Why It's Needed

Demand for IT is recession-proof. And growing. Advanced IT infrastructure and academic software is seen at almost all colleges and universities as an urgent requirement in order to attract students. Forty years ago colleges touted the number of books in their libraries-now it's ubiquitous wireless access and comprehensive campus portals. Incoming students expect technology to be current and faculty to be proficient, but few campuses can keep up, given the resources available.

Inertia. Even with new infrastructure, most campuses experience a serious disconnect between the capacity of the technology and its successful use. Examples:

• Faculties often resist technology-for sound academic reasons.
  
• Independent-minded departments use technology that is incompatible with other units. Interoperability is difficult.
  
• Central record keeping on inflexible legacy systems makes crucial questions on student retention and student needs assessment difficult to answer.

Abort, Retry, Fail? What's needed: an evenhanded look at the technology gaps on your campus and a strategy for moving technology forward. Mass Networks can map the steps required to build momentum for innovation.

Next: What We Do