Some Colleges Are Using Students' Smartphones To Track Their Locations on Campus (chronicle.com) 54
Lee Gardner, reporting for Chronicle: James Dragna had his work cut out for him when he became "graduation czar" at California State University at Sacramento, in 2016. The university's four-year graduation rate sat at 9 percent. It hadn't moved in about 30 years, he says. Like many student-success experts at public colleges these days, Dragna combed through academic data about students that the university had on hand -- grades, attendance, advising information -- to track how they were doing as each semester wore on. He fed those data into predictive-analytics software to look for potential problems or hurdles that might lead to failing grades or dropping out, and to identify students who might benefit from a little extra support. Three years later, the university's four-year graduation rate is up to 20 percent. Its six-year rate has risen to 54 percent from 47 percent.
Stories like that dot the higher-education landscape as more colleges take advantage of burgeoning Big Data technology to keep tabs on their students and find more places where they can successfully intervene. But recently, the practice of tracking students has taken a more literal turn. Sacramento State plans to gather data on where some of its students spend time on the campus and for how long, joining 14 other institutions using software from a company called Degree Analytics. When a tracked student -- a freshman who has opted in -- enters the student union, her smartphone or laptop will connect to the local Wi-Fi router, and the software will make note of it. When the student leaves and her phone connects to the router in the chemistry building, or the library, or the dorm, it will capture that, too, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It isn't hard to imagine the wealth of observational data such location tracking might produce, and the student-success insights that might arise from it. For example, knowing that A students spend a certain number of hours in the library every week -- and eventually communicating that to students -- might motivate them to study there more often.
Stories like that dot the higher-education landscape as more colleges take advantage of burgeoning Big Data technology to keep tabs on their students and find more places where they can successfully intervene. But recently, the practice of tracking students has taken a more literal turn. Sacramento State plans to gather data on where some of its students spend time on the campus and for how long, joining 14 other institutions using software from a company called Degree Analytics. When a tracked student -- a freshman who has opted in -- enters the student union, her smartphone or laptop will connect to the local Wi-Fi router, and the software will make note of it. When the student leaves and her phone connects to the router in the chemistry building, or the library, or the dorm, it will capture that, too, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It isn't hard to imagine the wealth of observational data such location tracking might produce, and the student-success insights that might arise from it. For example, knowing that A students spend a certain number of hours in the library every week -- and eventually communicating that to students -- might motivate them to study there more often.
Correlation to graduation rates (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
If your 6-year rate is much higher than your 4-year rate, the cause is obvious: too much packed in to the degree. Do you really need differential equations in that computer science degree? No, you don't. Computers run on an entirely different kind of math. Differential equations are an interesting contrast but they don't need to be core to the computer science curriculum.
Re: (Score:3)
Other possible causes:
1) Students don't have the necessary knowledge level for the starting point of their chosen major and need to take entry level courses that don't count towards their degree. For example, if you want to be an engineer of about any kind you will need Calculus. If you come into schoo
Declining School Standards (Score:2)
If your 6-year rate is much higher than your 4-year rate, the cause is obvious: too much packed in to the degree.
Not necessarily. It could be due to declining high school standards meaning that students arrive far less equipped to deal with university. For example, we were drilled in different techniques for solving second order differential equations in A level further maths at school so I did not need to learn about differential equations at university - I already knew how to solve them when I started. While that may be more than typical even back then, today some students haven't even done basic calculus, seen a c
Re: (Score:2)
/sigh
The 6 year rate is better because if you made it to a 6 year degree odds are you aren't fucking around. You are a good student and you have no intention of wasting all that money invested in tuition.
Re: (Score:2)
If your 6-year rate is much higher than your 4-year rate, the cause is obvious: too much packed in to the degree. Do you really need differential equations in that computer science degree? No, you don't. Computers run on an entirely different kind of math. Differential equations are an interesting contrast but they don't need to be core to the computer science curriculum.
The math is just there to get you brain used to solving complex problems in a logical manner. Can't do it? Get a certificate in I.T. or something.
Re: (Score:2)
The students who got accepted for non academic reasons and who do not have the IQ to keep up with any academic work.
It will also track many things ... (Score:5, Interesting)
like how much time they spend in each other's dorms, or with other students who are, maybe later, deemed 'undesirable' with this information being passed onto the police who want associates of those suspected of some misdemeanor. There need to be strict limits of what this can be used for.
Re: (Score:1)
It is not effective limiting the use. That the use is limited today might change tomorrow given new management. The only effective way to limit use is to limit the collection of data. Currently the management can be fine but the next management can be evil. Therefore only non-collection of data will work.
In the EU the GDPR might prohibit some of this. You can do a lot given opt in from the users but GDPR prohibits collection and storage of non-necessary personal data even if the user opts in.
