Document imaging, a technology that transforms printed text, figures, and pictures into computer-accessible forms, may be offered as a solution to document management problems involving space and personnel. Administrators and planners should understand relevant issues, considerations, difficulties, and options. Examples are drawn from the…

The convergence of telecommunications and computing technologies portends significant opportunities for an institution to distribute the computer capabilities and tools to individual participants (faculty, staff, and students) while linking them via telecommunications network, thus enabling each to be more effective. (MLW)

Seeking alternative revenue sources, the University of Hartford (Connecticut) established a fee-based electronic information service for off-campus clients. After two years of pilot projects, market research, product identification and redesign, diverse marketing strategies, and financial investment, the service was not yielding anticipated…

This article describes the development at Case Western Reserve University of an all-fiber optic communications network linking 7,300 outlets (faculty offices, student residences, classrooms, libraries, and laboratories) with computer data, television, audio, facsimile, and image information services. (Author/DB)

The University of Virginia's Computing Survival Skills program, begun in 1997, addresses the ongoing technology training needs of departmental staff. An overview is provided of the program's first year, including background, content, materials, certification, benefits, results, success, and future plans. Tips for designing a training program are…

A key issue in redesigning college and university business processes is whether new processes should be enabled by information systems that focus on them or share highly integrated data and common methods with older processes. An approach used at the University of Saskatchewan (Canada) that entailed reorganization, reorientation, and retooling is…

The implementation of a microcomputer-based student advising system and its evolution into a successful academic network providing electronic mail, document transfer, information access, and a powerful advising tool are described. (Author/MSE)

For liberal arts colleges, an alternative method of planning for information technology is to seek nontechnology priorities for which information technology can be justified. Drew University (New Jersey) and Hartwick College (New York) have used this opportunistic approach successfully, in different ways. (MSE)

The ways that planned change processes were used by two universities--Old Dominion and the University of Pittsburgh--in successfully carrying out projects to implement changes in their administrative systems software, hardware, and operating environments are described. (Author/MLW)

National issues in computing are identified and approaches to meeting national goals through computer education and research are suggested. The role of computing in higher education, the new role for higher education as American society changes to an information society, and the merger of microelectronics and communications are discussed. (MLW)

In a six-month period, the University of Alberta (Canada) campus computing services department formulated a strategic plan, and downsized and reorganized to meet financial constraints and respond to changing technology, especially distributed computing. The new department is organized to react more effectively to trends in technology and user…

Recently the University of Wisconsin-Madison merged three existing but disparate technology-related units into a single division reporting to a chief information officer. The new division faced many challenges, beginning with the need to restructure the old units into a cohesive new organization. The restructuring process, based on structural…

A conceptual framework for strategic planning for information technology in colleges and universities is offered. The approach focuses on outcomes of the use of technology, especially for improving individual and organizational performance, rather than the technologies themselves. Three domains of technology are considered: infrastructure,…

The origins and expansion of the University of Michigan Information Technology Division (ITD) partnership with academic units is described. The program, which began with the university's largest academic unit, features distributed computing and support services. Lessons have been learned concerning deans' attitudes about computing technology and…

Planning for a computer use "help desk" at Kenyon College (Ohio) was constrained by very limited resources. However, careful and thorough planning resulted in a low-budget, homegrown, but highly effective facility. Staffing, training, staff communication, and marketing the service were essential elements in its success. (MSE)