ECARs Research Bulletins

A wealth of material is available to the UCLA community through UCLA's institutional membership with the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR).To access restricted materials, create an "EDUCAUSE Profile" for yourself by setting up a user name and password the first time you download a "locked" publication. That user name and password is your key to ECAR from that point forward.

IT Governance: Determining Who Decides by Andrew J. Clark: his research bulletin provides an overview of IT governance, explains why such governance is important, describes the IT governance work at Syracuse University, and outlines how other institutions can model their governance structures. Frameworks, models, and applied research based on the work of Peter Weill and Jeanne Ross provide practical steps toward evaluating and improving institution-wide IT governance structures.

ECAR Study of Students and Information Technology, 2005: Convenience, Connection, Control, and Learning Robert B. Kvavik and Judith B. Caruso: A longitudinal extension of the 2004 ECAR study of students and information technology, this 2005 study is based on quantitative data from more than 18,000 freshman and senior students at 63 higher education institutions. It focuses on what kinds of information technologies today's students are using, with what levels of skill they are using them, how IT use contributes to the undergraduate experience, and what value the use of IT adds in terms of learning. The study also provides a review of and comparison with the 2004 ECAR study of students and IT and the 2003 ECAR study of faculty use of course management systems undertaken at the University of Wisconsin System.

2005 ResNet Survey Results: A Baseline Analysis by Kevin Bullard, David Futey, Jan Gerenstein, Kevin Guidry, and Clifton Pee: Abstract: This research bulletin discusses the results of the first (2005) survey conducted by the ResNet Applied Research Group (RARG), the research arm of the ResNet organization. The ResNet organization also sponsors the ResNet Symposium, an annual gathering of some 300 higher education administrators and specialists who plan, purchase, implement, and support residential IT at more than 160 colleges and universities. The survey, which ran from March 7 through April 6, 2005, collected data from 224 institutions, including 10 outside the United States.

Digital Preservation: A Campus-Wide Perspective by Richard Fyffe, Deborah Ludwig, and Beth Forrest Warner: This bulletin outlines campus-wide issues relating to digital preservation, an emerging aspect of the stewardship responsibility for higher education. Digital presentation requires more than simply extending traditional preservation practices to digital information or assuming that media backups are sufficient. Providing ongoing access to vital current content and stewardship of intellectual and cultural heritage challenges us to define a new information environment that promotes the preservation of fragile digital information. November 29, 2005sity of Kansas proposed actions in creating an integrated digital preservation program.

Managing Your IT Portfolio Risk: The Trailing Edge You Don't Want to Admit To, by Peggy G. Rogers and Richard N. Katz The evaluation and remediation of the risks posed by trailing-edge or obsolete systems is a critical component of an enterprise risk management (ERM) strategy-the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling an organization's activities to minimize the effects of risk on its operations. While enterprise-wide student, financial, and human resource applications appropriately demand much of our attention and budget, smaller administrative, departmental, or niche applications cannot be ignored. This research bulletin examines the various roles played by smaller systems-housing systems, endowment investment and accounting systems, hazardous materials tracking systems, and the like-and potential risks they pose.

Assessing and Communicating the Value of IT, by Mark R. Nelson: This research bulletin suggests methodologies for assessing, measuring, and communicating the value of information technology as a strategic asset in higher education. It covers approaches that can be adopted, or adapted, to demonstrate IT's value, including performance metrics and valuation models such as portfolio analysis, causal mapping, and multicriteria techniques.

Call for presentation Proposals for the Educause Learning Initiative 2006 Annual Meeting:
Learning Without Limits, January 29-31, 2006, Westin Horton Plaza Hotel, San Diego, California

An Architecture for Evolving IT Customer Service by Garland C. Elmore, Jan R. Holloway, Sue B. Workman As a sequel to the ECAR research bulletin "Customer-Centered IT Support: Foundations, Principles, and Systems" by the same authors, this bulletin describes the philosophy behind Indiana University's integrated support strategy, which is based on the principle of using technology to serve the customer and the information technology business. The bulletin details how University Information Technology Services combined existing support resources with new ones to arrive at an exponentially larger and better system that serves not only the customer but also the IT organization. Underlying all is the critical role of data in helping the organization effect a positive evolution in IT support.

High-Velocity Change: Creating Collaborative Learning Environments by Susan M. Zvacek and Scott Walter This research bulletin describes how a group of individuals at the University of Kansas worked to design and implement a collaborative learning environment for students, based on theoretical and empirical research along with basic common sense. It discusses the many lessons learned throughout the process and provides recommendations for institutions that are about to embark on a similar voyage.

Business Continuity Planning: Process, Impact, and Implications by Bernard Gulachek. This research bulletin describes business continuity planning at the University of Minnesota. It examines key institutional factors related to business continuity: drivers, decision criteria, planning processes, critical inter- and intra-organizational relationships, timing, and consultation. The elements of the institution's Operational Continuation Plans are outlined, and the strategies and impact of these plans are discussed. Finally, the bulletin describes the implications of business continuity planning to higher education.

IT Accessibility in Higher Education: Research and Promising Practices Federal law requires higher education entities to ensure that qualified students with disabilities have equal access to programs and services, including those that use information technology. In 2004, ATHEN, the Access Technologists Higher Education Network, an association of 96 professionals who are responsible for IT accessibility at their higher education institutions, conducted a study to identify current practices in staffing, procedures, funding, and policy related to IT accessibility. This bulletin presents the findings of that study and discusses the implications for higher education.

"Information Technology and campus facility planning" by Catherine Finnegan and Tom Maier [ Volume 2005, Issue 10, 12 pages ] may prove particularly useful to CIOs, facilities directors, and administrative vice presidents. Based on principles relating to the impact of technology on building design and construction, this research bulletin describes how the University System of Georgia developed and implemented statewide facilities-planning guidelines and policies that require information technology professionals to provide guidance and expertise to architects and facilities administrators to ensure an effective combination of technology and facilities, or "clicks and bricks."