Impact of Computerization on Public Universities' Administration: A Case Study of Higher Education Commission of Pakistan's Pilot Project

The aim of the research was to explore the impact of a recent computerization process launched by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan which sought to improve the universities’ administrative performance. My research followed and observed the effects of the computerization process within two universities that participated in a pilot project. Performance was observed on an iterative basis in the shape of ‘form’, ‘performativity’, and ‘formation’. Actor-Network Theory was applied as an approach to explore the socio-technical environment. The sites were visited to observe the transformed environment and its changed nature after the completion of computerization project. Besides observing the sites, interviews, documentation reading and storytelling methods were used to capture qualitative data. The research’s outcome enhanced theoretical and practical knowledge. The study findings provided an insight on the university work realm engulfed in a body of politics where power and information circulation changes when the computerized campus management system is introduced as an element of change. The study demonstrates that localization of the computer software system required changes to be made within the work environment. However, during this process the element of change itself had to be changed to some extent, in order to meet the particular needs of these universities. The thesis also emphasises the various types of resistance that the computerization process faced within these universities. The findings may also be used by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan to fine tune their universities’ computerization process for continuation of the project of providing campus management system for all public universities.