A Resource-Constrained Approach to Implementing Analytics in an Institution of Higher Education: An Experience Report

Abstract

Academic analytics and learning analytics have been increasingly adopted by academic institutions of higher learning for improving student performance and retention. While several studies have reported the implementation details and the successes of specific analytics initiatives, relatively fewer studies exist in literature that describe the possible constraints that can preclude an academic or learning analytics initiative from succeeding fully, meeting the criteria of success as defined by the stakeholders affected by such initiatives. Our aim in this article is to describe the constraints that precluded a successful completion of our analytics initiative and how we re-envisioned our approach and scope to achieve our primary goals while operating within the constraints and tools associated with our academic environment.