EDUCAUSE Top IT Issues for 2018 Focus on Remaking Higher Education

EDUCAUSE releases annual report identifying top IT concerns for colleges and universities


WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EDUCAUSE, higher education’s largest technology association, released today the 2018 Top 10 IT Issues outlining the most critical areas where higher education institutions, leaders, and IT organizations must focus to advance their intitution’s strategic priorities. The annual list is a signature piece in the association’s research portfolio on the key issues, technologies, and trends expected to impact higher ed in 2018. Expanding on the sneak preview at the 2017 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference, EDUCAUSE provides a comprehensive overview with accompanying resources, including commentary from community leaders and actionable advice on how to address each issue.

With security breaches happening across all industries, information security remains a priority for higher education and tops the list for the third year. Overall, the issues for 2018 point to no less than the remaking of higher education.

“Last year’s top IT issues concen­trated on IT investments and activities around student success,” said Susan Grajek, vice president of communities and research at EDUCAUSE. “While that’s still a top priority for colleges and universities, this year we’re seeing the convergence of higher education’s biggest concerns with technology’s greatest capabilities.”

EDUCAUSE identified four primary themes: institutional adaptiveness, improved student outcomes, improved decision-making, and IT adaptiveness.

 
2018 Top IT Issues
  1. Information security
  2. Student success
  3. Institution-wide IT strategy
  4. Data-enabled institutional culture
  5. Student-centered institution
  6. Higher education affordability
  7. IT staffing and organizational models
  8. Data management and governance (tie)
  9. Digital integrations (tie)
  10. Change leadership
 

“The majority of higher ed’s challenges can be enabled, enhanced, or facilitated through the use of information technology,” said Grajek. “The themes we’ve identified suggest that reimagining higher education necessitates collaboration across the entire higher education ecosystem and a closer look at the people, culture, and processes leveraging technology.”

Cognizant of the unique needs of a diverse higher education community and membership base, EDUCAUSE has also developed materials in various formats and offers perspectives from enterprise IT, information security, and teaching and learning leaders.

The list of top IT issues is developed by a panel of experts comprised of higher education IT and non-IT leaders, chief information officers (CIOs) and faculty members–and then voted on by the EDUCAUSE community.

Complementary to the Top 10 IT Issues, the EDUCAUSE 2018 Top 10 Strategic Technologies and Trends are derived from authoritative sources that annually identify emerging and maturing technologies and trends in higher education. The Strategic Technologies and Trends report, to be published in mid-February 2018, provides a snapshot of the relatively new technological investments on which colleges and universities will be spending the most time implementing, planning, and tracking, as well as the trends that influence IT directions in higher education.

The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) identified the 2018 Key Issues in Teaching and Learning, currently available at www.educause.edu/ELIKeyIssues.

The Top 10 IT Issues report and accompanying resources are available at www.educause.edu/ITissues.  The Strategic Technologies and Trends report and resources will be available at www.educause.edu/top10tech2018. For more information about EDUCAUSE, visit www.educause.edu .

About EDUCAUSE
EDUCAUSE is a higher education technology association and the largest community of IT leaders and professionals committed to advancing higher education. Technology, IT roles and responsibilities, and higher education are dynamically changing. Formed in 1998, EDUCAUSE supports those who lead, manage, and use information technology to anticipate and adapt to these changes, advancing strategic IT decision making at every level within higher education. EDUCAUSE is a global nonprofit organization whose members include U.S. and international higher education institutions, corporations, not-for-profit organizations, and K–12 institutions. With a community of more than 99,000 individuals at member organizations located around the world, EDUCAUSE encourages diversity in perspective, opinion, and representation.

Media Contacts:
Marc Stith
Director of Marketing, EDUCAUSE
mstith@educause.edu
720.406.6776 (direct)

Rosa Vivanco
Communications Strategy Group
rvivanco@wearecsg.com
815.954.7867 (mobile)