ABSTRACT
The rising scrutiny on the costs and benefits of higher education will only heighten this strategic movement. By strategically shifting more towards the utilization of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud computing, academic institutions can position themselves to better serve their constituents and the student experience. Colleges and universities must embrace the digital push in order to address the challenges currently facing higher education, and each driver of change holds its own relevance to the cloud. Given technology's ability to drastically change the way people work and live, the cloud offers an attractive vision for reducing costs while continuing to provide dependable services. Taking advantage of the promise of the Cloud in order to provide more service at a lower cost seems straightforward and simple enough, but clearly the considerations can be more nuanced and complex than anticipated. Faculty and students are aware of the new ideas and tools all around them, bringing them in to try out constantly.
