Although part of its charge was to make policy recommendations, the panel ultimately decided not to do so in this first phase of activity. One factor in this decision was that information technology is evolving so rapidly that any prescriptive set of conclusions and recommendations could quickly become out-dated. Also, the panel was unable to examine the numerous issues bearing on the topic (such as the state and federal funding environment for higher education, intellectual property laws and practices, regulatory and certification issues, information privacy, and information security) with the depth needed for recommending policy changes. The focus of our examination of needs and priorities for action was on what institutions themselves and their broader constituencies (which definitely includes state and federal governments) need to monitor, explore, learn, and understand at this time.

The panel believes that the higher-education community should create ongoing mechanisms for:

• Monitoring technological changes and the consequent scholarly, educational, and social shifts.

• Identifying crucial issues, challenges, and opportunities for the research university and the broader higher-education enterprise.

• Stimulating awareness on the campuses.

• Making recommendations for actions or further studies.

The National Academies has been awarded funding to launch such an effort through the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable. This process will address the need for monitoring and expanded dialogue not only on campus but at the national level. It will involve technology specialists as well as experts in higher education and state and federal policy makers. Of course, it will also involve faculty from the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering, and students themselves.