Positioning IT as a strategic partner on campus — from Academic Impressions, May 27, 2010

At a time when institutions of higher education are increasingly looking for technological solutions to strategic challenges, recent downgrades in the rank of the chief information officer at institutions such as MIT and the University of Chicago has sparked alarm in some quarters and a series of debates over whether the CIO may start to disappear from university cabinets at other institutions.

While there isn’t any conclusive data to suggest that the CIO role is shrinking, the concerns over that possibility do serve to direct increased attention to one of IT’s pressing challenges: that is, how to position the CIO, and the broader IT organization, as a strategic partner within the institution.

From DSC:

I can not stress this strongly enough:

  • IT must be empowered with solid, strong seats at the top decision-making tables throughout higher ed.
  • For those institutions who allow their CIO’s to have a seat at the table — and who put visionary, tech-savvy, experienced, competent leadership in such positions — they will thrive (assuming that the culture of their organizations can withstand the change that’s becoming necessary to play in this game).
  • For those institutions who devalue the role of IT and the CIO…such organizations will continue down the road of cost cutting and their enrollments will continue to decline.
  • I’ll say it again, the status quo must go; and there are few who understand the need to change as much as someone within or (recently) from the tech side of the house. I say this because even those who are in tech struggle to keep up with the pace of technological change these days — so someone outside of the tech area will have an even tougher time keeping up, understanding the trends at hand/play, understanding the threats and potential benefits of various technologies — and thus being able to make the appropriate strategic decisions.
  • Technology will continue to have a highly-disruptive effect on the world of higher education — so one had better have some leadership on board the board that understands and can anticipate such disruption and make plans to respond to as many different scenarios of disruption as possible.
  • (Think Blockbuster here, as to an example of an organization who failed to properly appreciate/value technology and it’s disruptive impact enough.)