Need Data? Feed Your Technology Budget
Competition for students is driving higher-education officials to use data-driven decision-making – and that's going to require a greater investment in technology at colleges and universities.
That's the key finding of “Higher Education Survey on Leadership, Innovation and Technology 2006,” a December study from Eduventures.*
Academic and information technology officials in higher education view their five most critical strategic objectives as:
- Improving retention rates
- Improving student learning outcomes
- Attracting/retaining faculty
- Improving use of data for strategic decision support
- Improving fund raising
Investing more in technology is considered critical if colleges and universities are going to leverage information for more data-driven decision-making. Senior administrators surveyed say the effort will require more investment in three technology budget categories: academics, administration and infrastructure. Of those surveyed:
- Almost all anticipate technology spending at their institutions to increase.
- One-third expect their IT budgets to grow by more than 5 percent.
- Roughly one-quarter expect a budget increase of greater than 5 percent for administrative and infrastructure technologies.
Make Time To Read
The Heart of Change: Real-Life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations
By John P. Kotter and Dan S. Cohen
John Kotter and Dan Cohen present an eight-step approach for creating organizational change by tapping into the feelings that motivate useful action – by making people actually see and feel change. They contend that change often fails when one depends too heavily on data, analysis and reports. The Heart of Change, which contains numerous real-life examples, is the follow-up to Kotter's book Leading Change, which presents a framework for creating change that helps organizations avoid common pitfalls involved in turnarounds.
Best Technology Practices in Higher Education
By Les Lloyd
Les Lloyd presents innovative success stories from more than 30 technology leaders at colleges and universities. Peer reviews say the book is inspiring and an invaluable resource for information technology leaders. It's also considered a valuable reading experience for college and university provosts and presidents who want their schools to be competitive and for those who seek to challenge staff to integrate technology into the teaching and learning process. Lloyd examines best practices in teaching, administrative operations, technology integration and preparation for the future.
