Measurement of Computing Services Effectiveness for the University of Wisconsin-

Information Technology (IT) provides computing facilities and a variety of computing services to the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse campus. The purpose of this study is to measure the effectiveness of IT in various areas on campus by measuring the difference between users’ expectations of IT and IT’s perceived performance in these areas. The size and direction of the discrepancies (or gaps) between expectations and performance are good indicators of the overall attitude to the IT function. A positive gap will indicate the perceived performance is below expectation, and a negative gap will indicate that the perceived performance exceeds expectation. The use of this user-satisfaction (US) method is recognized by many IT researchers as an appropriate surrogate for effectiveness. A survey consisting of three parts will be administered to students, faculty, and staff. The first section asks the respondent to rate her or his expectations of sixteen attributes of IT. The second section asks the respondent to rate IT’s performance for these same attributes. The final section asks the respondent for an overall rating of IT and for any additional comments or concerns. The results of the study will provide IT with knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses and possible improvements IT can make to increase its benefits.