Information Technology Networking in Higher Education: Campus Commodity and Competitive Differentiator Roadmap

This ECAR roadmap is designed to illuminate a host of current network management practices related to IT in higher education; opportunities for connectivity to external networks; the institutional context of organization, leadership and management; current emerging technologies and converged networks; and the future of networking. The roadmap is based on five major research initiatives: a literature review, consultation with the EDUCAUSE Net@EDU Integrated Communications Solutions Working Group, survey responses from 517 chief information officers and network directors in higher education, qualitative interviews with 12 higher education leaders about their view of the future of IT networking in higher education, and three in-depth cases studies involving four U.S. institutions and SURF, a Dutch higher education and research partnership.