cial systems for managing back office operations
such as student records, finance, and human re-
sources. This trend remained true as corporations
transformed their corporate Web sites from
brochures to vehicles for doing business. Only re-
cently have universities begun to accept applica-
tions, donations, course registrations, and the like
over the Web. Most recently, corporate America
has recognized the need for technology to trans-
form the front office—those services that face the
consumer of the business—investing in systems
that improve activities such as support, service,
customer relationships, and the like. Only re-
cently has higher education begun to think of its
student-centric units in quite the same way, and
e-learning is a core component of this trend.
Today’s student expects a technology-supported
experience from application to registration to do-
nation. Campuses are scrambling to deploy cam-
pus Web portals that offer everything from health
center scheduling to registration for season tickets
to football games. Because the core daily activity
of a student is teaching and learning, creating a
baseline Web environment for instruction has be-
come the core of a broader front office expansion
of technology.
Chapter 1 • Transformation Through Evolution
7