Building access control (BAC)--a catchall phrase to describe the systems that control access to facilities across campus--has traditionally been handled with remarkably low-tech solutions: (1) manual locks; (2) electronic locks; and (3) ID cards with magnetic strips. Recent improvements have included smart cards and keyless solutions that make use…

As technology grows more pervasive in education, the data recovery issues that school systems encounter are becoming increasingly problematic, as districts work to accommodate a range of concerns that do not encumber commercial businesses. State and federal laws often require schools to report on student populations and educational progress…

The concept of convergence has evolved significantly during recent years. Today, "convergence" refers to the integration of the communications and computing resources and services that seamlessly traverse multiple infrastructures and deliver content to multiple platforms or appliances. Convergence is real. Those in higher education, and especially…

The EDUCAUSE Current Issues Committee, whose members review and recommend the set of IT issues to be presented each year, conducted a Web-based survey in December 2006 to identify the five of thirty-one IT issues in each of four areas: (1) issues that are critical for strategic success; (2) issues that are expected to increase in significance; (3)…

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…

It is difficult to estimate the costs of not writing thorough IT policy. Misuse of IT resources, whether through ignorance or malice, costs money, as do court cases that can result from abuse. Furthermore, a poor university accreditation report caused in part by poor policy documents will likely have an adverse impact on student enrollment. There…

In recent years, the widespread availability of networks and the flexibility of Web browsers have shifted the industry from a client-server model to a Web-based one. In the client-server model of computing, clients run applications locally, with the servers managing storage, printing functions, and network traffic. Because every client is…

This paper provides a snapshot of the computer network security industry and addresses specific issues related to network security in public education. The following topics are covered: (1) security policy, including reasons for establishing a policy, risk assessment, areas to consider, audit tools; (2) workstations, including physical security,…