You Get What You Measure, So What Are We Measuring? A Panel Debate on Learning Analytics

Since fewer than 30 percent of American adults over 25 hold a bachelor's degree and barely 60 percent of all students who start college actually finish, many institutions are turning to learning analytics to understand why some students succeed and how to help others. But how do we define "student success"? What are students "finishing" when they graduate? Is it really possible to measure student learning, let alone the impact of institutional interventions or changes in teaching? This panel discussion extends and expands an online summer debate between two colleagues on the merits and methodologies of learning analytics.