THE DETERMINANTS OF CLOUD COMPUTING ADOPTION BY COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

William Klug
British Columbia Institute of Technology
Xue Bai
Virginia State University
ABSTRACT
The investments made by colleges and universities in cloud computing have implications for higher education including financial models, instructional delivery systems, technology architectures, and security and privacy policies. However, some institutions are not taking advantage of the resources and services offered by the cloud computing paradigm. Although the model of cloud computing is well researched, the reasons for adopting cloud computing are just emerging. Using the technology-organization-environment framework, the authors have proposed a research model to investigate the factors that determine the adoption of cloud computing by colleges and universities. A quantitative study was conducted of CIOs and IT managers in colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada that have implemented, or were planning to implement, cloud computing environments. An online survey was used to gather data to test the relationship between the criterion variable (cloud computing adoption) and the predictor variables (relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, institutional size, technology readiness, perceived barriers, regulatory policy, and service provider support). The results of the data analysis indicated that complexity, institutional size, and technology readiness were statistically significant in determining cloud computing adoption. The predictor variables relative advantage, regulatory policy, and service provider support were not statistically significant.