Technology & Learning
Community
From the Field
January 1998
Results of the
1997 National Survey of Information Technology in Higher Education
by Kenneth C. Green, visiting scholar at the Center for
Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University and director
of the Campus Computing 1997project
Technology resources -- e-mail, the Internet and the World Wide
Web (WWW), and multimedia -- are increasingly common components
of the instructional experience for American college students, according
to the 1997 Campus Computing Survey, a national study of the use
of information technology in higher education. Additionally, growing
numbers of campuses now have a computer competency or computer instruction
requirement for all their undergraduates.
This year's survey
reveals that almost one-third (32.8 percent) of all college courses
use e-mail, up from 25 percent in 1996 and 8 percent in 1994. Fully
one-fourth (24.8 percent) of all classes draw on resources available
on the Internet, compared to 15.3 percent in 1996. And more than
an eighth (13.4 percent) of all college courses use some form of
multimedia resources, up from 8.4 percent in 1996 and 4 percent
in 1994.
The survey data document
what is readily apparent on campuses across the country. Technology
resources are becoming an increasingly important component of the
instructional experience, across all fields and all types of institutions.
The use of information technology (IT) as an instructional resource
is highest in research universities. However, the gains have occurred
in all types of colleges and
universities. Although students in universities are more likely
to encounter IT resources in their classes than their peers at four-year
colleges or community colleges, the survey data document the expanding
use of IT resources across all sectors of American higher education.
This year, two-fifths
(40.3 percent) of the campuses participating in the annual Campus
Computing Survey report having some type of computer instruction
or IT competency requirement for all undergraduates, up from 33.1
percent in 1994. Computer competency requirements are more
commonly found in four-year colleges (46.5 percent for public four-year
institutions; 41.6 percent for private four-year colleges) than
in public research universities (33.3 percent), private research
universities (20 percent), and community colleges (39.2 percent).
Despite the increased
used of IT in instruction and the growing numbers of campuses imposing
IT requirements on their students, the survey respondents, typically
chief academic computing officers, continue to identify "assisting
faculty integrate IT into instruction" and "providing adequate user
support" as the top IT challenges confronting their institutions.
Almost a third (29.6, up from 27.3 percent in 1996) cite "instructional
integration" as the top challenge, while another fourth (25 percent)
identify "user support." Financing technology is a growing concern
as well: fully a fifth of the survey respondents (20.4 percent,
up from 17.4 percent last year) identify "financing the replacement
of aging hardware and software" as the most pressing IT issue for
their institutions.
While generally eager
to see more and better use of technology in instruction, comparatively
few colleges or universities provide recognition or reward for faculty
efforts to do so. Just one-eighth (12.2 percent) formally recognize
or reward "IT as part of routine faculty review and promotion" activities.
Faculty recognition and reward are an essential if often ignored
component of technology planning on campuses across the country.
Therefore, the vast
majority of campuses are sending a clear, if somewhat punitive message
to faculty: do more with technology, but learn the skills on your
own time and do it in addition to your other professorial responsibilities.
The IT support centers and mini-grant programs operating at many
institutions are useful, but faculty monitor the experience of their
colleagues. Failing to reward and promote the instructors who invest
significant time and effort to bringing technology into their teaching
and syllabus sends a chilling message about the institutional commitment
to IT integration in instruction and scholarship.
The 1997 survey also
reveals that growing numbers of institutions, particularly public
colleges and universities, are charging special technology fees
to help underwrite the costs of the technology infrastructure on
their campuses. The percentage of public universities with a mandatory
IT fee rose to 56.9 percent on 1997, up from 47.5 percent in 1995.
Similarly, the percentage of public four-year colleges with mandatory
IT fees also increased to 59.4 percent in 1997, compared to 44 percent
in 1994. A third (34.4 percent) of the nation's community colleges
also impose technology fees, up from 26.0 percent in 1994. In contrast,
just 15 percent of private research universities and 31.7 percent
of private four-year colleges currently collect IT fees from their
students.
The IT fees are highest
for students in public universities, $140 annually. Student IT fees
in public four-year colleges average $131. In contrast, the annual
computing or IT fees average $132 for students in private universities
and $112 for students in public four-year colleges. In community
colleges, the IT fee averages about $55 annually for a full-time
student.
Even with the additional
revenue generated by student fees, institutions continue to struggle
with financial planning for IT costs. Less than a third (28.9 percent)
of the campuses participating in the 1997 Campus Computing Survey
report a working financial plan for IT, virtually unchanged from
1996 (28.1 percent), although up from 15.9 percent in 1990. The
vast majority of U.S. colleges and universities (70.1 percent) continue
to fund most of their equipment, network, and software expenses
with one-time budget allocations or special appropriations. Moreover,
the majority of colleges and universities (51.6 percent) continue
to operate without a strategic plan for information technology.
Colleges and universities
are clearly having a difficult time managing the financial dimensions
of information technology. The revenue from student charges provides
some help. But student fees do not resolve the long-term financial
planning issues that confront virtually all institutions, specifically
developing and funding budget models that recognize the short 'useful
life' of critical IT resources.
Campus officials
must avoid the temptation to use the student fees to supplant, rather
than supplement the institutional investment in IT. This is a particularly
pressing issue for public institutions, as state officials may be
tempted to reallocate technology dollars for other purposes, similar
to the way campuses too often tap the library's book budget when
money is tight. Other infrastructure costs -- computer networks,
user support services, software and content licenses, computer labs
and instructional classrooms -- are key components of the campus
technology infrastructure and need more than just student fees to
be viable and reliable.
The annual Campus
Computing Survey, now in its eighth year, is based on data provided
by officials at 605 two- and four-year colleges and universities
across the United States. Participating campuses completed the survey
during summer 1997. Copies of the 1997 Campus Computing Report are
for $35 (postpaid) from Kenneth Green, c/o Campus Computing, PO
Box 261242; Encino, CA 91426-1424. (Tel:818/990-2212; Fax:
818/784-8008; e-mail:cgreen@earthlink.net
)
Information about
the Campus Computing Project is available at the AskERIC Web Site
of the US Department of Education:
http://ericir.syr.edu/Projects/Campus_computing/index.html
Providing advanced
education for the future of society, Claremont Graduate University
(formerly The Claremont Graduate School) is dedicated exclusively
to graduate study, awarding degrees in 19 disciplines through six
academic centers.
A member of the prestigious
Claremont Consortium, CGU combines relevant human-scale instruction
with the facilities and academic breadth of a medium-sized university.
Kenneth C. Green, Claremont Graduate, University Claremont,
CA
PO Box 261242
Visiting Scholar Encino, CA 91426-1242 USA
ph: 818.990.2212
fax: 818.784.8008
cgreen@earthlink.net
http://www.cgu.edu
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