Developing a Conceptual Framework for Implementing Big Data in Higher Education Policy-Making

The purpose of this study was to provide a conceptual framework for implementing big data in higher education. In this applied research, the researcher used descriptive-analytical research methodology. The notion of big data was introduced in 2001 and the majority of countries were primarily focused on the realm of business. However, the latter notion finally entered into higher education in 2011. The findings illustrated that given that each stakeholder in higher education produces huge data in three sections of intuitional activities, academic programs and educational programs, the relation between the data must be essentially perceived so that further planning and policy-making may proceed smoothly. In addition, generating unstructured data in higher education, absence of integrated structure in order to manage the diverse structured data, significance of social dimension over technical dimension and notable application of big data in Internet-driven teaching were among the most important findings in this realm. Ultimately, according to the management and structure of higher education in Iran, it is recommended to design a pattern in three layers of university, province and region in order to integrate data generated in education, research, curriculum and teachers as well as educational contents and data.