CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER PROFILE IN HIGHER

EDUCATION

Adam Marks

and Yacine Rezgui

Department of Business Administration, World-Wide, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL, U.S.A.

School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Queens Buildings, The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA, Wales, U.K.

Keywords: Chief Information Officer, Higher Education, CIO, IT Executive.

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to provide an unbiased picture of what many universities seek and expect in

terms of requirements, attributes, competencies, and expected functions and duties in IT executive

candidates, namely the Chief Information Officer (CIO). The paper provides a benchmark that can be used

by universities to compare or build their IT leadership profiles. The study examines the education,

experience, and other skills requirements in 374 active and archived electronic web advertisements for the

position of CIO. It also looks at the expected job requirements for that role. The findings suggest that

universities’ criteria and requirements for CIOs may vary based on factors such as the organization size and

needs, the complexity of the organizational structure, and available budget, but are overall comparable with

those of other industries.

1 INTRODUCTION

With the rapid developments of Information

technologies, and the growing cost associated with

it, higher education institutions are shifting to

sustainable, long term, strategic approaches for their

IT function (Nelson, 2003).Today, more Chief

Information Officers (CIOs) are reporting directly to

their organization’s Chief Executive Officers

(CEOs) and serving on the organization’s executive

management team (Zastrocky, 2000). However, this

new direction is not trouble-free. Chief Information

Officers in higher education suffer shortage in

number, limited longevity in the job, and an

expected high rate of retirement in the next ten years

(Katz, et al, , 2004), (Brown, 2009). In addition,

despite the increased prevalence of the Chief

Information Officer position, no single model seems

to realistically explain what to be expected of a

Chief Information Officer within the various

organizational contexts (Nelson, 2003).

As higher education institutions plan and

examine their IT performance and long term

strategies; a closer look at the qualifications,

attributes, and expected functions of those who

shape these organizations IT strategy is deemed

appropriate.

Higher education institutions are not only reliant

on information technologies for their managerial and

administrative and managerial needs, but also for

their education delivery needs (Rezgui and Marks,

2008). Although the IT higher education

environment may share many attributes with other

IT environments, the IT higher education

environment has its unique attributes. IT in higher

education tends to be more centralized and in-

sourcing by nature (Brown, 2007). It is also uniquely

characterized by equipment diversity, user diversity,

and a calculated IT security balance between sharing

access to knowledge systems and properly securing

those very same knowledge systems (Rezgui and

Marks, 2008).

The purpose of this paper is to provide an

unbiased picture of what many universities seek and

expect in terms of requirements, attributes,

competencies, and expected functions and duties in

an IT executive candidates, namely Chief

Information Officers.

While this paper does not address which

attributes or functions are more or less appropriate, it

provides a benchmark that can be used by other

universities to compare or build their IT leadership

profiles. The subsequent sections of this paper

present the reader with the study’s literature review,

methodology, findings, discussion and recommen-

dation, and finally the conclusion of this study.

159

Marks A. and Rezgui Y. (2010).

CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER PROFILE IN HIGHER EDUCATION.

In Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems - Databases and Information Systems Integration, pages

159-165

DOI: 10.5220/0002887901590165

 SciTePress

2 RELATED WORK

The title of the senior IT executives in the institution

may vary wildly. According to Brown, (2007), while

the title “IT Director” was the most commonly used

title to refer to the top IT executive within the

organization in surveys between 2003 and 2006; the

2007 survey shows that the “Chief Information

Officer” title is now the most commonly used to

refer to the top IT executive person. For the sake of

this study, references to IT executive leadership and

Chief Information Officers are synonymous.

References to titles such as Chief Information

Officers date back to the 1980s (Synnott, et al,

1981). Early literature suggests that initially Chief

Information Officers appeared in organizations with

emphasis on the effective management of

information; and mainly due to two factors; the first

is the dissatisfaction with the performance or

productivity of information technology

management; and the second is a vision by executive

management that information is of strategic

significance to the organization (Penrod, et al,

1990). As many organizations shifted their IT

management approach from operational-focused to a

strategic-focused, the function of IT management

was also shifted from computer personnel to a

centralized strategist, hence the emergence of the

chief information officer (Alter, 1988). With the

shift of the functions of the Chief Information

Officer, the qualification emphasis was also shifted

from high technical expertise to less technical

expertise and more strategic planning (Nelson,

2003). Today, the Chief Information Officer

function is highly shaped by the primary mission

and culture of the organization. In higher education,

the Chief Information Officer must focus on the

institution’s educational vision, mission, and goals

(Penrod, et al, 1990).

