The Financing and Organization of Computing in Higher Education: 1971.

The key issues of the EDUCOM 1971 Spring Conference were the development of new mechanisms to supply computing to colleges and of the means to deliver this computing at lower cost. In the keynote address the history of computing in higher education was reviewed, emphasizing the changes caused by the dwindling manufacturer discounts, the disappearance of National Science Foundation grants, and the general change in federal policy regarding computer funding. Two other papers were presented which reinforced the notion of radical change. One reported the development of a single centralized agency to supply computing to all the campuses in a single state; the other described the development of an independent corporation to supply computing to the university and other agencies, both educational and commercial. Thirteen parallel discussions followed the presentation of these papers. They looked at ways to perserve the existing forms of campus computer centers and at radical alternatives; the computer center as an independent organization; the regional center as an alternative to the on-campus computer; the ultimate concept of a national network of computer centers. The final discussions centered on the relationship of computing to special classes of users: administrative offices,libraries, and medical schools. (JY)