How to Measure IT Success on Campus

My family lives in Ann Arbor, Mich., but my brother and I left there for the Chicago suburbs two decades ago. He and his wife have five remarkable daughters—all under age 10. After each visit, I come home with homemade cards, knock-knock jokes, hugs and some mild but annoying contagion. Kids are walking petri dishes and are adept at passing their viruses on to anyone nearby, including me. College students are no different, but they pass on a different type of virus.

No one knows better than campus IT staff the cyberhorrors each session break brings. After a summer of bolstering the campus network, IT staff must deal with thousands of students who return with computers infected with viruses, spyware and other infectious cybermischief. Just when those computers get wiped clean, the cycle repeats itself, starting with Thanksgiving break, Christmas break, spring break and trips home. It ends only with graduation.

IT administrators don't get a break. Most security threats start with students, so Trey Short of Illinois Wesleyan equips them with threat diagnostic tools and training at move-in time. For more on how Illinois Wesleyan combined host and network intrusion detection with end-user education , turn to page 44.

Yet students are what colleges and universities are built to serve. In the department Pedagogy & IT Practice, we'll show you innovative ways that IT staffs are working to encourage student participation and learning around technology. In our premiere issue, we're spotlighting Wake Forest University on the cover and on page 17.

One key challenge facing campus IT shops isn't putting security in place or weaving technology into the fabric of the educational enterprise, but determining the effectiveness of those technology programs in regard to institutional goals. CDW•G has heard repeatedly that managing by anecdote rather than by metrics happens too often. It's a troublesome phenomenon that's running rampant on campuses.

To combat that problem, we're delivering a magazine with a best practices approach for technology practitioners in the CIO's office and departments throughout the campus. You'll find solid metrics, lessons learned, and insights from administrative and procurement leaders. The mission of Ed Tech: Focus on Higher Education is to provide insights for IT leaders—not just on how to implement technology, but also on how to measure, communicate and evolve technology leadership in the campus environment.