Lisa Gesner's blog

EDUCAUSE announces the release of the Core Data Service Fiscal Year 2008 Summary Report. It summarizes findings from the 2008 EDUCAUSE Core Data Service (CDS) survey, in which nearly 930 colleges and universities provided detailed information about their IT environments and practices in fiscal year 2008.

EDUCAUSE announces a new EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) study, The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2009, by Shannon D. Smith, Gail Salaway, and Judith Borreson Caruso, with an Introduction by Richard N. Katz. This 2009 ECAR research study is a longitudinal extension of the 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 ECAR studies of students and information technology. The study is based on quantitative data from a spring 2009 survey of 30,616 freshmen and seniors at 103 four-year institutions and students at 12 two-year institutions; student focus groups that included input from 62 students at 4 institutions; and review of qualitative data from written responses to open-ended questions.

EDUCAUSE, ACUTA, and Internet2 today sent an open letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski in which the organizations expressed strong support for the Chairman's recent announcement that the FCC will initiate a public proceeding on the question of net neutrality. Read the letter.

Security Task Force Renamed Higher Education Information Security Council

The EDUCAUSE and Internet2 Computer and Network Security Task Force has been renamed the Higher Education Information Security Council. The name change reflects the maturation of the task force's work. The council, which EDUCAUSE and Internet2 will continue to sponsor, is part of the EDUCAUSE Cybersecurity Initiative.

Cybersecurity Meetings Sessions, and Seminars at EDUCAUSE 2009

EDUCAUSE Members: Join President Diana G. Oblinger on September 16 and 17 for an online discussion of EDUCAUSE plans for this fall’s annual conference, including our new “EDUCAUSE 2009 Online.” Topics will include innovative features of EDUCAUSE 2009 (including the new “EDUCAUSE Central” community hub), a review of EDUCAUSE 2009 Online plans, a preview of EDUCAUSE activities for 2010, including the extension of online and hybrid events, and the key themes EDUCAUSE will pursue in 2010 and how we’re aligning our content and programming to engage the community on them. The sessions will be conducted in the EDUCAUSE Adobe Connect web conferencing room on September 16, 11:00 a.m. – 12 noon, EDT, and September 17, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m., EDT. No registration is required. View additional information.

EDUCAUSE today announced the appointment of Greg Jackson, vice president and chief information officer for the University of Chicago, as EDUCAUSE vice president for policy and analysis. Jackson previously served as chief information officer for one of the nation’s leading research universities for the last thirteen years, following four years as director of academic computing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Read more in the press release.

The latest EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research study, Alternative IT Sourcing Strategies: From the Campus to the Cloud, explores a multitude of strategies used by colleges and university information technology organizations to deliver the breadth of technologies and services required by their institutions. Findings illustrate that although total outsourcing of institutional technology organizations is rare, so is self-operation of all IT functions and services. The study focuses on “alternative sourcing,” which is defined as the range of options institutions have for providing technology services or operating technology functions aside from doing it themselves.

Results of the 2009 EDUCAUSE Current Issues survey of critical IT issues in higher education are now available. An article summarizing results has just been published in the latest EDUCAUSE Review. Related resources on the 2009 Current Issues website include complete results of the survey, recommended readings for each of the top-ten issues, HTML and PDF links to the EDUCAUSE Review article, and tables with detailed demographic survey results. Read the press release.

ACE and NACUBO have announced a higher education policy web seminar with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Under Secretary Martha J. Kanter, and Deputy Under Secretary Robert Shireman. ACE President Molly Broad will also take part.  The discussion will focus on the Obama administration’s higher education agenda and will be followed by a Q&A session. The web seminar is scheduled for Friday, August 7, at 2 p.m. EDT. Registration is required.

The Career of the IT Security Officer in Higher Education reports the result of a study designed to understand and document the attributes and responsibilities of the relatively new role of information security officer in higher education. The study employed multiple research strategies, including a literature review, an analysis of 59 job announcements and descriptions, 311 responses to a web-based quantitative survey, and qualitative interviews with individuals who answered the survey and agreed to be contacted for additional information. As a result of broad interest in this topic, the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) is delighted to make this research available online to everyone now.