IT spending dips: budgets are bigger at private colleges.

Technology spending for higher ed is projected to decline 4 percent this year, according to Market Data Retrieval. In its report, "The cortege technology review," MDR says that overall spending will come to a total of $5.15 billion for the 2004-05 academic year. The slight dip in overall spending is the first drop reported by MDR in its eight years of tracking.

The details reveal a good news/bad news picture. Private IHEs are spending more on IT. They will spend 28 percent more--accounting for a total of $996,319. That's the good news. Public universities, however, are cutting spending by 13 percent. MDR pegs their total at $1.3 million. Slightly more than 51 percent of the spending will be applied to administrative technology needs, while the remainder will be applied to academic IT. In all, $1.4 billion will be spent on computers, servers, networks and other academic IT needs. Most IHEs have budgeted about twice as much for hardware than for software.

MDR's annual college technology survey is based on the responses from 5,400, accredited two-year and four-year colleges and universities.

Other key findings:

* 79% of IHEs have wireless networks, up from 70% last year.

* 36% of IHEs use mobile laptop carts--long popular in K-12 education.

* 50% provide internet access in student residence halls.

* 64% offer distance learning, down from 67% in 2004.

Average Technology Budgets (in thousands)

                               Academic    Administrative     Total

Small (under 2,500 students)    $248,700       $216,200       $464,900
Medium (2,501-10,000)            653,000        569,300     $1,222,300
Large (10,001-25,000)          1,643,700      2,024,900     $3,668,600
Very large (over 25,000)       2,080,000      4,028,800     $6,108,800

Source: Market Data Retrieval