EDUCAUSE Review Articles, CIO, and Leadership

The emerging centrality of the CIO position in higher education leads to both risks and opportunities.

The authors discuss the common assumption that a CIO in higher education controls IT at his or her college or university—from operational issues to future directions.

The author provides key advice on taking a new leadership position.

"Although managing information technology is important, that responsibility goes well beyond the CIO. Perhaps the more important role for the CIO is knowing what information will be needed, how to make it accessible, and ensuring that others derive value from that information."

The authors state that "although it is important for a campus to have a good CIO, the CIO alone is not responsible for how well IT is used on Campus." It is the executive team as a whole who is responsible for effective IT use on campus.

A framework is needed to help define the CIO position and to determine the characteristics that make a CIO effective.

This online-only article moves beyond the definition and characteristics of the CIO and outlines the steps that campus leaders must take to successfully recruit and select the CIO for their institution.

In a time of discussion on whether IT investment still matters in higher education, the author points out ways CIO's can continue to demonstrate the importance of investing in IT.