's goals and aspirations.
I have a couple questions regarding this topic for you all!
1. Do you believe that every day interactions within a campus can have an impact on how successful a student is?
2. Would you like big data to predict your future for you? Such as your likelihood of graduation, best major for you, or even how you should interact with others on campus.
3. Do you think that big data can be abused? How?
1. I definitely agree with the New York Times article you posted about having more interactions on campus will help a student be more successful. Aside from the research showing how being involved and getting A’s and B’s in their foundation courses helps them be more successful; it is also important that students feel like they fit in. A happier student is more likely to put in the effort required to do well in the classes rather than a student that is sad and does not have the desires to go to class.
ReplyDelete2. I think that having big data predict what career path I would do well in and recommend potential majors for me would be beneficial. However, I would never want to only have those paths availble to me since there are subjects, I am good at, such as math, that I would never want to major in. Having the data availble to provide better, more customized recommendations to students could help the indecisive people. I feel like a lot of students find what they are truly passionate about in life by trying multiple things and failing, the recommendations on majors and careers could help cut down on the amount of trial and errors.
3. With the collection of date there is always the fear of big brother and invading people’s privacy. One way to help this would be something along the lines of an opt in/opt out program that tracks where students swipe their cat cards or how students get recommendations for majors. I think the biggest worry about big data is that the school would track students’ movements without students knowing and understanding what the data is being used for. If this was explained how beneficial the information was to the school helping current and future students, I think that would ease the fear of the data being abused. The biggest thing I can think of that could be abused would be if schools sold the data including personal student information to companies.
1. I agree that increased interactions can increase the potential for a student's success. Having more interactions increases the sense of belonging, or community. It is one of the same reasons as to why it can be so important to join a club or work on campus during your first year, because it establishes a place where a person really fits in. College can be very overwhelming for multiple reasons in one's first year, and feeling out of place or having poor performance can be detrimental for many people. English comp is a "foundation" course, and if your foundation is poor, then then the rest built on it could potentially crumble.
ReplyDelete2. I could see how having big data would be a great options for many, but I would not want it for me personally. I believe in fate, but I also believe that anyone can change their path if they are willing to work for it. If someone is struggling, and big data predicts that they will not graduate, that creates a negative mentality which in turn will ensure that they won't graduate. Few people will try harder if all the data says they will fail. At the same time, having personal recommendations could be extremely beneficial for some students, as they could be offered paths that they weren't even aware of.
3. I think big data could be abused by having people make analyses that breach privacy or collecting information that they shouldn't. Some people are very sensitive about what information is collected on them, and would be unhappy to learn that the University is doing so. Additionally, it could be abused in that people become overdependent on its results when making decisions and lose sight of the big picture, which in this case is student retention.
1. As a Resident Assistant here on campus, I have firsthand knowledge that on average, those who get more involved or engaged within clubs, organizations, work, or even our dorm are more successful. The reason is that those who feel a sense of belonging on campus feel more supported and become aware of more resources than those who are not involved or in touch with the happenings on campus. My residents often get together and do homework, and those who are in clubs or organizations are typically more motivated to become leaders for others, and lead by example. It is my job to connect residents with each other and with campus resources that will best help them succeed.
ReplyDelete2. I think it would definitely be interesting to see the results of big data analytics in terms of my own future; however, I am a firm believer that we have the ability to pave our own path in life. Even though I would take the results with a grain of salt, it would be fascinating to see the patterns and relationships between where I go, what I eat, how I spend my free time, etc. and my future. As Brittany mentioned previously, there are certain subjects that I am good at, but I would never want to major in.
3. Big data can certainly be abused. With recent advancements in big data analytics, there are many insights that are gleaned from data that is very revealing about a person—so there is a major concern when it comes to privacy and cybersecurity. It is important for organizations that are collecting information about individuals to be transparent about what they are collecting and for what purposes, that way those individuals could choose whether or not they wish to consent to that data collection. Additionally, it is critical for those organizations to keep that information secure and protected.