Institutional Data Management in Higher Education

Abstract

This 2009 ECAR study of institutional data management examines the policies and practices by which higher education institutions effectively collect, protect, and use digital information assets to meet academic and business needs. Importantly, it also explores the impact of the “data big bang” on colleges and universities and the way information technology (IT) organizations deal with it. While the overall guiding concept is data management, the definition of data management that informs this study refers broadly to information assets in digital form. The study takes a multipart approach that includes a literature review to examine data management frameworks and definitions and to define issues and establish research questions; consultation with higher education IT administrators and data management experts to identify and validate survey questions; a quantitative web-based survey of EDUCAUSE member institutions that received 309 responses, 78% of which were from the institution CIO or equivalent; qualitative interviews with 23 higher education IT leaders and staff; and two case studies, one examining a sensitive data risk reduction initiative at the University of Virginia, and one concerning Chronopolis, a multi-institutional grid-based project for the long-term preservation of research data.