The 2007 Higher Education CIO Effectiveness

Study conducted by Brown provides us with a

glimpse into the profile of today’s CIOs in higher

education. It is important to note that the survey

shows the current status of the Chief Information

Officer level of education, not the status when they

were originally hired for the position. The study

reveals that 57% of the examined CIOs possess a

Master degree in a related discipline, while 17%

possess a doctorate degree, and 22% possess a

bachelor degree. Although supported by studies, it

has also been my observation that CIOs with

undergraduate level of education tend to pursue post

graduate studies after being hired for executive

positions (Katz, et al, 2004). Most of the CIOs

examined majored in disciplines such as business,

computer systems, education, information

technology, and engineering. The study also reveals

that prior to being hired for their current position;

the majority of the examined CIOs had prior IT

experience within higher education. In terms of

organizational hierarchy, the majority of CIOs

reported to the organization’s (CEO) (31%), or the

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) (18%), or other

assorted and academic VPs (30%). In addition, most

of the examined CIOs were members of the

organization’s executive committee. Brown’s study

reveals a more optimistic numbers than early studies

in terms of CIO’s tenure. The average number of

years spent by a CIO in his/her position averaged 7

years compared to 3 years in earlier studies. When

asked about the most important and least important

roles within their job description, most of the

surveyed CIOs viewed providing IT support and

contract oversight to be the most important roles

within their job description, while they viewed

organizational strategic planning and revising

business process, and educating employees as the

least important roles within their job description

(Brown, 2007).

Nelson (2003) views the CIO role as one that

requires the directorship of business factors,

technical factors, and organizational and behavioural

factors. He also suggests that CIOs should be able to

manage relationship with relevant others; convey

relevance and value of IT; and plan and implement

IT-Based solutions. Penrod (1990) summarizes the

primary responsibility of the CIO in aligning the

information technology enterprise with the mission

and goals of the institution. Brown (2007) suggests

that for CIOs to be effective, they should possess

communication skills, IT knowledge, political

sensibility, and strategic business knowledge. He

further explains that communication skills may

include the CIO’s fluency in the business language,

his or her fluency in the language of higher

education as well, and the ability to communicate

and present information in non-technical terms;

while IT knowledge may include an in-depth

understanding of how IT is applied in the

organization, the ability to use current IT resources

to fill institutional requirements, the ability to use

new technologies for the institution, and familiarity

with the acquisition of IT. Political sensibility may

include the ability to assess situations that might be

challenging and confrontational, the ability to work

well with the majority of people; and finally

strategic Business Knowledge may include

knowledge of institutional offerings; understanding

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of market and business process, and familiarity with

competition.

Recent studies on the role of the CIO within

higher education suggest that in addition to

managing the IT enterprise within the organization,

CIOs should become more active within their

executive management role by making contribution

to the development and management of business

strategies and directions rather than being

constrained to role of IT communicator. Being a

member of the university executive team, the 21st

century, a CIO is expected to participate in

university’s’ political and public relations, financial

issues, general strategy. CIOs should understand the

CEO concerns and they should communicate with

the executive team in regular basis (Katz, et al,

2004), (Zastrocky, 2000).

3 METHODOLOGY

This study examined the findings from 374 active

and archived electronic web advertisements for the

position of CIO between the periods of January of

2007 and October of 2009. 282 of the examined

advertisements came from various higher education

institutions, while the remaining 92 came from other

industries. The study itself took place between May

and November of 2009. This study examines the

common attributes that shapes the profile of the CIO

universities seek to hire. The profile includes key

qualifications, competencies, attributes, and

expected duties. In addition, the study briefly

compares the examined CIO profiles in higher

education with their parallels in other industries.

While the study seeks to reveal what

many

universities seek in a CIO, the study does not

address why

universities seek these specific

attributes. It should also be noted that universities

criteria and requirements for a CIO may vary based

on factors such as the organization size and needs,

the complexity of the organizational structure,

available budget, and other factors that fall outside

the scope of this paper, mainly because their

influence before the ad is drafted is stronger than

after. Perhaps, this is the subject of another study.

For the sake of this study, we assume that most

universities make a rational decision of what they

seek in a CIO. To conduct a comprehensive review

of the attributes and the function expected of a CIO,

several electronic web sites and databases were

searched including higheredjobs.com, educause.edu,

chronicle.com, monster.com, careerbuilder.com, and

several large universities web sites including

University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill,

University of Central Florida, Carnegie Mellon

University, Texas A&M University, and George

Town University.

The study looks at four major sections within the

advertisements, they are: required education,

required experience, other requirements and

preferences, and job description and expected

functions. The following research question has been

identified to guide the investigation:

1. What are the key qualifications sought by

universities when hiring Chief Information Officers?

