In the early days of information technology’s relationship with higher education, the educational system was fairly stable, according to Susan Grajek, writer of “Research and Data Services for Higher Education Information Technology: Past, Present, and Future.”. Its aim was more to promote intellectual growth than economic stability. In the 1990s, small groups of IT amateurs like the COSTS Project and the Campus Computing Project began to work with these institutions, producing largely descriptive studies. As compared to today, IT was less centralized and more rarely outsourced. End-users made use of fewer external information services, and the total number of devices they could use to access data was smaller. There was less pressure for IT professionals to provide the greatest value for the smallest price, and there were fewer security challenges and government regulations. Overall, IT was a much smaller industry, and it was at the early end of a progression from being amateur-based to professional-based.
Comments