The role of the chief information officer (CIO) in higher education has expanded over time as technology has worked its way into people's daily lives, altering forever the way they work and learn, and becoming ubiquitous on campuses. IT is now critical to the business of education, and the CIO has stretched his or her influence to span key…

Institutions already cater to the technology needs of students. According to the 2008 Campus Computing survey, 60 percent of colleges and universities offer pervasive or near-pervasive wireless; computers are as ubiquitous as water bottles; course management systems have become one-stop shops for class content; few classrooms lack projectors; and…

As state governors grapple with their budgets for 2012, public universities and colleges are facing some of the deepest funding cuts in memory. To make matters worse, most of the federal stimulus funds, which have helped dull the pain so far, will have been spent by June. It seems almost inevitable that IT departments are going to be asked to…

With colleges and universities struggling to minimize the effects of the troubled economy, it certainly isn't an easy time to be a CIO. This article presents an interview with a panel of higher education IT leaders about best practices for steering IT through economic crisis. Panelists included Jan Biros, associate VP for instructional technology…

If a school is seeking to incorporate more collaborative approaches to teaching and learning, the design of the learning environment--whether it's a classroom or a more informal space--can be a critical factor in making this transformative move. Technology, in particular, can play a pivotal role in enabling students to work effectively in teams…

Just when campus technologists think they've got a handle on daily campus IT needs, demands to develop smart classrooms come along and spoil everything. Between admissions officers demanding smart classrooms in order to prove to prospective families that the institution is up to speed, and professors asking for smart classrooms so that they can…