Education researchers are excited about the potential to improve teaching methods and enhance student learning by analyzing data from massive open online courses (MOOCs). The DPSI Big Data Team is creating a platform to normalize and distributeedX data to researchers. The Big Data Team is also evaluating student privacy concerns and researching whether the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)applies to edX data.In brief, FERPA protects student data by prohibiting third-party access to “education records” that contain personally identifiable information without student consent. FERPA only applies to schools that receive funds under any applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education; this may include direct funding or application of federal funds to student tuition (i.e. FAFSA).

The Big Data Team’s initial research indicates that FERPA does not provide a private cause of action – there will be no FERPA-based lawsuits. However, a policy or practice of confidentiality violations may result in the discontinuation of federal funding – a significant blow to any institution such as Harvard that receives significant federal funds.

The Big Data Team is currently researching several questions including:

1. Is edX data subject to FERPA and if so how should the team anonymize the data so that personally identifiable information is removed?

2. Who is a “student” within the context of FERPA? Is an online-only user in Germany considered a student, same as a Harvard-enrolled student who is required to use edX?

3. Who within a school may access personally identifiable information? Are school software engineers, data analytics professionals, or Big Data Team members eligible “third party researchers” who may be permitted to access personally identifiable information? If so, what additional requirements must be met, and how should the team comply?

In the upcoming weeks the Big Data Team will meet with Harvard and MIT administrators to research edX’s organizational structure, funding sources, and relationship with federally funded institutions.

David Gobaud (JD ‘15), Lindsay Lin (JD ‘15), Sharon Stovezky (College ‘15), and Elise Young (JD ‘14)