Technological Change in Higher Education Information Systems (1980 to the Present): A Case Study of the Pennsylvania State University

Abstract

The dissertation offers a history of the significant impact of information systems on the routines of faculty and students beyond the classroom, and on institutional resources and policies. The paper provides an overview of information systems, their emergence, significance, challenges and value, and provides context for the overall changes introduced to higher education communities by these technological advances. One specific institution, Pennsylvania State University (PSU), is examined. The case study details PSU’s development of an information system over 30 years. It describes the process by which PSU executed IS implementation during the period from 1980 to the present time, and the ways in which this major technological change altered the behavior of administrators, faculty and students. The principal motive of this investigation is to gain an understanding of the origins and development of IS at PSU, and to study the influence of the key players and their decisions to build a home-grown IS. An extensive set of interviews and data from the archives at PSU inform this case, assuring that the history fully presents the university’s introduction and integration of its information systems and the experiences of stakeholders with these IS changes. The paper identifies important features of the PSU story and reflects on the insights and lessons that can be derived from it.