The Organization of the Organization: CIOs' Views on the Role of Central IT

Information technology in higher education is currently undergoing a bit of an identity crisis. Although IT is known as the go-to group when an academic research, or administrative problem needs a technical solution, IT teams exist in so many places on today's campus that for many in the campus community it is no longer clear who should be contacted in order to request services. In this article, thirteen CIOs/Vice-Presidents discuss various aspects of the blending of responsibilities that has led to a current "identity crisis" in higher education information technology and to the organizational confusion over the role of centralized and decentralized IT services. (Contains 8 notes.) [This article was produced by EDUCAUSE, Boulder, Co.]