31st October 2006 Staff Access to ICT Based Communications in Further and Higher Education A JISC-funded study Louise Cooke and Helen Greenwood

31st October 2006 About the Day  Introductions and welcome  Programme for the day  Project findings  Peter Falconer, Lauder College  Clare Holden, Loughborough College  Claire Bradshaw, Loughborough University  Discussion Forum and JISC update

31st October 2006 Aims of the Project  Investigate restrictions on staff access to ICT- based communications in FE and HE  What groups of staff are affected by restrictions on access?  What factors contribute to restricted access?  What impact do restrictions have on the efficiency and effectiveness of institutions and individuals?  Identify examples of best practice.

31st October 2006 Methodological Approach  Desk research  Questionnaire survey  Survey design and piloting  Target population  Case studies  Selection of sites  Semi-structured interviews  Review of policies

31st October 2006 The Questionnaire Survey  Response from one third of both sectors  Typically received from Heads of IT/ IS or ILT/ e-learning / Learning Resources Managers  Data analysis  By sector  Presentation of data

31st October 2006 Questionnaire and Case Study Themes  Institutional communication and access policies  Electronic and hard copy information dissemination  Who has restricted access to ICT?  What effect does this have for the individual and for the institution?  ICT training and skills  Current initiatives to improve access and institutional communication.

31st October 2006 The Case Studies Six sites were visited:  Causeway Institute  Lauder College  Loughborough College  University of Wales, Bangor  University of Chichester  Loughborough University …

31st October 2006 The Case Studies cont. A range of personnel were interviewed, including:  IT and/or Information Services  Estates Department  Equality and Diversity  E-learning Champion  Staff Development and Human Resources  Teaching staff  Trade Union representative

31st October 2006 Findings: Communications Policies  Many do not have a formal policy, but strategy documents commit to increased use of e- communication  FE significantly more likely to have policies than HE  LC has ‘Electronic Communication Policy’, Chichester has ‘Internal Communication Policy’  Move toward electronic information dissemination, but hard copy is still popular: ‘people like paper’.  In around 80% of responding institutions, corporate documentation is made available on paper, but often only on request …

31st October 2006 Communications Policies cont.  Reliance on line managers to cascade information  Development and promotion of intranet  Use of portal solution (Chichester)  Appointment of Director of Corporate Communications (Bangor)

31st October 2006 Findings: Access to PCs  Policies governing principles of access are more common than communications policies

31st October 2006 Access to PCs cont.  PC provision is generally good, with increased use of laptops for loan or home access  Schemes for staff purchase of PCs  All staff entitled to user a/c and and open access facilities are available to all  Recognition of needs of users with visual impairment  Recognition of need for all staff to use ICT …

31st October 2006 Access to PCs cont.  BUT part-time and/or community-based teaching staff often experience access difficulties  Staff employed by contractors are not usually given access  Devolved PC purchasing can lead to inequalities  Manual staff usually have low specification PCs.

31st October 2006 Questionnaire Findings: Factors affecting access 1 Job function68% 2 Geog location38% 3 = Level of ICT skills37% 3 = Type of contract37% 5 Finance32% 6 Status/seniority25% 1 Job function87% 2 Level of ICT skills27% 3 Geog location21% 4 Type of contract19% 5 Finance15% 6 Status/seniority13% FEHE

31st October 2006 ICT Skills and Training  ‘Totally inclusive’ staff development policies vs. institutions where not all staff groups have access to ICT training  Training for staff in manual occupations may have low take-up  Skills levels of teaching personnel are variable  Use of ILT champions  Information literacy skills as important as IT skills  Induction is key opportunity …

31st October 2006 ICT Skills and Training cont.  New systems drive training needs  Time constraints limit opportunities for training, especially for PT and non-desk- based staff  Peer mentoring/buddying  Good examples of special initiatives for manual staff  Importance of leadership and ‘culture of learning’

31st October 2006 Drivers of wider ICT use  Government funding initiatives and quality reviews, e.g. DEL e-learning strategy in N. Ireland, IiP  Increased use of ILT  Impact of implementation of new e-systems (e.g. e-registration, facilities management and finance)  Information overload

31st October 2006 Technological Initiatives  Electronic Independent Student Learning Agreements (ISLAs), e-registers, e-finance systems, e-facilities management systems etc.  Potential of mobile, handheld and wireless technologies  VoIP technology  ‘Personalisation’ of the learning environment via SMS, podcasts etc.

31st October 2006 Other Initiatives  ICT training initiatives  IT Awareness Week  Targeting of information dissemination  Initiatives to achieve upwards communication

31st October 2006 Challenges and Barriers  Fear, apprehension and ‘inverse snobbery’  Lack of motivation or perception of need  Intranets can become ‘bulging’ and difficult to navigate  Reliance on line managers can lead to patchy information provision  Line managers’ attitudes, especially with regard to trust …

31st October 2006 Challenges and Barriers cont.  Lack of systems integration  Geographic location especially distributed estates  Financial considerations  Manual staff and PT staff face particular barriers  24/7 culture  Need to retain ‘personal touch’

31st October 2006 Emergent Themes  Motivation is a bigger issue than PC access  Need to secure support and engagement of managerial and supervisory staff at all levels  How information is communicated is more important than what technology is provided

31st October 2006 Implications and Further Work  Methods appeared satisfactory to achieve aims and objectives  Potential to learn from existing examples of good communication practice  Managing information overload  Policy development, dissemination and implementation guidelines  Longitudinal approach to measure improvement over time

31st October 2006 Acknowledgments  JISC  Questionnaire pilots  Questionnaire respondents  Case study participants  LISU staff PLEASE ASK QUESTIONS!

31st October 2006 DISCUSSION POINTS  JISC – Future directions  Observations and questions from today’s sessions  How do these findings compare with your own experience and practice?  Do you have any examples of initiatives in your own institution to add to those already discussed?  What should be the balance between hard copy and electronic information provision?  Would it be useful to have guidelines for policy development in this area?  How can we evaluate progress in this area?  Has today been useful for you?