Information technology has become so pervasive on campuses that some observers are concerned about its affect on institutional missions. Colleges and universities face the dual challenge of preparing for the future while preserving the past. The task or updating an institution's mission begins with a review of recent trends that are likely to persist. Economic success increasingly depends on brainpower rather than natural resources, energy, or manufacturing output. Advances in telecommunications and computing are merging, prompting changes in how we live, work, and learn.
Graduates nowadays cooperate and compete with their peers worldwide.
To keep pace with the rate of societal, pedagogical, and technological change, colleges and universities will need to make continuous investments in new curricula, information technology, and knowledge management. What this adds up to is that information technology is having a dramatic, long-term impact on quality of life, economic competitiveness, regional development, and equity among social groups. In this environment, board members must help define an appropriate vision for their institution's use of information technology and formulate related goals, strategies, and intended outcomes. Testing the Mission's Relevance. Simply put, colleges and universities say they intend to provide knowledge services in whatever form contemporary society demands.