60.1% Institutions with Wi-Fi in classrooms — compared with 51.2% in 2006 and 31.1% in 2004

76.7% Campuses with strategic plans for deploying Wi-Fi — up from 68.8% in 2006 and 55.3% in 2004

Looking back at 2007, most universities and colleges suffered security breaches. According to a survey of 151 information technology directors at campuses across the nation, 58% reported successful attacks on their campus systems.

37% Intrusion from outside the institution; no loss or theft of data

20% Intrusion from within; no loss or theft of data

18% Malware; loss or theft of data

15% Intrusion from within; loss or theft of data

13% Intrusion from outside; loss or theft of data

4% Other

* The total exceeds 100 percent because respondents could select multiple answers.

43% of the institutions said that data was lost, stolen or exposed and identified the bulk of that data as personal information about employees (17%) and students (16%). That’s a 10-point jump over 2006.

What’s most at risk?

Sensitive information tucked away on “unprotected or vulnerable computers.”

From Afar

The growth in online education options is shifting away from new institutions entering the education marketplace to those organizations now offering courses via the Internet. That’s the findings of Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning. The report, released late last year by the Babson Survey Research Group and the Sloan Consortium, looks at how trends and opinions on online learning have evolved.

“Approximately one-third of higher education institutions account for three-quarters of all online enrollments,” according to the report, which expects that those institutions will account for most future growth.

Here are some stats:

• 69% of higher education leaders believe student demand for online learning is still growing.
• 83% of institutions that already offer courses online expect online enrollments to continue to grow this year.
• 50% of all online enrollments over the past five years were through two-year associate degree programs.
• 29% of all U.S. higher education students had enrolled for at least one online course in the past year.

Purchasing information technology products is no easy task — especially for those working in higher education.

Procurement officials are constantly challenged by the need to deftly balance conflicting demands — low cost, high performance, and difficult faculty and student requirements — while fostering academic freedom and meeting the architecture needs of the enterprise.