Student Data in the Post-Pandemic University

This project is a qualitative study of how data shape and are shaped by students. It will focus on how students understand and react to data collection. In particular, the project will address how social differences affect students' interactions with data technologies. Results from the research will inform policy recommendations to counter potential disparate and unequal effects of data collection and use. The results will be applicable in education contexts as well as other societal domains. Findings will be made available in academic venues as well as policy and student-facing documents intended to improve students' awareness and comprehension of data collection on campuses. The outcomes of this project will be of interest to educators, scientists, administrators, students, and the general public.

The study will recruit undergraduate students to participate remotely in surveys and in-depth interviewing to investigate how students understand the collection and application of their data on campuses, along with how their experiences with data relate to social differences. Results of the project will be applicable to other forms of data surveillance beyond higher education which have become prevalent in everyday life. The research will also contribute to a growing body of scholarship in STS, anthropology, and sociology on interactions between data and people, in which data increasingly impact people's lives through decision-making and predictive systems.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.