For all those interested in Open Source Software use: OSS Watch published a report last week about software use in higher education (UK institutions). The key findings are detailed below. Best wishes, Ellen J. Helsper Department of Media and Communications London School of Economics and Political Science Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE T: 020 7955 6106

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Apologies for crossposting

In February and March of 2006, OSS Watch conducted a survey of ICT Directors at colleges and universities across the UK. We are delighted to announce that the report from that survey is now published. Key findings include: * 77% of colleges and universities report that they regularly explore open source options in procurement exercises, yet only 25% of institutions report mention of 'open source' in their institutional policies * 56% of further education colleges reported use of Moodle, an open source course management system * 100% of institutions provide Internet Explorer on their Windows desktop PCs, yet 68% now also provide Mozilla Firefox * there is no clear leader amongst Content Management Systems (CMS) with more than 29 different solutions being used by respondents * cost continues to be the principal driver in reasons for considering OSS The full report and executive summary are available at http://www.oss-watch.ac.uk/studies/survey2006/ -- Randy Metcalfe Research Technologies Service OSS Watch University of Oxford