Impact assessment of Information and Communication Technology: A case study of Moi University

Abstract

The main objective of the study is to assess the impact of Information and communication Technology (lCT) of Moi University with regard to the role so far played by leT in teaching, research and administration at-Moi University. The study intended to address the problem pointed out by Olalere, (2000), that most of African university's failure to carry out periodic assessment of leT is responsible for the slow pace in leapfrogging into information age. This has therefore, affected the sound management of the core business of the universities. In the study a random sampling procedure was employed in selecting staff of Moi University covering the three campuses namely the Main campus, Chepkoilel campus and Health Sciences campus. For the analysis, staff was divided into teaching and non-teaching. The conceptual framework was derived from the Meta-Lanfranco model, which was then applied to assess the impact, contribution and the role played by the ICT in an institution of higher learning. The analysis based on the conceptual model shows that the impact of let is negative, this therefore, reveals that the role the ICT has pIa ed in the provision of services to the university community is minimal. The leT in the university has a lot of challenges like lack of trained personnel in ICT as well as slow replacement of tout-dated ICT facilities. The study findings indicate that the University'S Information Resource Management Center (IRM) does not have its own policy and only relies on the overall university Information Master Plan. From the foregoing, it is concluded that the state of ICT is fairly developed. There is need to carry out periodic review and update of ICT Master Plan to reflect the current state of ICT. This will help the university keep in pace with changes taking place in the ICT world. Based on the out-come of this study, it is recommended that Moi University carries out periodic review of its ICT policy and cooperates with local and universities