LinkedIn as a Tool for Higher Education Programme Evaluation

Authors

  • Icy Fresno Anabo Universidad de Deusto
  • Iciar Elexpuru Albizuri
Keywords: LinkedIn, evaluation, mobility, employability, interculturality

Abstract

The aim of this research was to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the outcomes of the European Masters in Lifelong Learning: Policy and Management (MALLL) on mobility, employability, and interculturality using Linkedln data in conjunction with document reviews and a small sample of staff interviews. MALLL is an internationally-oriented higher education programme within the Erasmus Mundus scheme launched in 2006. Subjects were MALLL graduates between 2008 to 2014 and data were gathered from Work Experience and Education sections of 75 individual LinkedIn profiles as well as organic responses on the group’s LinkedIn forum. The results show that the MALLL programme facilitated the graduates’ academic and professional mobility in varying degrees. The sample’s career profiles show that their roles are in line with MALLL’s intended outcomes related to employability. Meanwhile, positive outcomes were perceived by the graduates pertaining to their interculturality. LinkedIn proved to be a potent instrument in evaluating the outcomes of a higher education programme. With a careful consideration of its benefits and risks and by drawing a strategy to harness its potential, programme evaluators can find at their disposal a rich and practical way of assessment in conjunction with more traditional data collection methods.

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Published
03-04-2017
How to Cite
Fresno Anabo, I., & Elexpuru Albizuri, I. (2017). LinkedIn as a Tool for Higher Education Programme Evaluation. Distance Education Journal, 17(53). Retrieved from https://revistas.um.es/red/article/view/289971
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