Why Choose Learning Analytics?
Learning analytics is a growing domain that is garnering attention and resources at all levels (school, district, colleges and universities, state and federal Departments of Education) of education, as well as from learning technologies, instructional design, publishers, etc. While the field is growing, there are very few graduate programs that prepares students for the learning analytics industry.
According to the 2020 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report™ Teaching and Learning Edition, learning analytics is becoming a key factor in institutional strategic planning nationally and internationally. Using learning analytics as a predictor of student success has led to new technologies, new ethical and policy considerations, and new approaches to helping students achieve their goals.
Join a Growing Industry and Make a Difference
Market Salary
$85K with master’s degrees
Projected Growth
industry to grow >10% annually
Job Postings
increased 170% to 2,950 postings in 2018
"Through its mutual focus on the science of learning theory, the power of data analytics for uncovering important patterns and relationships hidden in our data, and the pragmatic needs of educators to understand the educational, social, emotional, and personal contexts underlying our data and informing our educational models, Learning Analytics has become one of the most promising, exciting, and coveted specialties within the field of education."
James Wollack, Department Chair
Jobs in Learning Analytics
Job titles in this field are wide and varied – whether you want to be a chief academic officer, a director of learning analytics, a learning management systems analyst, an instructional designer, or something else, with the skills you gain on this program, you will have access to over 100,000 job openings with an expected salary ranging anywhere from $60K to $129K, depending on experience and location. (Source: ziprecruiter.com)
According to a 2018 Burning Glass job posting data, the likely salary for workers with a master’s degree in Learning Analytics is $84,600.
Being effective in this field will mean gaining the support of an institution’s leadership, collaborating with diverse and varied stakeholders within an institution, developing a common understanding of student success, and implementing relevant and appropriate technologies. Institutions employing effective learning analytics will have to develop policies outlining acceptable use of data, in line with FERPA regulations, and consider other policies associated with student privacy. Success is likely to come with initiatives that require purposeful engagement between academic units which create and use analytics, and other units that support students in daily living will lead to successful outcomes.
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Students with a range of skills in both education and analytics are poised for success in the Learning Analytics job market (statistics retrieved from Burning Glass Labor Insight, 2018):
- Around 50% of Learning Analytics jobs seek individuals with analytical skills such as data analysis and research, as well as educational skills such as teaching and curriculum design.
- Other important skills for Learning Analytics jobs include: communication (51%); research (45%); and teamwork (42%).
How does UW-Madison prepare students for success in learning analytics?
The Department of Educational Psychology’s faculty expertise in both quantitative and qualitative methods strategically prepares students interested in working with analytics in the education sector. The Learning Analytics program trains graduates to work in a variety of career options by:
- introducing real-world problem scenarios and data into every course
- hands-on training and practice with statistical programming
- incorporates rigorous standards for qualitative and quantitative research methods
- implements instructional and curriculum design elements within each topic area
The program’s design helps students develop key interpersonal skills by:
- incorporating individual and group long-term projects to promote collaboration and teamwork
- practice presenting and communicating data to stakeholders
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