As an example t
Re: (Score:3)
Here we publish privacy and data retention policies which state what location data may be used for and how long it is kept. Those policies also address the fact that as we run our own Internet access network, we have the technical ability to see your traffic, which is arguably more intrusive than knowing what building you are in. Publishing the policies makes misuse by the institution a legal liability. Granted a truly evil administration might try to use the data on the sly, but then they risk a whistle
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
If a male student is worried that they are going to be convicted of sexual assault, perhaps they should evaluate their life choices. Consent isn't a complex problem for people to comprehend.
Re: (Score:2)
If a male student is worried that they are going to be convicted of sexual assault, perhaps they should evaluate their life choices.
Sure, but even in today’s World Of Wokeness, a significant number of cis-male students choose to stay male. I’m sure it’s a problem that will fade with time, along with our species.
Re: (Score:2)
I had similar thoughts, though mine revolved around how long until male students cannot opt out ...
So somehow you won't be able to disable wi-fi on your phone?
Seems unlikely.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't think it will lead to sending students to the police. Especially in a college environment.
However most Undergrad students when they get into college get a bit of culture shock.
* Classes are spread out over the weeks, and over the days. Most high schools have you packed with classed from morning to mid-afternoon. then you go home do home work. College your class times are spread oddly, and you have to dedicate study and work time more carefully.
* You are not going to get into immediate trouble for
Justification for the surveillance state (Score:5, Insightful)
We already know what study habits good students have. Really, the university should look into hiring more faculty and reducing class sizes. Instead, we get a poorly justified rationale for adopting blanket surveillance.
it's good. (Score:2)
They need to require the most intrusive use of the smart phones possible AND make it publicly known to the students!
In addition, the use of smart phones during school hours should be heavily discouraged. If you do not want to have your privacy invaded then do not take the phone around campus during school hours and during class. Asking for common sense from addicts.... although being intrusive with the phones will only deter some mild addicts. What needs to be done is radio jamming for smart phones.
Re:Justification for the surveillance state (Score:5, Informative)
As a college professor, I am highly unconvinced that this kind of approach is going to work. We do know the habits of students who perform well. You can get that very easily by interviewing a cohort of students. You get a pretty good idea of what is happening.
What could be helpful would be to have an early alert systems when students are slipping. If you can detect early that students aren't coming on campus as much, you may be able to do something. Except I don't think that level of tracking would be better than what we already have.
You can know a student is slipping just by looking at assignment grade. My university makes us report grades 3 times a semester (at a 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 16 weeks marks). You can tell if students are no longer submitting assignment through the educational management system we use (canvas here). Campus can tell if a student no longer eats at the dining halls. Do we really need more tracking? I don't think so.
What we need are resources to do something about students that slip. When all our classes are pretty much 50+ students in a class, it is hard to be able to take the time to do justice to each student. Each of our advisors see over a hundred of student every semester. At that volume, you can not easily spot when a student goes off the rail, understand what is happening, and provide advice that would help him/her.
We would need to double the number of faculty to get there. In the current political climate, that's not going to happen for state schools.
Re: (Score:2)
Do we really?
I have seen a lot of struggling students live their lives in the library, while some of the top students, just go to the test at the end of the semester.
How much face time with professors during office hours, if a student is spending too much time, perhaps they are just not getting it.
In college class size isn't the biggest factor, as much of the learning is suppose to be on the student.
Re: (Score:1)
And graduates will be well prepared... (Score:4)
... to embrace 24/7 government tracking and social credit systems.
Building technology was a lot more fun before it went all 1984.
In related news ... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:In related news ... (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Exactly, there is no reason to suspect that professors are not equal opportunity sexual offenders. It is 2019 after all.
Re: (Score:2)
Who knew that having sex in 2019 with college women was a sexual offense? I learned something new today.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
This is offensive and very inappropriate. Why do you assume they would only be interested in sorority girls?
This is offensive and very inappropriate. Why do you assume the gender of sorority members?
Seriously? (Score:4, Informative)
If you don't want to study, don't waste everyone's time and money. College is not for you. These are adults, not 10 year olds.
Better yet. Shut down the college and turn it into a trade school.
And Zero Effs Were Given (Score:2)
People who have so little concern for their own privacy deserve none. I have no sympathy for them.
What concerns me is that these cretins are acquiescing to surveillance at a level that used to require even federal law enforcement agencies to obtain court permission. They are normalizing outrageous behaviour by any pack of nosy authoritarians with the balls to simply do it and dare anybody to object.
Even best case this will be misused (Score:5, Interesting)
If you ignore the privacy implications - and everyone focusing on that is 100% correct - this is still going to be misused. Suppose we find that people who spend 2 hours per day in the library are more likely to graduate. Is that because time in the library causes better grades, or is it that people who put education ahead of socializing had nothing else to do during the day?
