2013 IT Issues Resources

items below have been selected to provide further information on the 2013 top-ten IT issues. These resources may include articles, conference presentation materials, blogs, feeds, webinar archives, podcasts, and wikis that you can access by browsing and searching particular issues and topics in the EDUCAUSE Library.

1. Leveraging the wireless and device explosion on campus
2. Improving student outcomes through an approach that leverages technology
3. Developing an institution-wide cloud strategy to help the institution select the right sourcing and solution strategies
4. Developing a staffing and organizational model to accommodate the changing IT environment and to facilitate openness and agility
5. Facilitating a better understanding of information security and finding appropriate balance between infrastructure openness and security
6. Funding IT strategically
7. Determining the role of online learning and developing a sustainable strategy for that role
8. Supporting the trends toward IT consumerization and bring your own device
9. Transforming the institution's business with information technology
10. Using analytics to support critical institutional outcomes

Issue 1: Leveraging the Wireless and Device Explosion on Campus

• BYOD and Consumerization of IT in Higher Education Research, ECAR Research Report, March 2013. This report identifies and addresses the most important BYOE (bring your own everything) IT issues affecting higher education and includes recommendations for exemplary practices to manage BYOE IT issues.
• Developing a Campus Mobile Strategy: Guidelines, Tools, and Best Practices, EDUCAUSE ACTI Mobile Web Frameworks Working Group, January 2013.
• Distributed Antenna Systems: ACTI Briefing Note, EDUCAUSE ACTI Mobile Web Frameworks Working Group, October 2012 This briefing note from the ACTI Communication, Collaboration, and Mobility Working Group provides an overview of distributed antenna system (DAS) solutions for in-building wireless coverage for cellular voice services on higher education campuses.
• Finding the Right One: Mobile Technology in Higher Education," EDUCAUSE Review Online, November 2012. A team at Lancaster University embarked on a quest to find the most appropriate mobile technology for the institution's mobile needs and the right company with which to form a productive long-term partnership.
• Mobile IT in Higher Education, 2011 Report, ECAR Research Report, December 2011. The ECAR mobile IT study gathered quantitative and qualitative data from a representative sample of 209 higher education institutions. Most respondents to the study report little progress in making institutional services, applications, and websites accessible on mobile devices.
• "Rolling Out a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) Program," EDUCAUSE Live! This session offers ideas, sample policy statements and guidelines, and lessons learned for campuses interested in implementing a BYOD strategy for mobile devices.
• Library Topic Primers: BYOD, Mobile Computing, Mobile Application Development, Mobile Planning

Issue #2: Improving student outcomes through an approach that leverages technology

• National Center for Academic Transformation
• Austin Peay State University's Academic Alert, an intrusive advising approach.
• ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2012. The 2012 study surveyed over 100,000 students from 195 institutions.
• Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition. Produced by ELI and NMC each year, the Horizon Report describes six areas of emerging technology that will have significant impact on higher education and creative expression over the next one to five years.
• Pew Internet & American Life Project: Education
• Instructional Technology Council: Annual Distance Education Survey Results
• The Sloan Consortium: Online Education in the United States
• "Framing Mobile Initiatives to Measure Impact," ELI Brief, October 2012. This paper presents a set of frameworks to begin identifying and deconstructing the components we might measure in mobile learning initiatives.
• "Increasing Student Success: Evaluating the Effectiveness of U-Pace Instruction at UWM," ELI SEI Case Study, September 2012. This paper examines whether U-Pace works, why it works, and for whom it works. Research was designed to test the U-Pace method against conventionally taught courses, in both face-to-face and online settings.
• "Technology Enhancement Tools in an Undergraduate Biology Course," EDUCAUSE Review Online, December 2012. This single-class study sought to evaluate technology-enhanced student engagement by comparing the experiences of students using only an e-textbook with the experiences of those using only a standard textbook.
• 8 Lessons Learned from Teaching Online, EDUCAUSE Review Online, May 2013. This video list of insights comes from experts in the field of online teaching.
• Library Topic Primers Blended Learning, Learning Analytics, Open Educational Resources (OER), Student Retention, Teaching with Technology

Issue #3: Developing an institution-wide cloud strategy to help the institution select the right sourcing and solution strategies

