Planning for an Uncertain Future: A U.S. Perspective on Why Accurate Predictions about Icts May Be Difficult

Abstract

This article analyses some of the ways in which information and communication technologies (ICTs) are being employed as possible solutions to the triad of pressures facing U.S. research universities: (a) holding down costs, (b) providing access to an increasingly diverse demographic, and (c) maintaining quality. It presents the preliminary results of a large research project investigating the economic and pedagogical impacts of technology enhancements in a large lecture course at the University of California, Berkeley. This study’s findings, as well as a review of activities taking place throughout the United States, show that student expectations and backgrounds, the pace of technological change, financing of ICTs, demands of public stakeholders, and the emergence of new competitive markets are among the multiple pressures faced by U.S. research universities as they plan for the future.