2. What are the main duties expected from a

Chief Information Officer?

4 FINDINGS

Universities seek a number of factors when seeking

CIOs. In almost 96% of the examined

advertisements, the criteria sought included

education, experience in IT management, and

experience in related industry. None of the examined

advertisements sought only a single criterion. The

findings also revealed a consistency in the order of

the listed criteria; which may seem to reflect the

level of emphasis on those criteria. In 84% of the

examined advertisements, education was listed first,

followed by the required number of years of

experience in IT management, followed by

experience in the related industry, and then followed

by additional requirements. Education and the

number of years of experience are usually listed as

requirements, while experience in the related field

and other preferences are usually listed as highly

desirable. A small percentage of the examined

advertisement (4%) did not list required attributes,

and only focused on expected responsibilities.

4.1 Required Education

In terms of the required level of education, this study

indicates that almost all examined universities (96%)

seeking CIOs required a minimum level of

education. Education is usually listed as the first

requirement. 76% of the examined advertisements

required a minimum level of education of a Master

degree, while 11% of the examined advertisements

required a minimum level of a doctorate degree, and

9% required a minimum level of a Bachelor degree.

4% of the examined advertisements did not list

education as one of the qualifications. In reference to

relevant education disciplines, 62% of the examined

advertisements listed more than three possible

CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER PROFILE IN HIGHER EDUCATION

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disciplines, while the remaining 38% listed less than

three possible disciplines. The majority of

disciplines listed included information technology,

information systems, management of information

systems, computer science, management,

engineering, and education. Depending on the

minimum level of education required, some of the

advertisements allowed for substitution between

education and experience. A graduate degree may be

substituted for two years of the required experience.

4.2 Required Work Experience

In terms of required work experience, 53% of the

examined cases required a minimum of 10 years of

prior-related working experience, while 32%

required a minimum working experience of 7 years,

4% required less than 7 years of experience, and 4%

required more than 15 years of experience. 7% of

the examined cases did not list the required number

of years of experience; instead they used other

qualitative terms such as “Extensive Experience” or

“significant experience” to describe the required

level of prior work experience. This study also

revealed that 93% of the examined advertisements

listed applicable and related experience in higher

education, management, or IT management as a

condition, without listing any requirements in terms

of prior roles. Only 7% of the examined cases listed

something in line with “prior working experience as

a Chief Information Officer or an IT manager is

required” or “previous work experience in Higher

Education, as an Information Technology Manager

required”. 72% of the examined advertisements

listed prior higher education experience in IT as

highly desirable, while 15% listed it as a

requirement, and 13% did not include it as a

criterion in their advertisements. 70% of the

International higher education institutions examined

listed prior international experience as a preference

as well, while 21% listed it as a requirement, and 9%

did not list it as a criterion in their advertisements.

4.3 Other Requirements and

Preferences

Based on the needs of the university and the special

requirements of the position, some the

advertisements for a CIO included a statement

listing specific requirements or additional

preferences. 87% of the examined advertisements

listed excellent leadership, management,

interpersonal, communication, organization, and

collaborative skills as a condition, while 63% of the

examined advertisements listed technical

competence; knowledge of current and emerging

information technologies; broad knowledge of

networking, information security,

telecommunications, administrative systems,

education-delivery systems, web technologies and

user support services as a requirement as well. Only

24% of the examined advertisements listed

knowledge of project management concepts, tools

and techniques as a requirement. 28% of the

examined advertisements required broad knowledge

of developments in academic and administrative

information technologies. Strong customer service

orientation; and the ability to build consensus for

strategy and execution among diverse constituents

were also listed among other requirements in 22% of

the examined advertisements.

In terms of specific technical knowledge, 52% of

the examined advertisements required experience in

one or more of the following: specific software

development methods, specific platforms, specific

protocols, specific application systems, or specific

set of technical skills, while 31% listed a general

statement in line with “ability and experience with a

variety of computing environments”. The remaining

17% did not specify any technical requirements. The

examined advertisements also revealed other

requirements such as experience and skill managing

departmental fiscal responsibilities (41%); prior

experience within a research, teaching, or academic

environment (46%); and the ability to effectively

establish and maintain cooperative working

relationships within a diverse multicultural

environment (8%). 28% required an understanding

of the unique character of higher education

institutions, including shared governance, academic

culture and the expectations and needs of the

different constituents.

