Where Are Business Schools in the Computerization Process? 

Business schools today are allocating about the same ratio of their overall budget to support information technology as in 1985, according to recently released results of the Fourteenth Annual UCLA Computer Usage Survey, which is conducted in cooperation with AACSB. The 1997 ratio of 3.3 percent represented a drop from the peak of 4.6 percent in 1993. The average number of business school-owned microcomputers, 244, also declined from the 1993 peak of 258. The figure emphasizes that although budgets have returned to the level of a decade ago, the average number of microcomputer systems supported is three times what it was in the mid '80s.

The overall decrease may reflect several factors, including sample variations, as well as the fact that for many schools, the basic infrastructure (networks and computers) is in place and, therefore, they can allocate less to this area. There also is some indication that individual faculty and departments are making their own purchases and these numbers are reflected in the overall allocation numbers. 

The operating budget data, when viewed from the quartile perspective, reveal that the top quartile schools allocate over 5 percent of their total school budget to the computing operating budget and the second quartile schools allocate over 4 percent. These allocations were 3 percent and 2 percent for the third and fourth quartile schools.

The 1997 survey extends the focus of the previous surveys, providing a comprehensive overview of the business school computing, communication and information environment for 252 schools from 15 countries. It is conducted by Jason Frand, assistant dean and director, computing and information services at the UCLA Anderson School, and Julia Britt, assistant professor of management at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

"Business schools seem to be moving toward greater student microcomputer ownership," said Frand, "with 29 percent of the undergraduate, 42 percent of the MBA and 49 percent of the EMBA programs recommending or requiring ownership. Yet, student ownership implies expectations for greater use than the schools may be able to achieve," he added.

In some areas, the gap between the schools is narrowing. For example, in the 1985 survey, top quartile schools had on average 13 times as many computers available for faculty as fourth quartile schools. This year, they only have twice as many systems available. For students, in 1985 the top quartile schools had on average 16 times as many computers available for students as fourth quartile schools, while today it only is nine times as many systems. "The area where the gap continues to be quite significant is training," said Frand, "with the top quartile schools able to provide more out-of-class training experiences to supplement computer use than fourth quartile schools."

The survey reveals that paying for technology remains a critical issue and many schools, public and private, supplement their computing operating budget with computer fees. The percent of schools with fees has doubled in the past four years, going from 45 percent to 80 percent for undergraduates and 32 percent to 70 percent for MBA programs. Recognizing that computer use can apply to all courses, the fees are now per semester or per quarter, rather than by class.

"The major developments in the operations area dealt with the addition of Web staff and outsourcing," said Frand. "Fifty-four percent of the schools responded that they have allocated staff exclusive to Web development. The remaining schools have given the Web responsibility to others." Collected for the first time this year, the outsourcing data showed that about one-half of the schools relied exclusively on the central university for telecommunication support and for Internet and Web services. Additionally, about 10 percent of the schools rely on commercial organizations for all Web development and maintenance.

"Over the past eight years, business schools have consistently allocated about 40 percent of their microcomputers to a lab setting," said Frand. "Nearly all schools (97 percent) reported their lab equipment as networked. However, this year, for the first time, 21 percent of the schools reported computer labs with zero computers, that is, computerless labs with just networked ports available for students to plug in their laptops," he said.

About 20 percent of the undergraduate programs and 30 percent of the MBA programs report they have computer entrance requirements. The new Web-related skills have been added to the previous graduation requirements by 12 percent of the schools.

"This year, required computer usage in the core curriculum is at its highest level in the history of the surveys," said Frand. Overall, 77 percent of the undergraduate core courses and 72 percent of the MBA core courses have at least some required computer component. Two areas of exceptionally high growth are database and Email usage. "Not only are more on-line databases available, greater numbers of users are accessing them," said Frand. For the first time, regular Email usage was reported as over 80 percent for faculty and staff and over 65 percent for students.

Another impressive shift in the data over the past 14 years is networked connectivity. The thrust of schools in 1985 was to acquire microcomputer systems, with only 14 percent of the schools reporting having more than two-thirds of their systems networked. Today, while the average number of microcomputer systems has tripled, networked computers have become the standard.

Other findings showed 85 percent of the business schools with access to distance learning and teleconferencing equipment, but only 39 percent with regular usage for instruction. Further, required on-line student use of databases and information resources has grown substantially, reflecting the power of the Web. Reminiscent of the early surveys when there would be 25 different word processing packages on the market, each offering something slightly different, the schools identified 108 separate Web tool software packages.

Detailed appendices in the report identify key benchmarking metrics by business schools, including computer ownership requirements and microcomputer and staff density ratios, as well as innovations in the areas of curriculum, Web development and the technological environment.

The executive summary of the survey can be found at http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/faculty/jason.frand/researcher/survey/14exsum.htm

Schools participating in the survey received a free copy of the report. Additional copies can be ordered by sending a check for $50 per copy to: Jason L. Frand, Assistant Dean, Computing and Information Services, The Anderson School at UCLA,110 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1481