UCISA

UCISA is the Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association for the UK.

UCISA represents the whole of higher education, and increasingly further education, in the provision and development of academic, management and administrative information systems, providing a network of contacts and a powerful lobbying voice.

Details

(sourced from http://www.ucisa.ac.uk/about.aspx)

UCISA represents almost all the major UK universities and higher education colleges and has a growing membership among further education colleges, other educational institutions and commercial organisations interested in information systems and technology in UK education, providing a network of contacts and a powerful lobbying voice.

Information systems and technology are increasingly important in further and higher education. Government, funding bodies and powerful commercial interests recognise this, each bringing its agenda and initiatives to bear on individual institutions. In this ever more complex and demanding climate, UCISA plays a vital role as the key membership organisation representing those responsible for delivering information systems and technology services in universities, colleges and related institutions.

Although primarily focused on the higher education sector, increasing integration, shared concerns and strengthening relationships across all sectors mean that UCISA membership is of value to many other types of educational institution.

UCISA is also important to those with a commercial interest in the education sector, especially through the annual conferences, which provide a unique opportunity to meet and communicate with those involved in information systems and technology delivery within universities and colleges.

UCISA is an open, impartial and representative association. It provides a national and international presence for the people who make information systems and services work. It helps them to share best practice, maximise cost effectiveness, develop ideas and inform and support policy making within their institution, nationally and internationally.

Aims

UCISA exists to promote excellence in the application of information systems and services in support of teaching, learning, research and administration in higher and further education.

Its aims are:

• To identify best practice and to spread its use through
  • the organisation of conferences, seminars and workshops;
  • the promotion and support of collaboration between institutions;
  • the publication, including electronic publication, of material;
  • the promotion of development and research;
• To inform and support policy making processes within institutions and nationally on the cost effective application of information systems and services.

History

On the 1st April 1993, the Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association, UCISA came into being. Its formation was a direct response to the 1992 Education Act which created a single higher education sector by the removal of the binary line between universities and polytechnics/colleges of HE, and allowed the polytechnics and some of the colleges to become universities. The creation of UCISA was enabled by the merger of three bodies - IUCC, the Inter-University Computing Committee, PCCC, the Polytechnics and Colleges Computer Committee and MISC, the Management Information Systems Committee.

The three bodies established a Transition Group of three members from each of them, which in three months created the structure necessary to allow UCISA to come into being.

It established a body that represents the entire higher education, and increasingly further education, sectors on all matters concerning information systems, from the largest university to the smallest college.

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