Recommendations

This rich discussion of students’ perceptions of the use of their data in different contexts begins to suggest ways that institutions of higher education should and should not use that data. Too often, we encourage colleges to use student data without properly considering student opinion. Below is a set of 11 recommendations for how colleges can be more thoughtful in their use of data both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Limit the use of location data. Students were generally uncomfortable with the college using their location data. Before schools decide to use this type of data, they should discuss it with their students and have clear limits around that data.
• Stay out of students’ social media. Most students seemed to think that monitoring student social media accounts, even for public health reasons, is a privacy violation. Some recognized the limitations of privacy expectations when students post information on their own accounts but felt it was a clear violation when students were sanctioned for behavior based on a social media post that was not their own.
• Be mindful of data limitations. Data on demographics are often limited and only tell a small part of a student’s story. Pell-eligibility status, for example, is an imprecise measure of socioeconomic status. Students recommend sending outreach messages related to financial resources to all students and ensuring that a list of these resources is easily accessible online and streamlined with other support information.
• Clearly communicate data policies. Students do not want to be surprised about how their institution knows personal information about them. Institutions should clearly outline policies about data use and have a process in place that allows students to ask questions they may have about their data.

• Use internal, university-controlled applications, when possible. Students were clear that when given the choice between their schools and third parties, they trust their institutions to use their data responsibly. This preference is not limited to COVID health or monitoring apps; in general, students expressed skepticism about how third-party applications and companies use their data.
• Practice proctoring restraint. Colleges should reduce the number of third-party proctoring companies with which students must interact and should be clear about what data they are collecting. Colleges should be sensitive about the fact that students might find certain types of information intrusive.
• Avoid peer reporting structures. Students felt strongly that peer-reporting structures, or institution sponsored “snitch” websites, were a bad idea. Even those who said that they understood the practice within the confines of a public health crisis expressed sincere hesitation around this practice. Institutions who use this approach may face a backlash by students who no longer find the campus culture welcoming, a consequence that may linger long after the pandemic has passed.

• Train faculty and staff in student outreach. Students wanted to ensure that anyone who reached out to a struggling student was trained in responding to people crisis so they did not inadvertently make the situation worse. Ensuring that the faculty and staff responsible for reaching out to students have the right training is critical for effective intervention.
• Provide training for faculty and staff about online expectations—of faculty and staff. Laying out an institution’s expectations regarding students’ privacy is important. Ensuring that faculty and staff have clear expectations about what they can and cannot require of students and ensures student privacy is important.

• Ask students who should communicate with them. Students had strong feelings about who reached out to them to offer any kind of help. Aside from a general acceptance of advisers in this role, these feelings were not always consistent. Colleges should survey or conduct focus groups with their students about what messenger they feel is appropriate for different kinds of outreach.
• Plan your messages thoughtfully. Students reacted negatively to messages that they viewed as paternalistic. They expected their college to treat them as adults. There are probably other messaging missteps that colleges could fall into as well. Colleges should test their messages with students formally (like in focus groups) and informally (in conversation) before they are used.¹