You just know people are going to see all this correlation and jump straight to recommendations.
Re: (Score:2)
Is that because time in the library causes better grades, or is it that people who put education ahead of socializing had nothing else to do during the day?
Suppose we find that it's simply a matter of spending sufficient time with your studies (doing exercises, starting assignments as they're given out, additional research into topics not adequately understood, etc.) that gets a good grade. Hell it doesn't even matter, so you can just suppose that just being in the library gives better grades. You can already tell students to do these things, but that doesn't make them liste
Correlation and causation (Score:2)
How does anything in the first paragraph have to do with anything in the second paragraph?
It seems like the graduation rate began rising before they have implemented any of the tracking stuff.
Depending on the wifi (Score:2)
if it is open, or uses a PSK, just change your MAC address regularly. If it uses 802.11x then you are probably best using your cell service sometimes and not using wifi all the time on campus.
Re: (Score:2)
Campuses will generally require you to register MAC addresses under your name if you are accessing any trusted network. Mostly this is so we know who to call when the firewall tells us your PC has been p0wned. In some cases during the registration campuses will also require you to update your OS/AV to some acceptable level of readiness, to avoid your PC from being p0wned in the first place. That generally doesn't apply to phones other than really stale and out-of-support OS levels, because most of the so
Re: (Score:2)
Edit to add: I forgot to mention, the 1994 CALEA law actually required user identities to be recorded (mapped to IP and time of use) at certain types of locally administered access networks. Compliance to that has been a reason these registration systems exist.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm assuming when they are talking about tracking they mean phones, as not many people move their PCs around. I have some experience with Cisco MSE which is used by many businesses to track employees and/or customers, and it works very well. If they are business owned phones one can have procedures or policies in place to limit evasion. With students it would be possible to have such polices as well but would require resources for enforcement. With random customers off the street, granted most will not
9% is ridiculous, but too many open questions (Score:5, Insightful)
Wonderful (Score:1)
Not a problem (Score:2)
TFA is behind a paywall, but TFS says "When a tracked student -- a freshman who has opted in"
If there is full disclosure (a reasonable assumption since the program is reported on the news) and the tracking is truly opt-in without adverse consequences for those who refuse to partake, then I see no problem with it.
Re: (Score:1)
I ran into something like this when I went to Portland State, only difference was instead of tracking students, it was how they forced students to opt in to their shady as heck debit card system....
In this case, the first year or two, financial aid disbursements worked great---Log into the student portal, click some buttons/prov
Re: (Score:2)
TFA is behind a paywall, but TFS says "When a tracked student -- a freshman who has opted in"
If there is full disclosure (a reasonable assumption since the program is reported on the news) and the tracking is truly opt-in without adverse consequences for those who refuse to partake, then I see no problem with it.
Why would ANYONE, good student or bad, opt in?
Clearly limited application ... (Score:2)
It might be interesting however if the tracking reveals that the "A" students spend the most time in the local ballet (strip club).
I wonder if they would publish that statistic?
yeah everyone does this (Score:2)
Malls, airports, tourist destinations. Everyone is tracking people with their cell phones these days.
Not really news at this point. If people carry a beacon that broadcasts a unique ID everywhere they go, companies would be stupid not to take advantage of that.
I have seen the analytics and they can analyze what you are looking at on their wifi in the store (Obviously), people who just walk by and dont connect to the wifi even, and make guesses as to why they didnt come in the store. There are databases out
Opt In...for now (Score:2)
Once the University figures out how to monetize it, the app will be a requirement.
Orwell had it wrong. Big Brother is corporate.
Then let's track Administration and Faculty (Score:2)
Let's see how long they spend in their offices, classrooms, etc..
Hey, we've got a professor who has eight opt in students with him having a discussion after class. *thumbs up*
Hey, we've got an two administrators taking a three hour lunch break together because they also stopped at Wal-Mart, Target, the mall, their dry cleaners and Panera. What gives!?!?
Six year graduation rate? Pshah! (Score:2)
It took me 29 years and 8 months to get my degree. I started in 1988, then took a gap quarter-century and came back at the urging of my employer. If only someone in 1990 had the data to nag me back to school, I could be one rung on the corporate hierarchy higher making ten bucks more a paycheque.
Party in the Library! (Score:2)
"For example, knowing that A students spend a certain number of hours in the library every week -- and eventually communicating that to students -- might motivate them to study there more often."
And thereby ruin the quiet place that your A students were using to hide from their classmates so they could get some work done. Well done!
Getting your failing students to be in the same physical locations as your successful ones is a laughably simplistic model for improving their study habits.
I'm glad I'm not in school (Score:2)