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jim-jorstad

Jim A. Jorstad

Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Government

Jim Jorstad is Senior Fellow for the Center for Digital Education and the Center for Digital Government. He is a retired emeritus interim CIO and Cyber Security Designee for the Chancellor’s Office at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. He served in leadership roles as director of IT client services, academic technologies and media services, providing services to over 1,500 staff and 10,000 students. Jim has experience in IT operations, teaching and learning, and social media strategy. His work has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Forbes and NPR, and he is a recipient of the 2013 CNN iReport Spirit Award. Jim is an EDUCAUSE Leading Change Fellow and was chosen as one of the Top 30 Media Producers in the U.S.

From abolishing the U.S. Department of Education to cutting Title I funding and certifying teachers based on ideology, a controversial proposal from a conservative think tank would upend public education nationwide.
Variables like rising tuition and fees, FAFSA glitches and competition from other programs mean higher-ed enrollment might continue declining. That means universities must be strategic about their technology expenses.
In addition to programming and technical skills, the next generation of AI developers may also need training in subjects traditionally aligned with liberal-arts education, such as ethics, problem-solving and communication.
Artificial intelligence isn’t going anywhere, so we might as well face it with our eyes open. It brings with it an abundance of potential use cases and risks alike, as job displacement is the flip side of efficiency.
From the SolarWinds hack to the more recent, serious disruptions of Microsoft and Change Healthcare, cyber attacks on industries that do business with universities create vulnerable points of entry for cyber criminals.
A former IT leader from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse recalls an incident that showed the pitfalls of making departmental decisions without asking the team, as well as the importance of trust and communication.
If the recent past is any indication, higher education this year is likely to see financial stress, online learning, a crisis of faith in leadership, emerging tech such as AI and VR, cybersecurity threats, and a desperate need for skilled IT staff.
An informal poll of various IT professionals in education revealed that IT labor shortages and the potential loss of institutional knowledge are keeping CIOs up at night more than artificial intelligence.
Robotics have come a long way the past couple decades, and their potential to integrate with artificial intelligence and revolutionize industries could make them increasingly important in higher education.
As the frequency and cost of cyber attacks on higher education continue to increase, CIOs and IT staff should be especially vigilant, training staff on cyber safety and communicating best practices to all network users.