Assessing the Academic Networked
Environment: A CNI Project

PUBLICATION ANNOUNCEMENT

ASSESSING THE ACADEMIC NETWORKED ENVIRONMENT:
Strategies and Options

Charles R. McClure and Cynthia L. Lopata
135 pages pbk, $15, ISBN 0-918006-28-7, 1996

The Coalition for Networked Information is pleased to announce the availability of a manual that offers guidance to the academic networked community in measuring the impact and effectiveness of network services.

"Assessing the Academic Networked Environment: Strategies and Options " is an outgrowth of a 1995 study conducted by Charles R. McClure and Cynthia L. Lopata, Syracuse University School of Information Studies, and funded by the U.S. Department of Education, on campus network effectiveness.

The manual acknowledges that in a time of rapid technological change and scarce resources, many higher education institutions have "built significant networks and have connected to the Internet [but may] have little knowledge of how such connectivity has affected the academic institution." It also notes that there has been little research to date on this subject.

The manual helps decision makers work through key questions in assessing their networks:

• What is the volume and type of networking taking place on the academic campus?

• Who are the users accessing the network and what types of services do they utilize?

• How much do the various types of network services and activities cost?

• How has access to and use of the networked information resources and services affected teaching, research, learning, service, and other aspects of academic life?

The authors recommend the manual as the "beta version" of a work in an ongoing process of "testing, refinement, and rewriting." They emphasize that it provides strategies and options that should be considered when assessing the networked environment, and they anticipate that it will be revised and expanded in the future.

The manual includes issues and topics to be considered in collecting and using qualitative data, outlines a variety of measures to be considered, and provides a sample user survey and data collection forms. Part I introduces basic evaluation concepts, Part II discusses techniques for collecting and using qualitative data, Part III introduces procedures for producing quantitative measures, and Part IV is an example user survey. It also includes assessment tools as well as information on the software products that may be considered in the assessment process.

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Assessing the Academic Networked Environment:
Strategies and Options

Charles R. McClure and Cynthia L. Lopata
135 pages pbk, $15, ISBN 0-918006-28-7, 1996

How to Order

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