Student and staff data: use of data analytics and machine learning

The request was partially successful.

Dear University of London,

I am making a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

Please can you provide information pertaining to any data analytics software used by the university using personal data about your students and staff, since 2012.

1a). Whether you are using any data analytics software at all:
1b) if so, which ones?
1c) what date this data analytics processing began?
1d) indicate whether in the past and ended, or still in current use

2a). Any predictive analytics software such as used in but not only, Blackboard, Xray and JISC supported Civitas.
2b) if so, which ones?
2c) what date this analytics processing began for predictive purposes?

3. If the answer to Q1a or Q2a is yes, please provide a copy of any contract terms on using the data by the provider company including
a) the data items feedling analytics, any profiling, and/or used in prediction
b) what the prediction purposes / aims are
c) training the software (such as AI and machine learning) by the provider using the data provided via your organisation.

4. Whether the University is using its own student or staff population data for machine learning for purposes not included in 1-3 above? (ie but not only, within the university computing department for any project or with another third-party)

5. From which time periods were the student or staff data collected which are processed in any of the above (ie not only, retrospective student data from the last ten years / only current intake which began in autumn term 2018)?

6. How many people/user accounts have access to the whole population student data in any of the above in this calendar year?

Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,

Jen Persson

Records Management,

Thank you for your request for information. 
Your request is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and will be answered within twenty working days.
 
You can find out more about Freedom of Information at the University of
London, and view our publication scheme, at the following link:
[1]https://london.ac.uk/about-us/how-univer...
 
Yours sincerely
 
Kit Good
Data Protection and Information Compliance Manager
University of London
Senate House | Malet Street | London WC1E 7HU | UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7862 8216    Web: [2]www.london.ac.uk
 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The University of London is an exempt charity and a statutory corporation
in England and Wales (Company No. RC000661) HMRC Charities Reference X422.
VAT Registration GB 222 7971 03 . We are committed to a 43% cut in CO2
emissions by 2020 against a 2010 baseline. Please consider the environment
before printing

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From: Jen Persson <[FOI #535682 email]>
Sent: 28 November 2018 09:55
To: Records Management
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Student and staff data: use of
data analytics and machine learning
 
Dear University of London,

I am making a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

Please can you provide information pertaining to any data analytics
software used by the university using personal data about your students
and staff, since 2012.

1a). Whether you are using any data analytics software at all:
1b) if so, which ones?
1c) what date this data analytics processing began?
1d) indicate whether in the past and ended, or still in current use

2a). Any predictive analytics software such as used in but not only,
Blackboard, Xray and JISC supported Civitas.
2b) if so, which ones?
2c) what date this analytics processing began for predictive purposes?

3. If the answer to Q1a or Q2a is yes, please provide a copy of any
contract terms on using the data by the provider company including
a) the data items feedling analytics, any profiling, and/or used in
prediction
b) what the prediction purposes / aims are
c) training the software (such as AI and machine learning) by the provider
using the data provided via your organisation.

4. Whether the University is using its own student or staff population
data for machine learning for purposes not included in 1-3 above? (ie but
not only, within the university computing department for any project or
with another third-party)

5. From which time periods were the student or staff data collected which
are processed in any of the above (ie not only, retrospective student data
from the last ten years / only current intake which began in autumn term
2018)?

6. How many people/user accounts have access to the whole population
student data in any of the above in this calendar year?

Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,

Jen Persson

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Records Management,

Dear Ms Persson
Thank you for your request for information. 
I have been reviewing your request with the relevant departments. 
In order to get you the information you need, please could we ask for
further clarification about the 'analytics' you are concerned with. Do
Google analytics or general reporting tools attached to a line of business
system fall into scope for this request?  Or is it a more specific form or
analytics? 
Yours sincerely 

Kit Good
Data Protection and Information Compliance Manager
University of London
Senate House | Malet Street | London WC1E 7HU | UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7862 8216    Web: [1]www.london.ac.uk
 
 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The University of London is an exempt charity and a statutory corporation
in England and Wales (Company No. RC000661) HMRC Charities Reference X422.
VAT Registration GB 222 7971 03 . We are committed to a 43% cut in CO2
emissions by 2020 against a 2010 baseline. Please consider the environment
before printing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jen Persson <[FOI #535682 email]>
Sent: 28 November 2018 09:55:25
To: Records Management
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Student and staff data: use of
data analytics and machine learning
 
Dear University of London,

I am making a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

Please can you provide information pertaining to any data analytics
software used by the university using personal data about your students
and staff, since 2012.

1a). Whether you are using any data analytics software at all:
1b) if so, which ones?
1c) what date this data analytics processing began?
1d) indicate whether in the past and ended, or still in current use

2a). Any predictive analytics software such as used in but not only,
Blackboard, Xray and JISC supported Civitas.
2b) if so, which ones?
2c) what date this analytics processing began for predictive purposes?

3. If the answer to Q1a or Q2a is yes, please provide a copy of any
contract terms on using the data by the provider company including
a) the data items feedling analytics, any profiling, and/or used in
prediction
b) what the prediction purposes / aims are
c) training the software (such as AI and machine learning) by the provider
using the data provided via your organisation.

