System Lag: Re-Building the Collective Governance of Information Technology

Abstract

Building on the history of how information technology (IT) and information systems (IS) are governed in higher education, this article situates the adoption and implementation of information technology in relation to the on-going corporatisation of the university ??? a trend entailing both the growth of the administrative cadre and a reduction in power of collegial governance. Tracing the appropriation of processes and concepts from the study and implementation of IS in the private sector, it is argued that the adoption of IS has supported new technology in a manner that evades formalised collective deliberation and decision-making on campus. In the conclusion, it is argued that the history of collegial IT governance ‐ now mostly forgotten ‐ should be recovered with the aim of developing an effective mechanism for the sharing of information about, and development of an effective strategy for responding to, how new technologies affect the varied constituencies present on campus.