“We asked around, only students who were also tutors knew that a lecturer has access to all that data.” At the most recent committee meeting of the University Council, student members Bram van den Berkmortel (LEX-Motus) and Mila van Boxtel (Dope) expressed their concerns also on behalf of members of the various faculty councils: what online activities can a lecturer see, who has access to this information, what happens to this data, can it be used to compose a participation grade, and could a student submit a formal objection against this procedure?
Only the tutor can see which pages a student has visited, how long for, whether assignments were downloaded and submitted on time. The tutor also only has access to the data for their own group. According to a memo from the University Library (the UL maintains the system), ICTS, the SSC and the chief privacy officer, the course coordinator can see the data for the whole course. Everything is done according to UM’s privacy rules (which can be found on the UM website) and is in line with the GDPR. Permission from the student is not required, as UM needs the data to perform education tasks, and that is a legally accepted reason.
Clear from the start
“Have the students only just found out? Surely it was clear from the start of Canvas in 2020, that this data would be accessible”, was the reaction from one of the nine lecturers contacted by Observant to ask whether they knew about and used this feature. Apparently it isn’t as clear as all that, as four of the lecturers contacted were also unaware. “No idea. I can barely use Canvas myself, it’s a massive labyrinth.” Another responded by saying, “I didn’t know about it, but I also couldn’t care less. I’ve got better things to do!” Of the five who do know about the option, two never use it and a further two, only sporadically. “Only at the start of the course, to check whether everybody has downloaded the course reader.”
Massive distrust
Only one of the lecturers regularly makes use of the option. “I use it to check whether students have looked at an assignment or a video before our question and answer sessions. And how much time they spent there. I absolutely don’t see this as a breach of students’ privacy. It’s a way to get a better grip on the study process and to see how appealing and attainable our course material is.” Before adding, “I’m actually quite curious, why are students shocked? That strikes me as a massive distrust of the lecturers. I don’t think that’s fair, I think that the lecturers at UM are some of the most committed professionals in the Netherlands.”
University Council member Bram van den Berkmortel doesn’t want to call it distrust towards the lecturers. He isn’t against the option, in principle, but against the fact that the students aren’t aware it’s a possibility. And the memo says nothing about that, he states. "They mention privacy rules on the UM website. As if students are going to read that. We want transparency so that every student knows that a tutor can view all kinds of online activity." Currently, he is discussing a solution with the rest of the student faction of the University Council. For example, they are considering a standard notification in every course book.
Participation
And finally, the question whether data in Canvas or PebblePad can be used to assess the level of participation: the memo writers say that is something they are not aware of. But according to the University Library, every course reader contains a section explaining what assessments make up a grade.