Documents Contributed by ECAR, ROI, and Research Bulletins

This research bulletin explores how institutions optimize their portfolio of information technology investments. Drawing from recent research conducted at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management among 130 CIOs, it explores how institutions decide which IT projects to fund and how they assess the costs and benefits of their investments. Do institutions intervene to improve the performance of IT investments that are not delivering on their promise, or are expensive IT investments allowed to languish without intervention?

A great deal of attention is being paid to the value of information technology itself and to the value of the IT investments that higher education has made. Value on investment is a benchmark that embraces the intangible value of information technology initiatives as well as tangible measures, such as return on investment. As higher education faces greater demands for accountability, increased demands for new student services, and new competition in a declining economy, strategies for coping should consider both tangible and intangible outcomes. This research bulletin describes how to assess the value of information technology investments and how to leverage those investments to deal with today's higher education environment.

Colleges and universities, as well as IT organizations, are being asked to be accountable for funds and for results. This Research Bulletin explores several types of accountability and how they apply to different environments. Higher education institutions and IT organizations can use this as a foundation to address accountability issues.