Congratulations to Dr. Kyle Jones on his two publications!

Jones, K. M. L., VanScoy, A., Bright, K., & Harding, A. (2022). A measurement of faculty views on the meaning and value of student privacy. Journal of Computing in Higher Education. https://osf.io/dw5rs/

 

Learning analytics tools are becoming commonplace in educational technologies, but extant student privacy issues remain largely unresolved. It is unknown whether faculty care about student privacy and see privacy as valuable for learning. The research herein addresses findings from a survey of over 500 full-time higher education instructors. In the findings, we detail faculty perspectives of their privacy, students’ privacy, and the high degree to which they value both. Data indicate that faculty believe privacy is important to intellectual behaviors and learning, but the discussion argues that faculty make choices that put students at risk. While there seems to be a “privacy paradox,” our discussion argues that faculty are making assumptions about existing privacy protections and making instructional choices that could harm students because their “risk calculus” is underinformed. We conclude the article with recommendations to improve a faculty member’s privacy decision-making strategies and improve institutional conditions for student privacy.

 

Asher, A., Briney, K. A., Jones, K. M. L., Regalado, M., Perry, M. R., Goben, A., Smale, M. A., & Salo, D. (2022). Questions of trust: A survey of student expectations and perspectives on library learning analytics. Library Quarterly, 92(2), 151–171. https://doi.org/10.1086/718605

 

Universities are developing learning analytics initiatives that include academic library participation. Libraries rarely inform their students about learning analytics projects or general library data practices. Without a clear student voice in library learning analytics projects, libraries and librarians are creating potential privacy complications. This study seeks to document students’ thoughts on academic library participation in learning analytics and privacy concerns. A survey was developed and fielded at eight US higher education institutions, and this article covers the findings from the approximately 2,200 responses. Although most students reported high levels of trust in libraries and librarians, a consistent minority indicated little or no trust at all. Findings demonstrate that students considered librarian access to and sharing of personally identifiable information to constitute a privacy violation but also lacked awareness of the data and analytic practices on which libraries rely. Notable demographic differences were also discovered.