READY System

ELI is no longer actively pursuing this topic. This page is provided as an historical resource; it is not being updated or actively managed.

Definition and Importance

Higher education institutions today face an increasingly large number of difficult and complex decisions about the adoption of technology-how to choose and use it effectively in any number of endeavors, ranging from distance education to student services. A common thread motivating the use of technology is to transform teaching and learning to make institutions more student-centered. For several years NLII has been exploring the idea of how an institution might assess its readiness to use technology to transform itself.

NLII Research and Analysis Questions

Helpful questions that would deepen this discussion of readiness include:

• Identified readiness elements include to deliver distance learning, engage faculty, partner in the learning marketspace, deliver student services, align planning, and use transformative assessment. Are there other common elements that should be added to create an overall organizing framework for evaluating institutional readiness?
• What is the infrastructure (both technical and institutional) that is both necessary and sufficient for institutional transformation?
• There may be other dimensions of readiness common to all endeavors, for example, the state of institutional leadership. What are some other important, common dimensions?
• What methodologies do institutions use to identify and engage key leaders, individuals, and organizational units and to help them develop realistic expectations of what can be accomplished in a given environment?
• How are institutions using the READY system or another database or system to evaluate readiness and make decisions about technology?
• What other tools would be helpful?

NLII Projects and Activities

An EDUCAUSE project, the READiness InventorY (READY) system is a decision engine that was developed to help higher education institutions determine their organizational, cultural, financial, and philosophical readiness to expand their use of technology in various realms of instructional and administrative activity. It is structured as a series of self-assessment questions that will lead users to descriptive conclusions and resources for further analysis, including glossaries, Web sites, and links to effective practices.

"Branches" of the READY system are organized by topic, developed by individual authors or content authoring teams, and reviewed by expert review panels. Information about various READY branches is given in the table below.

The READY system is undergoing a major evaluation of the usage of the site, the usefulness and quality of content of current branches, and recommendations for future activities, to be completed the summer of 2003.