A Movement of Higher Education Institutions to Consortiums of Institutions Banding Together to Create a Position of Strength

Colleges and universities compete for students, faculty, and business, industry, and research partnerships with quality programs, strong faculty, research opportunities, affordable cost, and high student success factors. Yet, at the infrastructure level, most of these institutions provide many similar information technology services and support. On top of this, many of these institutions struggle to provide this quality infrastructure because of a variety of factors, including: shrinking budgets, minimal strategic planning, and a lack of institutional vision of information technology as a strategic asset. This presentation will showcase best practice examples of how higher education institutions can band together, to create strong consortium relationships that can help all partners in this relationship move forward as a strong force. Examples will include actual successes experience by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Educations Distance Learning Advisory Committee (DLAC), the Washington Legislative Technology Transformation Taskforce (TTT), and the Washington Higher Education Technology Consortium (WHETC).These successes range from statewide strategic planning efforts, to significant consortial purchasing contracts, to collaborative technology systems, services, and training opportunities. This presentation will show that institutions can be stronger working together than working individually.