2022 Learning Analytics In The Business School Curriculum

Business Schools On Path To Realize Learning Analytics’ Promise Of Optimized Learning

Learning Analytics Seen As Important To Student Success, Yet More Investment Required
 
The MBA Roundtable, a global association of business schools whose mission is to advance graduate management education through curricular and co-curricular innovation, released a new report, Learning Analytics In The Business School Curriculum.  Seventy-one deans, directors, and faculty at 67 graduate business schools described how learning analytics are used in the business school curriculum in an MBA Roundtable research study conducted in June and July, 2022. The following are what we learned.
 
Most business schools have implementations of learning analytics in the curriculum and a vast majority of respondents (93%) say that learning analytics is worth the time and investment.   On average, respondents report three implementations of learning analytics. The most common implementations of learning analytics at business schools are at the program (70%) and course (66%) level.  A respondent who said it was “definitely worth the time and investment” explains that “if you can build a culture that is supportive of the use of data to inform decision-making and build a culture that understands and values the contribution of data, you can make a lot of progress with less error. Gut feelings only get you so far -- using data allows you to target your strategies to maximize outcomes, so they are absolutely worth the time and investment.”
 
Fewer report implementations at the school (45%) and learner (38%) levels. One respondent suggests that “pedagogical evolution requires an understanding of individual student learning journey. The only way we will be able to standardize and customize appropriately is by the careful examination of data related to learning outcomes and approaches.”
 
Investment in learning analytics at business schools reportedly lags despite the perception of importance for student success. Four in five (81%) respondents agree that learning analytics in the business school curriculum is essential for student success. Only 29 percent agree appropriate funding and investment has been made in learning analytics at their business school, however. One respondent states that “with more investment and authority to collect, secure, analyze, and share only in aggregate sensitive learner data, I think we could do a much better job in our fundamental education mission.”
 
Accreditation and assurance of learning are the most common use cases for learning analytics in the business school curriculum. A majority of respondents report the business school uses learning analytics for accreditation (67%) and assurance of learning (63%). Fewer than half report utilize learning analytics to enhance the teaching learning environment (46%), course redesign (40%), and identifying at-risk students (32%). One respondent report “learning analytics promote standardized goals for the school.  It helps clearly define the teaching objectives for the school and establishes a benchmark for assessment.  Assurance of Learning has been a very important initiative for us.”
 
Common data sources for business school learning analytics include data from the learning management system (LMS), student assessments of faculty, substantive assessments, formative assessments, and demographic data. Data sources used by business schools for accreditation tend to utilize demographic, course attendance, and virtual delivery platform data. Substantive assessments are a common data source for assurance of learning, while course redesign tend to utilize resume data, formative and substantive assessments, and event attendance. One respondent report that “our programs are truly data-informed and we can trace most, if not all, of our innovations as being direct results or informed by effective data and learning analytics strategies.”
 
Click here to download the full report