4.4 Principal Duties and Reporting

Structure

In 36% of the examined advertisements, it was

found that the title of the CIO was joined with the

title “Vice President of Information Technology”. In

32% of the examined advertisements the title of the

CIO was joined with the title “Executive Director of

Information Technology”. In 22% of the examined

advertisements, the title of the CIO was not joined

with any other titles; and in 10% of the examined

advertisements, the title was joined with an

“Associate or Assistant - Vice President”,

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“Associate or Assistant - Provost” or “Associate or

Assistant - Chancellor” title. While the reporting

structure may be obvious for some titles such as

“Associate Provost & CIO” or “Associate

Chancellor & CIO”; the case may be different for

other titles such as “Executive Director/CIO or just

“CIO”.

Only 78% of the examined advertisements listed

the reporting structure of the CIO position. While

98% of the examined advertisements described a

single direct line of reporting; 2% reported a dual

line of reporting (Primary and secondary). In these

cases, the CIO reported primarily to the Provost and

secondary to the V.P of Finance and Administration.

90% of CIOs with a Vice President title did not

report directly to the president; instead they reported

to senior vice presidents or Executive vice

Presidents. 88% of CIOs with Executive Director

Title reported to other vice presidents such as V.P of

Planning and V.P Administration. Only 12%

reported to non-V.P title such as the president or the

provost. Similarly, CIOs with associate or assistant

V.P title (100%) reported directly to other V.Ps such

as the Vice President of Finance and Administration

(86%) or the Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs

(14%). Finally, CIOs with no other title associated

reported to a variety of other executive positions

such as the chancellor, the provost, and the CEO.

82% of the examined advertisements reported that

the CIO is expected to serves as a member of the

senior or executive administrative council or

committee.

In terms of principal duties, 84% of the

examined advertisements reported that the CIO is

expected to provide vision and direction in line with

the university’s overarching vision and strategic

plans; leverage the use of technology to transform

higher education administration, teaching and

learning, research and collaboration; and manage all

aspects relating to information technology (IT) at the

University, including staffing, budgeting, planning,

purchasing, and policy development. In 74% of the

examined advertisements, universities listed that the

CIO is responsible for the planning, development,

coordination, and implementation of the university

IT strategy, IT policies, and IT systems that support

the strategy of the university. 58% of the examined

advertisements specified the number of staff and the

expected annual budget the CIO is expected to

manage.

While the majority of advertisements used broad

language as shown above, 28% were more specific

in terms of what is expected of a CIO. For instance,

some of the advertisements listed that

responsibilities include oversight of Information

Security, Application Technology Support

(including academic and administrative systems),

Classroom Technology Support (including media

services and class/lab support), and Infrastructure

Technology Services (including

telecommunications, network services and help

desk). Others stated that the CIO is expected to serve

three types of internal stakeholders: faculty,

students, and administrators. The CIO serves faculty

by providing the computing systems necessary to

support teaching and research. He serves students by

providing them with the resources required to

support their classroom and online activities. The

CIO supports administrators by providing them with

the ability to manage the university enterprise

system to facilitate business operations. The CIO

plays a key role in the support of the College's

growing on-line education initiatives and works

closely with faculty on research grants and grant

opportunities.

In general, it was found in more than 70% of the

examined advertisements that universities expect

CIO to do many, if not all of the following

functions:

 Oversee University-wide IT governance;

facilitate discussion of IT plans and policies at all

levels of the administration; work with the IT

area and University to prioritize activities and

plan initiatives that are in line with the strategic

objectives and mission of the University; and

serve on the University’s IT Steering Committee.

 Manage IT architecture; maintain standards and

develop appropriate guidelines for the

deployment of information technologies

throughout the University.

 Manage IT acquisitions to enhance and expand

enterprise applications to streamline the business

processes of the University.

 Oversee IT security expanding upon the

computer and network infrastructure and security

planning for the campus.

 Update IT policies as required by external

regulations and to reinforce the appropriate use

of technology.

 Promote and enhance collaborative

communication.

 Obtain convergence of IT at all levels — not just

structures.

 Continue to work on enhancing a positive culture

at the University regarding IT.

CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER PROFILE IN HIGHER EDUCATION

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 Advance the development (training) of IT staff in

areas of technical skills, customer service, and

overall professionalism.

 Provide a University-wide training program for

administrative applications, learning

management systems, productivity applications

and exposure to new technologies.

 Direct strategic initiatives to significantly

increase the University’s online presence.

 Coordinate initiatives to minimize duplication of

effort, realize operating efficiencies, minimize

costs, and bring process improvements to the

University. The following sections discuss the

findings of this study and puts recommendations

forward.

