Thoughts for the Chief Academic Officer in the New Year

Many students and their families have made the commitment to attend your college or university. This is not new, has happened for years, so what’s the difference this time? The first difference is the renewed commitment to the dream that college will make a difference. Past decades have allowed students to attend your institution and leave with a job waiting. Possibly not true this year, what is probably true is:

1. The father or mother (or both) have lost a job in the past two years and are still unemployed. The commitment of sending their child to your school without a safety net is without precedent in past decades.
2. The student at your college or university is working longer hours than students have in the past.
3. The student will likely graduate without a job and will consider extending his/her time at your institution or go directly to graduate school. Scholarships are more important than ever.
4. The information center of a student’s life is a Facebook account and cell phone, probably an iPhone.
5. Search leads a student’s quest for resources in completing assignments, evaluating faculty, even choosing a college. Search must be a relevant experience on your campus. Very few colleges and universities are using the Google search appliance successfully. Students will expect to find information in your library systems, course management systems, and student information systems indexed and available through a search.
6. Mobility is important to the student; students expect to be able to get to faculty course sites, the library, and other specialized applications from any location.
7. Investments in central support organizations are not important to the student; they are looking for help where they are, when they need it. The closer you can locate your student support services (including technology) to the student and faculty, the better.
8. Consumerization continues to dominate the marketplace; students now expect to access information from an iPhone, and the App Store has set a new standard for campus IT departments delivering services. The Kindle and Nook eText readers are gaining momentum, and Apple plans on joining the eText fray in the spring.
9. The CIO must be forward-looking and be prepared for the changes in the campus technology infrastructure and in meeting the mobility requirements of students.
10. A renewed focus must be delivered by the faculty and staff on the needs of the student, not necessarily to change the curriculum, but to ensure the curriculum remains relevant and accessible.