current issues for higher education information resources management (166177729)

7/29/2019 Current Issues for Higher Education Information Resources Management (166177729)

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Current Issues for Higher Education Information Resources Management

Copyright 1995 CAUSE. From _CAUSE/EFFECT_ magazine, Volume 18,Number 2, Summer 1995, pp. 5-7. Permission to copy or disseminateall or part of this material is granted provided that the copiesare not made or distributed for commercial advantage, the CAUSEcopyright and its date appear, and notice is given that copying isby permission of CAUSE, the association for managing and usinginformation technology in higher education. To disseminateotherwise, or to republish, requires written permission. Forfurther information, contact Julia Rudy at CAUSE, 4840 Pearl EastCircle, Suite 302E, Boulder, CO 80301 USA; 303-939-0308; e-mail:[email protected]

CURRENT ISSUES FOR HIGHER EDUCATIONINFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

ABSTRACT: The CAUSE Current Issues Committee is responsible forproposing a list of current or developing issues and trends thatare important to the future of information resources managementand use in higher education. The following topics have beenidentified by the committee as key emerging or ongoing issues. Weencourage articles for _CAUSE/EFFECT_ on these and related topics.

Integrating Planning for Information Resourceswith Institution-Wide Strategic Planning

Emerging and converging information technologies enable programsthat can change the academy. It is now critical that planning forthe information resources infrastructure be aligned with thestrategic goals of the institution and implemented within thecontext of cross-functional and cross-program processes. Thiscooperation and focus can be accomplished when institutional

executive officers share a full commitment to strategic planningby their involvement in the process and their assignment ofresponsibility, authority, and resources.

* How do issues related to information resources--information,technology, and services--get raised to the "boardroom"level?

* As institutions plan to pilot or adopt new programs to meetdramatically changing needs, how should they involve theirinformation resources units in the strategic planningprocess?

* How can the institution appropriately assess informationresources investments that are needed to support theseprograms?

* What are the emerging challenges to extant policiesconcerning access, support for end-user innovation, and thedevelopment of a cohesive information resourcesinfrastructure across the campus?



Reengineering Our Fundamental Business

Much has been written about the need for higher education tobecome more competitive, relevant, and affordable to meet theneeds of a changing society--one that is undergoing stress as ittransitions to a new age of work, family, and community. Some ofthese changes in higher education shift the emphasis frominstruction as a time-and place-bound event to one that islearner-centered and available at times and locations convenientto the "lifelong learner." This shift in emphasis, as well as theemerging opportunities to re-examine how the business operationsof the institution can be streamlined, creates new roles forinformation technology (IT) on campus. Information resourcesmanagers can take a leadership role in the restructuring of boththe academic and administrative activities of the institution byfacilitating innovation and articulating realistic visions of howIT can cost-effectively support and enhance these new processes.

* What are some of the effective strategies being employed tobuild the campus vision, guide and support innovation, anddevelop an action plan?

* What are some approaches that seem to be effective inbuilding (and sustaining) new applications and supporting

infrastructure for these evolving (and often distributed)program efforts?

* What are proven ways to initiate and implement successfulbusiness process reengineering?

Change Management

We are increasingly aware of the accelerated pace of change andthe need for people to understand what is happening and deal withthis pace in constructive ways. Another aspect of this challengeis to realize that not all changes, regardless of how technically

exciting they may be, are for the good.

* What are some of the processes that are useful in assessingthe impact of technological innovations on the academy andengaging people in effectively managing change?

* How does the process balance the enthusiasm with thepotential reengineering of people, policy, and practice thatmay be necessary to sustain positive change?

Distributed Computing Support Challenges

Dramatic changes taking place in the computing and communicationsindustries have created a powerful form of distributed informationsystems on our campuses. As the number and capacity of desktopcomputers increase, so does the need to support the growing numberof faculty, staff, and students using distributed systems andservices, along with the need to effectively manage softwareassets and costs. Still another major challenge of the distributedcomputing environment is the need for "interoperability" amongconnected workstations to ensure that networked resources can beshared, that collaboration among users is enhanced, that training



and support costs can be minimized, and that new tools can bedeployed rapidly when needed.

* When is it appropriate to adopt a distributed architecture,and what are viable transition strategies that allow campusesto introduce these systems into their operations?

* What are effective approaches in managing life-cycle costs ofsoftware over enterprise networks?

* What are the challenges to support faculty, staff, andstudents in this environment of multiple desktopapplications, some of which are communicating with legacysystems?

* What role can central IT organizations play in facilitatinggreater self-support on the part of faculty, student, andstaff who use distributed computing?

* What is the potential of a World Wide Web client "front end"for some applications to minimize support issues?

Networked Information Environment

Academic libraries traditionally have been places to collect,preserve, and access scholarly materials, while administrativecomputing organizations have been entrusted with administrativeinformation systems that support the institution's businessprocesses. Communications and converging digital technologies areoffering opportunities to provide these services in innovativeways and challenge our views of how all information services canbest be provided.

* As more information resides in "digital form" on networkservers, how does this re-shape the information resourcesboundaries of the institution?

