The Role of the Chief Information Officer in Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study

David F. Colucci

doi:10.17918/00000740

The higher education chief information officer (CIO) role has evolved into a position that requires maintaining leadership skills, political relationships, and comprehension of far-reaching technical complexities (Nicolet, 2011). The role requires communication savvy, oversight of various teams, leadership experience, comprehension of financial resources, and the awareness of the business of higher education (Maas, 2010). Despite these responsibilities, in most cases, a CIO's position in institutions exists as a second-in-command to a top management team (TMT) member rather than existing as an equal and independent member of the top management team (Heller, 2009). Only 33% of CIOs in higher education report directly to the highest leadership, such as a president. Meaning, the overwhelming majority of CIOs report to a subordinate of the president, usually a CFO, COO, or CEO. 61% of CIOs in higher education were also members of the TMT. Therefore, in most cases a CIO either reports to a TMT member and are not on the TMT or report to a TMT member and concurrently are on the TMT. All of this is true, despite significant distributions of technology into higher education strategies (Brown, 2018). This research uses sub-questions related to the CIO's leadership location in the hierarchy, as deputy leaders to TMT members, to uncover the actions needed to continue meeting the strategic goals of higher education institutions. The purpose of this phenomenological research is to explore the experiences of higher education CIO's who have reported to a member of the TMT. The researcher focuses explicitly on CIOs who are in that position, adjacent to other leadership, while reporting to another TMT member and their management of responsibilities from an effectiveness, focus, and challenges standpoint. The research reveals the actions needed for CIOs to optimize their presence in achieving the strategic goals of higher education institutions. In the findings, CIO-participants describe their experiences with balancing their role's efficacy, maintaining focus, and overcoming the challenges faced while reporting to a TMT member. CIO-participants reported that they had difficulties leading in their institutions while reporting to a TMT member, including differences in perspective and political complications. The researcher identifies the cohesions among their views on strategic alignment of technology with higher education while a deputy to a TMT member. The researcher's recommendations result from the following cohesions: 1) expanding capabilities of their roles through relationship with TMT members, 2) maintaining awareness of HEI strategies to create consistencies with technology, and 3) help progress the institutions strategies through partnerships and the understanding the TMT members' motivations. The researcher recommends three future studies. The first is to review chief information officers' proactive (strategic) and reactive (operational) abilities. Many CIOs suggested that their level of responsibility in the institution hinged on whether their immediate supervisor viewed technology as a strategy (proactive) or a utility (or reactive or operational). The second to review the need for leadership training for members of the TMT and upcoming staff members at the institutions as CIO-participants noted that improved leadership skills were needed among top leaders in HEIs. The third recommendation is to develop a study that uses a group of CIOs and TMT members to discuss technology communications between them; this communication should consider informing and articulating technology clearly to TMT members.

The Role of the Chief Information Officer in Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study

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The Role of the Chief Information Officer in Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study

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