US: Institutional data management in higher education

A study of institutional data management by the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, titled Institutional Data Management in Higher Education and written by Ronald Yanosky, examines the policies and practices by which higher education institutions effectively collect, protect and use digital information assets to meet academic and business needs, according to its abstract.

"Importantly, it also explores the impact of the 'data big bang' on colleges and universities and the way information technology organisations deal with it. While the overall guiding concept is data management, the definition of data management that informs this study refers broadly to information assets in digital form." The study includes, according to the abstract:

* A literature review to examine data management frameworks and definitions and to define issues and establish research questions.
* Consultation with higher education IT administrators and data management experts to identify and validate survey questions.
* A quantitative web-based survey of EDUCAUSE member institutions that received 309 responses, 78% of which were from the institution CIO or equivalent.
* Qualitative interviews with 23 higher education IT leaders and staff.
* Two case studies, one examining a sensitive data risk reduction initiative at the University of Virginia, and one concerning Chronopolis, a multi-institutional grid-based project for the long-term preservation of research data.

The study may be purchased from EDUCAUSE - a non-profit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology - and costs $1,500 for non-members and $750 for members.

It is available from: www.educause.ed.