Over the last few months, each of the public institutions has demonstrated to this committee an impressive use of information technology; yet, these applications are scattered and uneven, and appear to be largely dependent on how skilled some individuals are at grant writing. Institutional vision and goals regarding telecommunications and computer networking are vague. It is clear that the institutions do not now have strategic plans for information technology. Virtually all institutions that have cutting-edge communications technology have well documented strategic plans for information technology (HEIRA, 1992a). The University of Rhode Island has a report (UCCC, 1993) that outlines a vision of technology which includes a series of vignettes of what the future should be like. Additionally, the UCCC report presents a precise series of assumptions, goals, strategies, recommendations and associated cost estimates for upgrading all aspects of information technology at URI. URI s vision of information technology has been clearly articulated and the University is currently implementing this plan. In April 1995, Elert Engineering will provide more precise cost estimates for upgrading the telecommunications and network infrastructures.
The following statements regarding vision are intended for the system of public higher education and are designed to be a starting point for the development of strategic plans for information technology that consider the needs and resources across the entire system. Proceed to next section