Diversity in the workforce can be attributed to both a popular, cultural shift and legislative intervention. Despite these forces, discrimination endures in all aspects of Western society from education to employment. Unequal pay and opportunities for promotion are symptoms of a systematic discrimination of individuals based on race and gender.…

For 17 years, the New Media Consortium convened panels of experts from higher education and posed three key questions for them to discuss: (1) What is on the five-year horizon for higher education institutions?; (2) Which trends and technology developments will drive educational change?; and (3) What are the critical challenges and how can we…

Effective use of technology in areas that include admissions, record keeping, billing, compliance, athletic administration, and more hold untold potential to transform higher education by introducing significant efficiencies and dramatic cost reductions in serving students. How the institution organizes itself will to a large extent depend on how…

Education has gone through numerous radical changes as the digital era has transformed the way we as humans communicate, inform ourselves, purchase goods, and perform other mundane chores at home and at work. New and emerging pedagogies have enabled rapid advancements, perhaps too rapidly. It is a challenge for instructors and researchers alike to…

Online education has become a prevalent means of program and course delivery, especially within teacher education programs. However, the lack of preparation in online design is concerning, especially in the field of teacher education where the focus is preparing preservice and practicing teachers to implement effective, evidence-based…

Researchers and policy makers around the world are increasingly acknowledging the importance of developing a school-based ICT policy plan to facilitate the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in education. Despite this interest, not much is known about how schools can develop their local ICT policy capacity and how to…

Digital integration is the driving force of teaching and learning at all levels of education. As more non-traditional students seek credentialing, certification, and degrees, institutions continue to push the boundaries of innovative practices to meet the needs of diverse students. Programs and faculty have moved from merely using technology and…

Education has changed, and at no time is this more evident than when working with students who are tethered to the Internet, are fully engaged in technology-based social networking, create blogs and wikis, and expect instantaneous responses as they twitter with their peers around the world. Some of the knowledge and skills that millennial students…

This article argues that, if colleges and universities are to capitalize on opportunities presented by the growth of the learning industry, they must transform themselves from Industrial Age educational institutions into Information Age learning enterprises. Leadership strategies, planning challenges, vendor roles, and economic paradigms necessary…

Describes an ongoing reengineering project at Yuan Ze University (Taiwan) that has brought about significant change by providing integrated information services to the campus community. Discusses the change process, obstacles encountered, and strategies used to overcome them. Obstacles to the change process were not predominantly technological,…

"Building Institutional Capacity for Data-Informed Decision Making" is the third installment of the Cutting Edge series, which aims to help colleges engage faculty, scale successful interventions, and create a strong culture of evidence through use of data to strengthen their institutional change and student success efforts. Though the…

This article explores the thesis that colleges and universities can leverage desktop computing power to address campus administration needs. It describes a study of administrative computing needs at the University of Chicago; identifies roadblocks to effective use of desktop computing, such as inadequate computing knowledge; and gives…

The strategic use of information technology (IT) is pervading almost all areas of higher education. Institutions must review their IT management structure to assure that the application of this rapidly changing technology will be maximized in the highly competitive 1990s. (Author/MSE)

The most critical challenge for higher education institutions in the near future will be to develop capacity for change, remove constraints to rapid response, remove unnecessary processes and administrative structures, question existing premises and arrangements, and challenge, excite, and empower all members of the academic community. (MSE)

Advancements in information technology have caused many colleges and universities to reconsider the organization of the units providing information services. Ranging from joint planning exercises to full vertical mergers, changes in organizational structure are powerful tools administrators can use to integrate and effectively manage information…