Most UK universities can trace their current management information systems back to significant investments made in the 1990s, largely fuelled by concerns about the millenium bug and a change from character interfaces to graphical user interfaces following the introduction of the personal computer. It was during this period that institutions also…

The domain of inter-university network services intended for the non-specialist is presented. "Network" and "telecommunication services" are introduced and the activities and prerequisites necessary to implement the services needed by the users are described. The provision of telecommunication services for the academic…

As new information technology options are made available, office automation systems are being introduced and along with campus networks, and management information service requirements are evolving. Eight common strategies found in 10 American institutions are reported. (Author/MLW)

San Jose State University is planning to ban Skype, a popular Internet telephone service, from the campus network because of concerns about security and bandwidth. University administrators say that the technical aspects that make Skype effective also make it dangerous and potentially crippling to a university's network bandwidth. Skype has a…

Micro-computers and local area networks are opening up new possibilities for streamlining the administrative support system of universities and decentralizing decision making. Such decentralization needs to be complemented by improved coordination between units responsible for different application systems. (Author/MLW)

EDUCAUSE Core Data Service Fiscal Year 2006 Summary Report summarizes much of the data collected through the 2006 EDUCAUSE core data survey about campus information technology (IT) environments at 933 colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad. The report presents aggregates of data through more than 100 tables and accompanying descriptive…

The Program on Institutional Management in Higher Education of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development studied information technology (IT) in higher education. Specifically, the study aimed to investigate the state of the art of IT in European higher education, examine the potential of IT and the impact of IT developments on…

An administrator of the United Kingdom's Open University and two cofounders of Western Governors University participate in a panel discussion of higher education in a global marketplace, the potential for new networked delivery strategies, the future of selective, conventional institutions and the traditional student experience, the influence of…