It explains why the new computers campuses purchase during 1996 will need to be replaced by summer 1999. Newer, faster, better, and less expensive technology is always right around the corner. Moore's Law also offers a significant statement about the pace of change in a technology-driven economy. This applies to information and skills as well as technology products and services. Despite this rapid pace of change, academic institutions move slowly.
Institutions spend months on some personnel decisions that corporations routinely handle in weeks.
The investments in training and infrastructure that are routine in the business world are not routine in many colleges and universities. Board members should ask how investments in computing and information technology will help fulfill their institution's mission. Plainly stated, the people who run colleges and universities must recognize and accommodate change more quickly and efficiently if their institutions are going to remain competitive. Trustees must examine the policies they set for their institutions from this important perspective. But perhaps the best lesson for boards, presidents, and faculty is the one that is passed along from exemplary teachers and mentors to their prized students.