4. Whether the University is using its own student or staff population
data for machine learning for purposes not included in 1-3 above? (ie but
not only, within the university computing department for any project or
with another third-party)

5. From which time periods were the student or staff data collected which
are processed in any of the above (ie not only, retrospective student data
from the last ten years / only current intake which began in autumn term
2018)?

6. How many people/user accounts have access to the whole population
student data in any of the above in this calendar year?

Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,

Jen Persson

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #535682 email]

Is [University of London request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to University of London? If so, please contact us
using this form:
[2]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[3]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
[4]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. http://www.london.ac.uk/
2. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...
3. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...
4. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Dear Records Management,

Thank you for your reply asking for clarification.

By data analytics we mean any recognised sofwtare packages that are intedned for processing student data for analytical purposes, such as but not only: Blackboard, Xray and JISC supported Civitas.

Sincerely,

Jen Persson

Records Management,

Dear Ms Persson 
Thank you for your clarification on this request. 
Yours sincerely
Kit Good
Data Protection and Information Compliance Manager
University of London
Senate House | Malet Street | London WC1E 7HU | UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7862 8216    Web: [1]www.london.ac.uk
 
 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The University of London is an exempt charity and a statutory corporation
in England and Wales (Company No. RC000661) HMRC Charities Reference X422.
VAT Registration GB 222 7971 03 . We are committed to a 43% cut in CO2
emissions by 2020 against a 2010 baseline. Please consider the environment
before printing.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jen Persson <[FOI #535682 email]>
Sent: 11 February 2019 17:52
To: Records Management
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information request - Student and staff data: use
of data analytics and machine learning
 
Dear Records Management,

Thank you for your reply asking for clarification.

By data analytics we mean any recognised sofwtare packages that are
intedned for processing student data for analytical purposes, such as but
not only: Blackboard, Xray and JISC supported Civitas.

Sincerely,

Jen Persson

show quoted sections

Records Management,

Dear Ms Persson 
Thank you for your request for information.
The University of London is a federal university comprising seventeen
self-governing member institutions and a number of central academic bodies
and activities. The individual colleges could also be able to provide
figures for their respective institutions.  Further details of these
bodies can be found at the following link:
https://london.ac.uk/ways-study/study-ca...  
I will be able to provide you with data for the institutions directly part
of the ‘central’ University – the School of Advanced Study (postgraduate
only), University of London Institute in Paris and the University of
London Worldwide, in addition to our intercollegiate halls of residence
and student facilities. Further details on our structure can be found at
the following link: https://london.ac.uk/about-us/how-univer...  
The vast majority of our students are registered with the University of
London International Programmes. The University of London International
Programmes provides degree programmes through distance learning. Students
who register with us do not ‘attend’ the University of London and are not
required to visit the UK in the course of their studies and assessment.  
1. a). Whether you are using any data analytics software at all: Yes
 1b) if so, which ones? ​
 IBM Cognos Analytics
 1c) what date this data analytics processing began? ​
2011
 1d) indicate whether in the past and ended, or still in current use
​Ongoing
 2a). Any predictive analytics software such as used in but not only,
 Blackboard, Xray and JISC supported Civitas.
No
 
2b) if so, which ones? ​
NA
2c) what date this analytics processing began for predictive purposes?
N/A
 3. If the answer to Q1a or Q2a is yes, please provide a copy of any
contract terms on using the data by the provider company including ​
The provider company (Cognos) is not using our data for analytical
purposes so this section is not relevant.
 a) the data items feedling analytics, any profiling, and/or used in
 prediction ​
N/A
 b) what the prediction purposes / aims are
N/A
 c) training the software (such as AI and machine learning) by the
provider using the data provided via your organisation. ​
N/A
 4. Whether the University is using its own student or staff population
data for machine learning for purposes not included in 1-3 above? (ie but
not only, within the university computing department for any project or
with another third-party) ​
Student data has been requested for research purposes. We do not use data
for machine learning.
 5. From which time periods were the student or staff data collected which
are processed in any of the above (ie not only, retrospective student data
from the last ten years / only current intake which began in autumn term
 2018)? ​
N/A
 6. How many people/user accounts have access to the whole population
student data in any of the above in this calendar year? ​

Please let me know if you require any further information.  
You can find out more about Freedom of Information at the University of
London, our copyright guidelines and our publication scheme at the
following link:
https://london.ac.uk/about-us/how-univer...
If you are dissatisfied with the response you have had from the University
in respect of a request for information, you may ask for an internal
review of your request by contacting [email address]   
If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint,
you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at: 
The Information Commissioner's Office 
Wycliffe House,  
Water Lane,
Wilmslow, 
Cheshire, 
SK9 5AF. 
Telephone: 0303 123 1113  
Website: www.ico.org.uk  
There is no charge for making an appeal. 
Yours sincerely  
Kit Good
Data Protection and Information Compliance Manager
University of London
Senate House | Malet Street | London WC1E 7HU | UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7862 8216    Web: [1]www.london.ac.uk
 
 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The University of London is an exempt charity and a statutory corporation
in England and Wales (Company No. RC000661) HMRC Charities Reference X422.
VAT Registration GB 222 7971 03 . We are committed to a 43% cut in CO2
emissions by 2020 against a 2010 baseline. Please consider the environment
before printing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

show quoted sections