Educational Privacy in the Online Classroom: FERPA, MOOCs, and the Big Data Conundrum

FERPA is so dated that when confronted with a technology that can collect and use big data, like MOOCs, the statute practically breaks down. This article examines the individual privacy concerns implicated by big data in general, assesses whether the privacy language of FERPA can address big data collection and analysis in the MOOC context, and provides broad suggestions for updating FERPA so that it may better adapt to big data privacy concerns.