* How do we extend the cataloguing, organizing, searching, andaccessing standards and policies of the library to othercampus information resources?

* What kind of policy issues does this emerging environmentraise for institutions to address, and who are the keyplayers in shaping these policies?

* How will the networked information paradigm affect scholarlypublication and related concepts such as copyright andintellectual property?

The Changing Communications Paradigm

Many see the Internet as the beginning of the National InformationInfrastructure (NII). Federal and, in many instances, stateefforts now stimulate a move away from regulated monopolies andgovernment subsidized services into a more competitive frameworkfor telecommunications. These efforts are designed to fosterinnovation and will open new opportunities for campuses to acquiretelephone services, provide recreational and educational



television to their students, as well as obtain Internet servicesfrom an expanding and competitive marketplace.

* What are the approaches/strategies that campuses can adopt tocreate the necessary on-campus infrastructure for thesechanging (and possibly converging) telecommunicationsservices?

* What are the issues related to linkages into the localcommunity, state or regional, and national/global networkinginfrastructures?

* What role(s) can colleges and universities play in ensuringthere is an affordable educational "lane" on the "informationsuperhighway" that supports teaching and learning into theinner cities and far flung rural areas of our states?

* What roles can our institutions play in bringing the positivevalues of the Internet to the benefit of our communities?

Open Systems and the IT Architecture

One of the paradoxes in information technology is that a non-

proprietary ("open systems") architecture helps ensureinteroperability among connected systems and increases competitionand choice among vendors. However, many of the "breakthroughs"will not fit existing standards, and thus will emerge asproprietary products.

* How do we balance these competing interests, that is,stimulate greater adoption of open systems as well as thedevelopment of innovative new products?

* Can CAUSE take a leadership role in the adoption of standardsthat will serve both our individual campus needs and theneeds of higher education?

* What can CAUSE do to enhance sharing and collaboration amongour member institutions in planning and evaluating noveltechnologies?

* Should CAUSE expand its role as a major "informationrepository" for applications of technology in highereducation?

Network Access and Security

The increasingly critical role that desktop computers and

networked applications play in our institutions has increased thelevel of concern about information access and security. Access andsecurity can no longer be thought of as simply technicalchallenges. These are issues that must be dealt with as importantcontributors to the mission-critical processes of the institution.What are those processes and what are the values of theinstitution that influence them? Knowing that, one can identifythe risks to fulfillment, determine how to measure the risks, andfinally decide how the risks might be managed. Some of the ways tomanage the risks include institutional policies, guidelines,



standards, and education, as well as hardware/software technicalsafeguards. Although access and security may seem like opposingconcepts, it is in fact the case that a well developed securityprogram facilitates authorized access by eliminating unauthorizedaccess.

* What approaches have proved successful in developing policystatements, guidelines, procedures, or standards?

* What are the free-speech and privacy policy issues regardinguse of the campus network? the Internet?

* Do authorization services, authentication services,encryption, one-time passwords, and so forth provide goodtechnical solutions?

* How can a campus balance a strategy of providing access toinformation against the constraints of FERPA regulations?

Diversity in Information Resources Management

Many universities and colleges are making bold efforts to improvetheir ability to function in the more diverse human work

environment that will characterize the future, as we move evermore steadily toward a global economy. In some institutions, theinformation resources units are the least diverse on campus(although there are notable exceptions). CAUSE has identifiedworking toward fostering diversity in our workplace as one of theassociation's goals for the coming year. Inclusive organizationsstrive to create an environment that is welcoming to all people--regardless of gender, race, creed, disability, or other areas ofdifference.

* What are some of the barriers to achieving inclusiveness inour workplace/profession and how can we work to overcomethem?

* What can CAUSE do to raise awareness about this issue in ourprofession?

* What are you doing on your campus to ensure that yourorganization is "inclusive," and what are some of the resultsto date?

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SIDEBAR

Call for Articles

Share your campus experiences in...

* Overcoming the Barriers to Tying Information ResourcesPlanning to Academic Program Planning

* Successfully Reengineering Business Processes



* Developing Institutional Information Policies

* Addressing Legal and Ethical Issues on the Campus Network

* Managing World Wide Web Sites: Not Just a TechnologyChallenge

* Supporting/Training Users in a Distributed ComputingEnvironment

* Implementing Standards on Your Campus

* Finding the Balance Between Network Access andSecurity/Privacy

* Supporting Faculty and Student Needs for InstructionalTechnology

* Managing the Convergence of Computing, Telephony, and Videoto Deliver Education

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For information on submitting articles for publicationconsideration, see "CAUSE/EFFECT Publication Guidelines" in theCAUSE/EFFECT folder on the:

CAUSE Gopher (gopher://cause-gopher.colorado.edu/)orWeb server (http://cause-www.colorado.edu/)orsend e-mail to Elizabeth Harris ([email protected])

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Note:If you would like to suggest topics to be added to the list, sendan e-mail message to the Committee's discussion list:[email protected]

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current issues for higher education information resources management (166177729)

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