Best Practices in Open Source in Higher Education Study 

The State of Open Source Software

 by Rob Abel, March 1, 2006

This report is the first of a series.  It provides an overview of the use and attitudes toward open source software in higher education.  Follow-up reports will provide details on best practices for implementing open source solutions.

Some important clarifications about this study. Read this to understand who sponsored the study, what it concludes, and why it is being distributed as it is.

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Executive Summary

See Table to Right for Selected Key Statistics

All segments of the U.S. higher education IT market are expressing significant interest in open source software products.   Open source is gaining mindshare from four directions: spillover from commercial open source initiatives (such as Linux, Apache, OpenOffice), grant-funded open source initiatives in higher education specific application areas (course management, portal, financial systems, student portfolios), market-driven open source initiatives in higher education specific application areas (course management), and open source compatible higher education specific applications (course management, portal).  Two-thirds of CIOs have considered or are actively considering open source with a leading edge of about 25% of all institutions actively engaged in implementing higher education specific open source applications of some type.

The business drivers for open source applications in higher education favor traditional non-open source product providers if they are responsive to buyers concerns.  From the buyer side the value proposition for open source applications can be summarized as a combination of cost, control, and the possibility for innovation. The uncertainty in the commercial market being able to provide the higher education specific products in emerging critical areas such as course management and portal in a stable, predictable, and affordable manner trump any specific gains in functionality being sought.  Thus, the challenge for open source initiatives is to create the perception and assurance of greater stability.  That can only happen if there is a very large shift of industry financial resources from non-open source products to open source.  Despite much enthusiasm for open source there are no signs that a large shift is occurring at this time. The opportunity for commercial services surrounding open source applications in higher education is currently limited to small consulting and implementation efforts.

The strategies of open source compatible products from commercial vendors or the use of standards-based open computing to integrate open source and non-open source products represent win-win propositions for the industry.   This strategy achieves a coupling of resources that helps to achieve the stability, predictability, and affordability the market is looking for and enables innovation from numerous sources.  The question is can the diverse cultures of commercial companies, open source developers, and higher education institutions work together effectively to create an environment where commercial and open source products are compatible?   The standards for interoperability of products are much more mature and proven in the infrastructure world of operating systems, databases, and web servers than exists with respect to higher education specific applications.  Development and pervasive adoption of learning application standards that enable cross-industry return on investment will probably become a critical success factor.