• "Looking at the Clouds from All Sides Now," EDUCAUSE Review, June 2010.
• A Tale of Two Clouds, EDUCAUSE Quarterly, June 2010. The University of Washington adopted a dual-provider cloud-computing strategy, focusing initially on software as a service.
• "What Campus Leaders Need to Know About Cloud Computing," EDUCAUSE Executive Briefing, April 2011. This briefing provides a high-level overview of cloud computing, including how it changes IT service, financial models and the possible risk factors in moving services into the cloud.
• "Demystifying Cloud Computing for Higher Education," ECAR Research Bulletin, September 22, 2009. This bulletin is the first in a series of bulletins devoted to cloud computing in higher education. It summarizes insights and outlines a framework for thinking about cloud computing, and it touches on potential emergent roles for public and private clouds.
• The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing, National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST SP 800-145.
• "NET+ Cloud Services," Internet2.
• "Alternative IT Sourcing Strategies: Six Views," EDUCAUSE Review, July/August 2011.  
• EDUCAUSE Review asked six CIOs to talk about alternative IT sourcing strategies and about whether they are, or aren't, "doing it themselves"—providing technology services—at their institutions.
• "Spotlight on Cloud Computing: If It's in the Cloud, Get It on Paper: Cloud Computing Contract Issues," EDUCAUSE Live! December 2010. This webinar serves as a resource to help mitigate those risks through the contract terms with a cloud services provider.
• Library Topic Primers Cloud Computing, Cloud Security

Issue #4: Developing a staffing and organizational model to accommodate the changing IT environment and to facilitate openness and agility

• "The Soft Side of SaaS: Implications for IT in Higher Education," ECAR Research Bulletin, May 2011. This bulletin provides an understanding of how the evolution of software as a service (SaaS) will impact the relationships and roles of business and IT organizations in our colleges and universities.
• "Continually Developing your IT Staff: Three Proven Models from Experienced Leaders," EDUCAUSE Midwest Regional Conference, March 2011. Three organizations share how they are approaching staff professional development challenges.
• 7 Things You Should Know About ITIL, EDUCAUSE 7 Things brief, October 2010. The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a framework for guiding the design and delivery of IT services.  
• The EDUCAUSE 2011 Core Data Service Report: Highlights and Insights into Higher Education Information Technology, January 2012.  
• 2012 CDS Executive Summary Report, January 2013.
• These reports summarizes results from the annual EDUCAUSE Core Data Service (CDS) survey which provide a detailed look at the most pertinent and interesting IT financial and staffing findings, with a high-level summary of the state of IT services.
• Library Topic Primers Leadership Development, Mentoring, Staffing

Issue #5: Facilitating a better understanding of information security and finding appropriate balance between infrastructure openness and security

• The Higher Education Information Security Council (HEISC) Information Security Guide: Effective Practices and Solutions for Higher Education provides information about risk management programs and other IT security practices, as well as data classification toolkit.
• The Research and Education Network Information Sharing and Analysis Center (REN-ISAC) is a closed community of security professionals. Institutions pay a small fee and can nominate their primary security officer for membership. Through a community of over 1,000 security professionals, the REN-ISAC provides the higher education community with closed discussion email lists, daily security watches, and general threat and remediation information.
• "Achieving a Balance Between Openness and Security in Universities and Hotels," FacilitiesNet, March 2010.
• "The Business Value of Balancing Openness with Security to Manage Risk," ComputerWeekly.com, June 2011.
• "Computer and Network Security and Higher Education's Core Values," ECAR Research Bulletin 6, 2003. This research bulletin highlights the importance of security and focuses on the balance that must be found between technical solutions and the fundamental principles and practices of the academy.
• "University Networks and Data Security," Schneier on Security, September 20, 2006.
• "CIOs Make Tough Calls on the Cost of Cyber Security," Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2013.
• Library Topic Primers Cloud Security, Mobile Security, Security Awareness, Security Management, Security Risk Assessment and Analysis, Security Training

Issue #6: Funding IT strategically

• Assessing Your Fiscal Bandwidth: Current Practices for Measuring IT Costs in Higher Education, ECAR Research Report, May 2013. The results of this ECAR survey provide insight into the current practices for IT cost measurement, the challenges around effectively measuring IT costs, and the gaps in information and systems to report those costs
• "Essential Versus Strategic IT Investments," EDUCAUSE Review, July 2009.
• "Business Model Innovation: A Blueprint for Higher Education," EDUCAUSE Review, November 2012.
• "Five Guidelines for Instituting IT Value Measurement," ECAR Research Bulletin, November 2012. This bulletin outlines five recommendations to help advise IT leaders and others when implementing their own IT value measurement initiatives.
•  "Total Cost of Ownership," Wikipedia.
• 2012 CDS Executive Summary Report, January 24, 2013. This report summarizes results from the EDUCAUSE Core Data Service (CDS) survey. Using a matched set of 616 CDS 2011 and CDS 2012 participating institutions, this year's report is a detailed look at the most pertinent and interesting IT financial and staffing findings, with a high-level summary of the state of IT services.
• Technology and the Broken Higher Education Cost Model: Insights from the Delta Cost Project, September 5, 2012. The Delta Cost Project has drawn attention to the need for a new focus on institutional spending and has provided a number of useful metrics for thinking about how different types of institutions spend money, about the relationships between costs and revenues, and about the declining public subsidies in public higher education.
• Library Topic Primers IT Funding

