Online program managers (OPMs) are third-party companies that work with colleges and universities to develop, launch, and deliver online learning. The prevalence of OPMs, however, has important implications for higher education program quality and transparency. In the final piece of our four-part series, higher education scholars establish a…

With the recent proliferation of information technology, almost all users of technology, no matter the field, profession, or status, have experienced a commensurate increase in information security threats. This, in turn, creates a significant concern in higher institutions of public learning. Information Security Officers in public higher…

This article critically considers these recent developments and political context, proposing an approach to manage sensitive research in the complex contemporary political environment. The first part of the article defines security-sensitive research as research having risk associated with foreign interference, cybersecurity, biosecurity or…

Determining whether a state's young people are on track for a life of opportunity is a difficult task for governors and state leaders. States can be both awash in data and unable to easily access and use that data to inform policy. State longitudinal data systems that meaningfully connect workforce, higher education, K-12, and early childhood…

Governments recognise that careers guidance, underpinned by accurate labour market information, can help learners make post-secondary education choices that match their interests, aptitudes and abilities, and lead to rewarding employment. For this reason, they have invested in building linked education/employment information systems and other…

This chapter focuses on perspectives of external data reporting and their implications for institutional research offices and campuses as a whole. The authors examine a variety of uses for externally reported data and explore opportunities for using these data more fully across the institution.

Many articles within the literature point to the information security policy as one of the most important elements of an effective information security program. Even though this belief is continually referred to in many information security scholarly articles, very few research studies have been performed to corroborate this sentiment. Doherty and…

To whom should higher education institutions provide data, and what is the impact of transparency on institutions?

This "Just in Time" research is in response to recent discussions on the EDUCAUSE Higher Education Information Security Council (HEISC) discussion list about data breaches in higher education. Using data from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, this research analyzes data breaches attributed to higher education. The results from this…

The country case studies are part of the empirical data collected for the "Promoting the Relevance of Higher Education" project. Before presenting the case studies, this introductory chapter describes how the 8 case studies were selected, the case study methodology, and provides an overview of the interviewed organisations and experts.…

This annex to the main report "Promoting the Relevance of Higher Education" includes the international policy literature study and the review of indicators. The objective of the literature study was to provide first insights into the policies that relate to the three dimensions of higher education relevance: personal development,…

In higher education, the IT department is often the service provider for the institution's emergency notification system (ENS). For many institutions, the complexity of providing emergency notification to students, faculty, and staff makes using a local, on-premise solution unrealistic. But finding the right commercially hosted technical solution…

The January 2014 edition of the ECAR Update subscriber newsletter included an informal poll on information privacy practices. The poll was intended to collect a quick snapshot of the higher education community's thoughts on this important topic during Data Privacy Month. Results of the poll will be used to inform EDUCAUSE research, programs,…

The expanding scope of IT initiatives in higher education institutions now goes well beyond basic desktop and enterprise applications. IT is often asked to focus on efforts to establish good information-governance practices. The many aspects of information governance are often found in a records and information management (RIM) program, but not…

The federal role in higher education has grown over the past two decades, and now a new administration has the opportunity to strengthen policies that support students and their colleges and universities. To help inform these decisions, the Urban Institute convened a bipartisan group of scholars and policy advisers to write a series of memos…