Higher Education Scenario

1. Higher Education Scenario Michael Zastrocky

2. Key Issues • What are the key economic, political and IT drivers currently facing higher education? • How will higher education acquire or build the management information systems necessary to support radical changes in higher education? • What must institutions do to resolve IT leadership and staffing problems? • Which technologies will best support the growing requirement for distributed learning and collaboration?

3. Key Issues • What are the key economic, political and IT drivers currently facing higher education? • How will higher education acquire or build the management information systems necessary to support radical changes in higher education? • What must institutions do to resolve IT leadership and staffing problems? • Which technologies will best support the growing requirement for distributed learning and collaboration?

4. Key Issue How will institutions plan for and use distance learning in the next five years? Political Drivers Distance learning and the concept of the virtual university will continue to drive academic and management thought and decisions. Much of the movement will be based on economic and political pressures. Economic and Political Pressures Traditional Colleges and Universities

5. Changing Competition Competition from nontraditional providers continues to weigh heavily in planning decisions for traditional campuses. Many executives are concerned that traditional higher education will be left with expensive, difficult-to-deliver and manage courses and programs. Traditional Colleges and Universities Competition fromNontraditionalSources

6. The Western Governors University: Reality in 1998? N.D. Wash. Mont. S.D. Ore. Alaska Wyo. Idaho Neb. Nev. Colo. Utah Kan. Calif. Ariz. N.M. Hawaii Texas American Samoa Guam Northern Marianas Global? Indiana Ok.

7. Key Issues • What are the key economic, political and IT drivers currently facing higher education? • How will higher education acquire or build the management information systems necessary to support radical changes in higher education? • What must institutions do to resolve IT leadership and staffing problems? • Which technologies will best support the growing requirement for distributed learning and collaboration?

8. Higher Education Trends Business Trends Doing more with less is slowly being replaced by doing different things and setting priorities Return on investment questions are being asked of all investments, especially IT Increased business (and technology) heterogeneity, at least in the short run Changing roles of, and relationships between, customers and institutions are creating new information demands Shifting focus to student-centered learning is leading to increased use of information technologies and resources

9. Higher Education Trends System Trends Continued widespread use of application packages Institutions are increasingly seeking enterprisewide, integrated solutions to resolve year 2000 problems and aged systems New technology-enabled initiatives will increasingly focus on distance learning, the virtual library and providing access to a broader range of students anywhere, any time, anyplace More application functionality, friendliness and flexibility will be required in a time of increasing business and technology heterogeneity

10. Growing Your Own Administrative Applications • A high level of satisfaction with current systems • A stable environment with no crisis apparent in the future • A strong relationship with end users to partner with IS organizations to redesign and build new systems • A high level of understanding of best practices in higher education and what others are doing • Clear project roles and an understanding of the work involved • The ability to manage new projects or major redesignwhile maintaining old systems

11. Buying Administrative Applications For Higher Education • The need to bring software up sooner than later —time constraints • The desire to share development costs with others • Upgrades and new releases on a regular basis • The availability of additional support — both technical and end user • Current systems being outdated and requiring a major leap in functionality and design • The lack of adequate staff to build its own systems • The fact that constant change adds to confusion — vendors can better assess changes and impact

12. Partnering With a Vendor andSelected Institutions to Provide Admin. Applications • The promise of functionality not currently available • Collaboration in design with vendor and other institutions • The expectation of viable support structure • Latest technologies

13. Evaluation Criteria Stable Environment Dynamic Environment Functionality 40% 15% Costs 50 10 Service/Support 10 15 0 Technology 15 0 Vision 20 0 Ability to Execute 25

14. Criteria Definitions Functionality: Does it do what you need? Costs: How do you know total costs? Services/Support: Who, how and where? Technology: Is it mainstream? Vision: Right for your institution? Ability to Execute: Will they be able to make it all work?

15. Key Issues • What are the key economic, political and IT drivers currently facing higher education? • How will higher education acquire or build the management information systems necessary to support radical changes in higher education? • What must institutions do to resolve IT leadership and staffing problems? • Which technologies will best support the growing requirement for distributed learning and collaboration?

16. Forces Causing Changes In IT Human Resource Management • Changing technologies • Changing role of information resource management • Increased user service-level expectations • Budget constraints • Lack of internal skills • Market demand for highly prized IS talent • Leadership issues and concerns

17. Desired vs. Actual HR Practices of Higher Education IS Organizations The result is an IS work force that is over-stressed and increasingly mercenary — loyalty is fleeting! • Desired • Build a continuous learning environment • Leverage experts and transfer knowledge • Certify the expertise of IT sources • Motivate IS staff to develop their skills • Develop IS staff expertise by allowing for a focus on key skills • Retain key staff members • Attract new talent • Actual • Organizations are under investing in IT training • Mentoring programs are not in place • There is limited skills certification today • Organizations place artificial boundaries on IS professionals • IS organizations are understaffed, creating generalists • Staff turnover is skyrocketing • Marketing programs are not in place

18. IT Management Skills for Higher Education TechnicalSkills andUnderstanding Leadership IS Employee 2000 Understanding the Business of Higher Education

19. Hype Cycle of Emerging Technologies Intranets Smart Cards WWW Java Digital Video Disk Agents Virtual Cable Reality Workflow Imaging Visibility Modems OO Programming Database Mining PDAs Desktop Videoconferencing Handwriting Recognition Peak of Inflated Expectations Technology Trigger Trough of Disillusionment Slope of Enlightenment Plateau of Productivity Time

20. Changing Costs Labor Technology Components Time Costs 1961 1997 2001

21. Training Systems Mechanism Pros Cons Classroom High human touch learning for embracing new concepts. Low absorption.Travel expense. Mentoring JITT High human touch. Apply knowledge as it is learned. Build something of value while training. Significant management overhead and expense. Electronic Performance Support System Can raise knowledge level quickly. Highly customized. Expensive to maintain. Distance Learning Tools (i.e., CBT, Video) Allows for self-paced learning. Higher consistency and absorption rates of information than classroom. Lacks high human-touch factor needed to solve and master complex problems posed by significant paradigm shifts.

22. Key Issues • What are the key economic, political and IT drivers currently facing higher education? • How will higher education acquire or build the management information systems necessary to support radical changes in higher education? • What must institutions do to resolve IT leadership and staffing problems? • Which technologies will best support the growing requirement for distributed learning and collaboration?

23. Era of Shared Space in Higher Education Multimodal communication Movement and manipulation Social presence Videoconferencing Networked virtual environments (point of impact) Time zones Mobile work force Flexible work day

24. Bottom Line • The business of higher education is changing rapidly and the move to build the virtual university for the 21st century will continue to drive academic institutions to view IT as strategic. • Academic information systems will need to be redesigned and current vendor offerings are not adequate to support the demand from colleges and universities. Some institutions will find it more feasible to appropriately align IT with changing business practices and implement less than elegant technical solutions.

25. Bottom Line • When acquiring academic administrative applications, there are no IT projects, just business projects with an IT component. Proper involvement of the business professionals is critical to the project’s success. In addition to technical skills, IS professionals can provide critical process and project management skills needed to avoid many common pitfalls of application acquisition. • The graying of IS management in higher education is here. Institutions have a very short time to begin to train and prepare the next generation of CIOs and executive leaders in higher education. Turnover will likely increase as demand for existing talent increases. Institutions need to improve their compensation programs and work environment to retain and recruit IS talent.

26. Higher Education Scenario Michael Zastrocky