Open-Source in Higher Education: Decision-Making for Open-Source Adoptions

Open-source solutions have appeared to take root in the higher education community, with consortiums being formed for cooperative development, and new businesses launching based on the concept. College and university stakeholders are increasingly encountering open-source applications on their desktops and servers, while higher education-specific applications are under development for portals, financial management, and learning management, among others.

While the rationale for institutions’ interest in open-source has generally tended to highlight avoiding the high costs of proprietary software, Eduventures' research indicates that the drivers are more diverse. The most prominent theme influencing institutional decision-makers that emerged was overall “control of destiny,” with an emphasis on managing support, sustainable economics, and ongoing innovation for IT solutions.

This report focuses on the adoption of open-source as a sourcing strategy for application-level administrative and instructional systems (e.g., ERP, learning management systems, portals). In addition, a series of institutional case studies (e.g., Indiana University, Case Western Reserve, Middlesex Community College) offer insight into the decisions and directions pursued by senior IT administrators.

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