Privacy Measures at HEI in Republic of Croatia

The field of learning analytics (LA) has garnered significant interest in recent times due to the large amount of student data available for the purpose of monitoring, documenting, storing, and analyzing. There is a prevailing belief that the enhancement of learning and teaching can alone be accomplished via easy access and comprehensive examination of appropriate information. The issue of information privacy in the context of learning analytics raises concerns among students, who play a significant role as both important stakeholders and data subjects. These worries arise from the possibility of their data being exploited. The objective of this study is to analyze the extent to which higher education institutions (HEI) in the Republic of Croatia emphasize the safeguarding of students’ privacy. Privacy protection was viewed from two perspectives. The first viewpoint focuses on the measures put in place by institutions to protect the information they acquire about students. Organizational and technical measures are included. Another viewpoint refers to the institution’s awareness of possible technologies that might be employed for education, such as IoT-based services. The findings of a cross-case analysis of universities and faculties show that technical criteria like accountability and information security are either partially or entirely unfulfilled. The results obtained at the faculty level are noticeably lower than university results, indicating the relevance of organizational adjustments, particularly in developing privacy policies and adhering to basic principles. Because HEI in Croatia are still not technologically aware enough to deploy IoT-based services, no specific privacy regulations have been developed.