Predictive Analytics in a Higher Education Context

Predictive analytics is the process of forecasting future courses of action by analyzing historical and current facts. It´s now a priority in many organizations because it can suggest the most favorable future planning by letting decision makers combine data about the four W´s--that is, what, who, where, and when--to analyze why and how. Apart from business, it plays a vital role in higher education planning. Higher education plays an important role in a nation´s socioeconomic development. As an educational management tool, predictive analytics can help improve education quality by letting us analyze critical issues in education such as enrollment management and curriculum development. This article presents an analytical study of the prospects of predictive analytics in education planning, focusing on technical education. As a case study, the authors discuss an All India Council for Technical Education-sponsored project at Delhi Technical University, India.