Dive Brief:
- CDW*G Vice President David Hutchins writes in Ed Tech Magazine about the impact of information technology on institutional culture, named through its support of key institutional objectives like recruitment, productivity and research capacity.
- Hutchins argues that IT touches all parts of the academic environment, and helps in building morale around campus life activities through marketing and public awareness reach, entertainment and training opportunities.
- He argues that not providing good customer service in IT, or limiting its capacity to support campus culture, could lead to an incorrect assumption about the role of the department and its ability to help grow a campus.
Dive Insight:
In recent weeks, we've seen what an underdeveloped IT strategy can lead to in the way of system vulnerability and potential hacking, so it should be clear to most leaders just how important this division is to a wide variety of campus functions.
IT is critical to campus development, and in some circles, it is an increasing element of consideration for grooming future campus leaders. Current presidents and chancellors should find ways to fund or to reallocate support to stronger IT development and to engage campus stakeholders in how it can best serve their needs.