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IT Security: Does it make the Grade?
12/29/2005
Straw poll finds IT security a priority in higher education—albeit an underfunded one.
THE 2005 REPORT CARD |
|
| Security Element | Grade |
|---|---|
| Administration Priority | A– |
| Faculty Support | B |
| Student Support | C– |
| Administration Support | B+ |
| Funding | C |
| Staff Time | C |
| Overall Security Profile | B– |
| While administration and faculty commitment to IT security earned high scores, funding and staff time allocations received lower marks, as did student support. Source: “CDW-G Higher Ed Security Report Card 2005.” Used with permission. | |
CDW-G has released the results of its informal 2005 sampling of 102 higher education IT professionals on the topic of IT security. In an attempt to understand barriers to improving IT security on campus, survey questions were designed to gauge levels of support by administration, faculty, and students for IT initiatives, as well as to examine administrative prioritization, staffing, and funding. Researchers assigned “grades” based on participant responses, and CDW-G issued a “report card” for 2005.
A’s and B’s for faculty and administrators. Among the key takeaways from the brief study is that IT security is not “counter to the culture” in higher education: 69 percent of respondents characterized it as a top or very high priority for administrators, 73 percent said that faculty support security policies, and 87 percent reported that security policies are supported by their executive administration. Clearly, IT security makes the grade as a priority in higher education institutions.
Funding, staffing, and students get C’s or lower. Despite the priority recognition of IT security on campus, lack of funding is a significant barrier to improving security—identified by 50 percent of respondents as their biggest barrier.
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