Academic Technology Planning

The team at focusEDU has academic technology planning consulting expertise to assist the leadership of higher education.  Many leading institutions invest in the creation of strategic information technology strategic plans to guide the evolution of their information systems. Some of these strategic IT plans also address academic technology, but many take a laisse faire attitude toward academic technologies, not applying the same rigorous standards of planning as they do to administrative information systems. Consequently, many institutions attempt to acquire and support multiple redundant solutions for academic technology. It is not uncommon to find, for example, a half dozen web conferencing solutions at a given institution, diluting support resources.

An Academic Technology Strategic Plan should provide:

1. A snapshot of the current state of academic technology at the institution.
2. A vision of where academic technology should be in three to five years.
3. A set of proposed strategic initiatives to realize the vision within the planning period.

An Academic Technology Plan should be created via a collaborative process that engages the community in documenting current systems, articulating needs and goals, exploring potential alternative solutions, and prioritizing proposed initiatives. The plan should be written at a high level, seeking consensus on ideas and principles and eschewing technical specifics, with enough detail to guide tactical/operational decision making. The plan should typically be organized into four sections:

1. Instructional technology infrastructure
2. Learning spaces infrastructure
3. Distance education infrastructure
4. Instructional technology processes and support

focusEDU’s expert staff is experienced in conducing academic technology planning consulting assessments and strategic planning initiatives, engaging the community in building responsive sustainable academic technology plans.