BY SIOBHAN SENIER

Few faculty have the knowledge—or the time—to consider how information about us and our work is being collected and used. AAUP’s Academe magazine is soliciting contributions for a special issue on data mining and learning analytics, especially as these phenomena affect faculty governance and workload. What data, exactly, are colleges and universities collecting about students, faculty and our performance? Who are the perceived stakeholders for this data mining? How are colleges and universities using data to drive high-level decisions about promotion and hiring (or even firing), enrollment, program creation and dissolution, accreditation, and budget allocations? Exactly how much money are they spending to surveil and monitor faculty, students and staff? Who owns this data?

We’re especially interested in hearing from chapter leaders who have filed information requests about university data mining and/or enterprise software budgets and contracts; faculty and student activists who have fought data collection and surveillance imposed by Learning Management Systems, electronic test proctoring, and other tools; and faculty and staff who have run afoul of intrusive human resource platforms ranging from time-keeping to bias reporting.

Pitches and queries can be directed to Siobhan.Senier@unh.edu. Essays are 2,000-4,000 words, not peer reviewed, and intended for a generalist academic audience.

Deadline: October 15, 2023.