The eighth annual Study of the Higher Education Chief Information Officer Roles and Effectiveness examines three key areas:
- Changing demographics
- Evolution of the CIO role—its current and future state
- Perception of effectiveness—‘How are they doing?’
This year, more than 2,700 CIOs from higher education institutions participated. As well, more than 400 institutional management teams were surveyed. Standout findings of this year’s study:
- Fifty percent of CIOs plan to retire in the next 10 years—a record high since the study began. Those individuals replacing today’s CIOs will most likely be male. This prediction is supported by a finding that fewer women today are pursuing the CIO title.
- The four attributes, listed in order importance, that both groups found influenced the perceived effectiveness of the CIO include: strategic business knowledge, strategic IT knowledge, political savvy, and communication skills.
Author Wayne A. Brown, Ph.D., Center for Higher Education Chief Information Officer Studies, Inc. (CHECS), concluded that the CIO role is continuing to mature. While shifts in responsibilities and expectations for this role have occurred in reaction to economic or other influences, most participants in the CHECS study said they are spending an increased amount of time on IT department and institution strategy, a finding that contradicts received wisdom in today’s news.
A final anecdotal finding worth noting: within higher education CIOs are often looked upon to provide leadership for departments outside of the traditional IT office. The library and research departments were most cited as falling under the CIOs leadership purview.
Ellucian is a charter sponsor of the 2012 study. You can learn more at www.checs.org.
