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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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