Documents Contributed by ECAR and ROI

The September 2004 ECAR survey instrument used for ECAR Research Study on IT Investment and Business Process Performance in Higher Education.

These Key Findings describe the major discoveries of the ECAR research study called Good Enough! IT Investment and Business Process Performance in Higher Education, which takes a complex look at the performance of so-called business processes in higher education, with a special focus on how IT investments have influenced that performance. It explores the question of what higher education has gained from its sizeable investment in improving business processes. This study also looks at the role that leadership and culture play in the performance of institutional processes. CIOs and others from more than 300 U.S. and Canadian institutions provided quantitative data, while individuals from some two dozen institutions participated in interviews. In addition, ECAR visited exemplary institutions to provide a detailed look into the mechanics of particularly interesting efforts to improve the performance of campus processes.

This Roadmap is designed to illuminate the major discoveries of the ECAR research study called Good Enough! IT Investment and Business Process Performance in Higher Education, which takes a complex look at the performance of so-called business processes in higher education, with a special focus on how IT investments have influenced that performance. It explores the question of what higher education has gained from its sizeable investment in improving business processes. This study also looks at the role that leadership and culture play in the performance of institutional processes. CIOs and others from more than 300 U.S. and Canadian institutions provided quantitative data, while individuals from some two dozen institutions participated in interviews. In addition, ECAR visited exemplary institutions to provide a detailed look into the mechanics of particularly interesting efforts to improve the performance of campus processes.

As a complement to the ECAR research study called Good Enough! IT Investment and Business Process Performance in Higher Education, this case study examines the Iowa State University (ISU) formal program to facilitate business process innovation. The program is based on a goal of consistently promoting enhancements in process and customer service, and on implementing a sustainable method of cross-departmental business process reengineering, and this case study provides an illustration of ISU's practice in action with the successful redesign of the university's travel reimbursement process.

As a complement to the ECAR research study called Good Enough! IT Investment and Business Process Performance in Higher Education, this case study explores how Brooklyn College and The City University of New York optimized their student advising process to support a strategic goal to enhance student enrollment and retention. The first part of the case study looks at Brooklyn College efforts to create a more customer-friendly administrative environment. The second part of the case study focuses on CUNY's Office of Computing and Information Services (CIS) Project Management Office and discusses its deployment of an enterprise-wide online advising and degree audit system.

This ECAR research study takes a complex look at the performance of so-called business processes in higher education, with a special focus on how IT investments have influenced that performance. It explores the question of what higher education has gained from its sizeable investment in improving business processes. This study also looks at the role that leadership and culture play in the performance of institutional processes. CIOs and others from more than 300 U.S. and Canadian institutions provided quantitative data, while individuals from some two dozen institutions participated in interviews. In addition, ECAR visited exemplary institutions to provide a detailed look into the mechanics of particularly interesting efforts to improve the performance of campus processes.

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.