How does the collection and use of course data impact instructors? What are the privacy considerations?

Some UBC support staff are authorized to access online courses as part of their work at UBC, which is limited to supporting instructors with teaching tasks, troubleshooting technical issues, and answering students’ and instructors’ questions.

Data from online courses is accessed by UBC staff for the purposes of providing technological and pedagogical support, when permission is granted by the instructor. Data is not accessed to assess instructors’ teaching or any other aspect of their performance. Learn more about how learning data is managed at UBC.

What can I tell my students about the collection and use of learning data at UBC?

For information about how learning data is protected and accessed at UBC, please see the Student Guide to Learning Data, Analytics + Privacy. As learning analytics activities frequently make use of data from Canvas, it may also be helpful to refer students to UBC’s Canvas & Privacy Guide, which outlines how Canvas data specifically is managed.

UBC is also subject to the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which is the privacy law that governs all government bodies in British Columbia. This law protects personal information (recorded information about an identifiable individual). It only allows UBC to collect and use personal information for purposes connected with its programs or activities, and it requires UBC to keep this information secure and confidential.

Can the Learning Data Committee provide more guidance or be more specific about the definition of a stakeholder and which rights supersede others?

Stakeholders include all UBC persons.

As stated in Learning Analytics at UBC: Purpose and Principles, the Learning Data Committee seeks to “ensure all aspects of LA activity are pursued in a manner that is sensitive to the ethical and privacy concerns inherent in the collection, analysis and retention of this data.” However, the application of this principle is context-dependent, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer.

Where there is conflict between competing goals, the outcomes will be decided by the Learning Data Committee, which is the designated data steward for learning data at UBC, and the Data Governance Steering Committee.

Requests for access data are reviewed by the person or group responsible for that data, called a data steward. The steward for requests to access learning data is the Learning Data Committee. The Learning Data Committee has also developed the Learning Analytics Purpose and Principles, which provide guidelines for learning analytics at UBC and the formulation of UBC policies in general.

Data stewards have direct operational-level responsibility for the management of one or more types of Institutional Data. Data stewards have authority to make decisions, but will escalate decisions to the Data Governance Steering Committee as required. Data stewards’ activity includes working collaboratively with other data stewards to define business term definitions and business rules and manage and maintain the data assets for the data within their charge.

How can I submit a request to access learning data?

Learning data access requests can be submitted through the Access to and Use of Learning Data for Quality Assurance / Enhancement Purposes online application process.

What data can be accessed through the Access to and Use of Learning Data for Quality Assurance / Enhancement Purposes application process?

The Access to and Use of Learning Data for Quality Assurance / Enhancement Purposes application process can be used to request access to learning data that exists in the university’s learning technology ecosystem. Learning data refers to data that is generated as a result of users’ learning activities, including any activity that takes place in a course or that contributes to students’ grades.

Learning data includes content that users actively create when interacting with Canvas or other learning tools, such as students’ discussion posts, assignment uploads, and quiz submissions, as well as feedback and grades provided by the course instructor. In addition to the content that students actively create in their courses, learning data also includes information that learning tools log about user activity, such as the time and date of on-page clicks and activity, logins, page views, tool launches, file uploads, posts, and quiz submissions.

If you plan to work with learning data that is aggregated from different types of data, you will be required to submit a request to the Learning Data Committee.

What types of data can I access without submitting a request through the Access to and Use of Learning Data for Quality Assurance / Enhancement Purposes Application Process?

Access to and use of learning data collected through online application such as Canvas provides opportunities for interventions and improvement and is a normal part of course and curriculum enhancement activities. Instructors will continue to have access to data they can access through the Canvas learning management system and other online learning tools, which they are free to use for course and curriculum enhancement activities.

Instructors are asked to make a data access request if they wish to access data under any of the following conditions:

• Data will be provisioned beyond your core teaching team;
• Access to data from multiple courses is requested and will be combined; or
• Learning data will be combined with personal information (e.g., from the SIS).

The Access to and Use of Learning Data for Quality Assurance / Enhancement Purposes application form asks for a list of core teaching team members. Who is considered to be part of an instructor’s core teaching team?

A core teaching team normally includes any academic staff teaching a course, as well as any TAs. The primary instructor teaching a course may identify others, such as support staff, who can be granted access to requested data for the purpose of supporting quality assurance efforts.

Can an instructor or department access data on an ongoing basis without going through this process year after year? Or do they need to apply every time they need access?

Data access must be reviewed by the data steward on an annual basis.

How long can data be retained for longitudinal purposes? Are there types of data that can be retained forever?

Data requests are granted for one year and will be reviewed on an annual basis. If the initial request is granted and the reasons for accessing the data have not changed, applicants can submit an amendment to their initial application in subsequent years. This amendment would specify the data that will be retained and could include requests for access to additional data that falls within the scope of the initial request (e.g., the next year’s data).

What is the process for requesting permission to access historical data across multiple years or systems for meta-analyses?

This type of data should be requested through the Access to and Use of Learning Data for Quality Assurance / Enhancement Purposes online application process.

When a data request is submitted, is any notification sent to the unit from which the data originates? For example, if the Economics Department requests data from Math courses, is there a process for notifying Math or the Faculty of Science?

When requesting data from another administrative unit, please contact that unit for approval before making your request. If approval is given, please indicate on the application form who you consulted with, when, and whether they have approved your request. When requesting data about a particular unit, the appropriate level for seeking approval would be head of unit. (E.g., when requesting data from the Math department, please contact the department head, rather than the Faculty of Science.)