Big data in higher education: The big picture

Abstract

Globally, the landscape of higher education sector is under increasing pressure to transform its operational and governing structure; to accommodate new economic, social and cultural agendas; relevant to regional, national and international demands. As a result, universities are constantly searching for actionable insights from data, to generate strategies they can use to meet these new demands. Big Data and analytics have the potential to enable institutions to thoroughly examine their present challenges, identify ways to address them as well as predict possible future outcomes. However, because Big Data is a new phenomenon in higher education, its conceptual relevance, as well as the opportunities and limitations it might bring, is still unknown. This chapter describes the conceptual underpinning of Big Data research and presents possible opportunities as well as limitations associated with unlocking the value of Big Data in higher education.