Digital Capabilities in Higher Education, 2015

Technology is key to the future of higher education. Digital capabilities describe the application of technology to the core functions of an enterprise. Using data from EDUCAUSE maturity and deployment indices, the Digital Capabilities in Higher Education reports from ECAR are designed to provide a view into the current status of digital capabilities within higher education.

  • Maturity indices measure the capability to deliver IT services and applications in a given area. They examine not just technical dimensions of progress but also multiple dimensions such as culture, process, expertise, investment, and governance. Maturity indices enable institutions to determine where they are and where they aspire to be.
  • Deployment indices measure stages of deployment for specific technologies and services, which are aggregated to track progress in an area.

The indices are based in part on contributions to the EDUCAUSE Core Data Service (CDS), an annual survey and benchmarking service open to all higher education institutions. For deeper analysis, higher education leaders can use the EDUCAUSE Benchmarking Service to create semi-customized benchmarking reports which can be used to 1) assess the organizational capability for initiatives and 2) communicate the value and relevance of information technology.

The Digital Capabilities in Higher Education reports are publicly available.

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