Many people are ambivalent about retirement. The authors begins this article with a set of bullets describing several reasons for retiring. They then offer ten suggestions for retirees that may help them not only with navigating through the retirement process but also with adjusting to their new position and status. The authors then conclude with…

In 2003, EDUCAUSE launched a program called the EDUCAUSE Core Data Service (CDS), which consist of: (1) an annual survey that collects data about IT environments and practices on (primarily) member campuses; (2) a Web-based, interactive database service available to all who complete the survey through which they can access data contributed by…

In all positions, professionals must continue to develop their skills. The higher education IT profession is no exception. However, many of these skills should be developed progressively. If IT professionals can start learning these twelve skills early in their career, they will have a good chance of turning the skills into habits--and of becoming…

In this article, Brian L. Hawkins, President of EDUCAUSE, interviews Clifford A. Lynch, Executive Director of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), and the recipient of the 2005 EDUCAUSE Award for Leadership in Public Policy and Practice, about, among other things, the current CNI initiatives, digital assets preservation, e-science,…

In this second part of a two-part interview with Clifford A. Lynch, Executive Director of the Coalition for Networked Information, Lynch talks to Hawkins about the most provocative and exciting projects that are being developed in the field of networked information worldwide. He also talks on how institutional repositories are being currently…

Seeing an institution's name in the headlines for a security breach may be among a CIO's-- and a president's--worst nightmares. Whether the breached data involves social security numbers, credit card accounts, clinical records, or research, this is bad news. Federal agencies that provide research funding may lose confidence in data integrity,…

Higher education has a long history of self-reliance; institutions provide all the services they need internally, even if they are located in close proximity to other institutions. According to Frank Rhodes, president emeritus of Cornell University, twentieth-century higher education drew strength from consisting of independent, free-standing, and…

EDUCAUSE Core Data Service Fiscal Year 2007 Summary Report summarizes much of the data collected through the 2007 EDUCAUSE core data survey about campus information technology (IT) environments at 994 colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad. The report presents aggregates of data through more than 100 tables and accompanying descriptive…

Discusses the shortage of qualified information technology (IT) workers nationwide and the creative solutions that may be necessary at colleges and universities to attract and retain IT staff and leaders. (EV)

Claims that investing in information technology will save money for a college or university have rarely proven true. In fact, realizing the promised dollar savings is so rare in higher education that the credibility of many IT professionals has been jeopardized by making the claim. Not producing promised savings only exacerbates the sense, among…

Addresses six information technology (IT) questions that should be answered by college presidents, providing illustrations from campus experience and offering advice from experienced presidents: "How much should we spend?"; "Which processes should receive funds?"; "Which capabilities need to be company-wide?"; "How good do our services need to…

In their efforts to better understand, plan for, and make decisions about information technology on campus, higher education leaders need data. They need benchmarking and longitudinal data. They need data about IT budgets, expenditures, and investments. They need data about IT staffing. And they need data about IT programs, planning, policy, and…

Explores the importance of top-level participation in information technology decision making in the higher education context, providing illustrations from actual campus experience and highlighting the illustrations with advice from experienced college and university presidents. (EV)

The CIO (Chief Information Officer) is a relatively new concept in higher education. There have been directors of college and university computer centers for over half a century, but the first CIOs did not appear until the late 1970s. The need for the position in academia really began with the need to manage and coordinate computing and…

This EDUCATE Core Data Service 2003 Summary Report is the second report published as part of the CDS program. Before delving into the five major sections that follow this introductory section (each of which parallels and summarizes data from a section of the core data survey), we encourage you to read this introduction to fully understand the CDS…