Issue #7: Determining the role of online learning and developing a sustainable strategy for that role

• Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition. Produced by ELI and NMC each year, the Horizon Report describes six areas of emerging technology that will have significant impact on higher education and creative expression over the next one to five years.
• Online Learning: A Special Report, Chronicle of Higher Education, volume 59, issue 6 (October 5, 2012)
• "A Platform for Institutional Effectiveness[SG1] " PDF under Documents and Downloads from Microsoft Corporation
• Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, September 2010.
• University of the Future: A Thousand Year Old Industry on the Cusp of Profound Change, Ernst & Young, 2012.
• "Online Course Development: What Does it Cost?," Campus Technology, June 26, 2004.
• "Free eLearning ROI Calculators," eLearning Industry
• Library Topic Primers E-Learning, Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) , State Authorization

Issue #8: Supporting the trends toward IT consumerization and bring-your-own device

• "The Wild-Card Character of "Bring Your Own": A Panel Discussion," EDUCAUSE Review Online, April 2013. Panelists on the front lines of higher education information technology share their thoughts on BYOD and what it could mean for colleges and universities.
• BYOD and Consumerization of IT in Higher Education Research, ECAR Research Report, March 2013. This report identifies and addresses the most important BYOE (bring your own everything) IT issues affecting higher education and includes recommendations for exemplary practices to manage BYOE IT issues.
• "BYOD and Get Walk-in Service," EDUCAUSE Review Online, April 2013. The Boise State help desk occupies an open support environment called the Zone that offers walk-in IT support.
• "CIOs on Consumerization," EDUCAUSE Review Online, April 2013. CIOs Brad Wheeler and James Hilton reflect on what "consumerization" means to the IT organization.
• "Rolling Out a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) Program," EDUCAUSE Live! This session offers ideas, sample policy statements and guidelines, and lessons learned for campuses interested in implementing a BYOD strategy for mobile devices
• Library Topic Primers BYOD, Mobile Security, Mobile Support

Issue #9: Transforming the institution's business with information technology

• The Real Business of IT: How CIOs Create and Communicate Value, Richard Hunter and George Westerman, 2009.
• IT-Based Transformation in Higher Education: Possibilities and Prospects, EDUCAUSE paper, 2012.The author points out that achieving both greater efficiency and better outcomes through information technology requires a commitment to fundamental, unfettered thinking about the future both within and outside current institutions.
• "SharePoint: 7 Views and Uses from around Campus," Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference 2012 presentation. This session highlights Princeton University's successful implementation of SharePoint over four years ago. The presenters showcase the ways that people around campus have used it to enhance or facilitate administrative tasks and activities.
• "Unified Communications: How We Got There and Saved Money Doing It," EDUCAUSE 2010 presentation. Audio and slides from this session describe how Minot State University designed, tested, and implemented a pure unified communications environment that included a single identity with presence at the core; a single inbox for e-mail and voicemail; and a unified user experience across voice, conferencing, instant messaging, and e-mail.
• Rethinking Higher Education Business Models, Robert Sheets, Stephen Crawford, and Louis Soares, Center for American Progress, March 2012.
• Library Topic Primers Future of Higher Education

Issue 10: Using analytics to support critical institutional outcomes

• Analytics Readiness Tool
• ECAR Analytics Maturity Index
• "Building Organizational Capacity for Analytics," EDUCAUSE Report, February 2013. This report provides information about how leading institutions in higher education and vendors are building capacity in analytics to improve student success.
• 2012 ECAR Study of Analytics in Higher Education, August 2012. This report takes an in-depth look at the current state of analytics in higher education, outlines the challenges and barriers to using analytics, and assesses progress in analytics, providing recommendations for development.
• This EDUCAUSE Review/EDUCAUSE Review Online special topics page is devoted to the topic of analytics in higher education. Subjects explored include how the use of analytics can help address higher education accountability, affordability, productivity, and student success.
• EDUCAUSE Analytics Sprint, July 24–26, 2012. This was a free, online experience consisting of online activities and resources, webinars, and discussions on analytics.
  • Day 1: What Does Analytics Mean for Higher Education?
  • Day 2: Analytics for Teaching, Learning, and Student Success
  • Day 3: Analytics for Enterprise Efficiency and Effectiveness

• Library Topic Primers Analytics , Academic Analytics , Big Data , Learning Analytics