5 DISCUSSION AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

As the findings of this study indicate, the CIO is the

highest IT executive position that usually reports to

a senior executive authority such as the provost,

CEO, or an executive vice president. In most cases,

the CIO title is joined with Vice President, associate,

or assistant, for Information Technology title. The

CIO is often a member of the university’s executive

or senior committee. Reporting to the CIO is a

number of directors in charge of networking,

communication, enterprise and applications support,

help desk support, IT security, IT training, IT project

management, IT reporting, web services, etc. Each

director may have directly a number of staff

members reporting to him/her or indirectly through a

manager(s). Again, based on the organization

structure and the size and the need of the

organization; in some universities some of the above

functions are combined under the leadership of one

director, while in other universities, these functions

could be individually assigned.

The CIO profile in higher education seems to be

highly competitive with those of other industries.

While most of the requirements were almost

identical in terms of minimum level of education,

required experience, and other IT competencies; one

of the main differences was prior experience within

related industry. The findings if this study indicates

that most universities seeking CIOs shared the

following basic requirements:

 A minimum level of education of a Master

degree in a discipline such as information

technology, information systems, management of

information systems, computer science,

management engineering, and education.

 A minimum of 10 years of related work

experience in IT management, preferably in

higher education.

 Technical competence; knowledge of current and

emerging information technologies; broad

knowledge of networking, information security,

telecommunications, administrative systems,

education-delivery systems, web technologies

and user support services.

 Excellent leadership, management, interper-

sonal, communication, organization and collabo-

rative skills.

Experience in one or more of the following:

specific software development methods, specific

platforms, specific protocols, specific application

systems, or specific set of technical skills

While these basic requirements were shared

among many universities, fewer universities listed

additional requirements such as:

 Knowledge of project management concepts,

tools and techniques.

 Broad knowledge of developments in academic

and administrative information technologies.

 Strong customer service orientation; and the

ability to build consensus for strategy and

execution among diverse constituents.

 Experience and skill managing departmental

fiscal responsibilities.

 Prior experience within a research, teaching, or

academic environment.

 Ability to effectively establish and maintain

cooperative working relationships within a

diverse multicultural environment.

 Understanding of the unique character of higher

education institutions, including shared

governance, academic culture and the

expectations and needs of the different

constituents.

Many of the examined advertisements indicated

the reporting structure and a brief synopsis about the

university. Only 41% of the examined

advertisements included information about expected

compensation and other benefits. Only half of the

examined advertisements included information

about the size of the IT department to be managed or

the annual budget. Although the positions advertised

are full time positions, the number of working hours

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164

(usually 40) was not listed in the majority of the

advertisements.

In terms of principal duties, the CIO is expected

to provide vision and direction in line with the

university’s overarching vision and strategic plans;

leverage the use of technology to transform higher

education administration, teaching and learning,

research and collaboration; manage all aspects

relating to information technology (IT) at the

University, including staffing, budgeting, planning,

purchasing, and policy development. The role of the

CIO is no longer restricted to the technical realm;

CIOs must engage themselves in the management of

the university not only the IT enterprise.

6 CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study provide universities and

IT personnel with important information regarding

what many universities regard as appropriate

attributes and expected duties of IT executive

leadership in higher education. The paper lists

education, work experience, and other skills

minimum requirements; and it also describes the key

duties expected of a CIO. The findings of this study

suggest that higher education requirements are

highly comparable with those of other industries.

With all things being equal, prior experience in

higher education IT management was the key

difference.

There are a number of things that universities can

do to improve the advertisement and selection

process of a CIO:

 Include salary range information in the

advertisements.

 Include a brief statement describing possible

remuneration package.

 Include the number of personnel expected to be

managed.

 Include the number of divisions or sub-units

expected to be managed.

 Include the annual budget expected to be

managed.

 Use quantitative terms to describe requirements

instead of qualitative terms such as “significant

experience” as the latter tend to be subjective.

 Include enough details of what is expected of a

CIO in the advertisements, not only main

themes.

 Include a statement encouraging minorities and

special groups to apply for the position.

The inclusion of the above items in the

advertisement will help both universities and

candidates. Institution should reflect a true picture of

what they seek and what they expect without

appearing vague or deceiving. Some institutions,

especially those with “less-than-competitive”

salaries don’t advertise pay information. Instead,

they use pompous language to attract candidates to

apply for the position. The inclusion of the above

information will save the candidates and the

universities time, effort, and cost; and allow them to

focus on their target area. It will also help

universities eliminate inadequate candidates early on

the process. With the shortage of Chief Information

Officers and the expected rate of retirement in

higher education, universities should reach out to

diverse groups, especially women to maintain

leadership continuity in IT executive leadership.

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