Online published on 4 July, 2012.
In the past decade the use of e-services has increased worldwide and higher education institutions have also initiated for offering e-services to students. Maharashtra has been a leading state in the country to initiate e Governance in universities and colleges offering eSuvidha to students with Digital University and Digital College framework from 2006 with technical support from Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited. The eSuvidha scheme has completed 6 years and currently covers around 22 lakh students in the state. It is very important to assess the present level of preparedness of the universities to participate in the digital world. E- Readiness is the degree to which a community is prepared and has the potential, to participate in networked world. The results of ereadiness assessment of universities in Maharashtra will help in effective educational e-Governance. It is important to design suitable framework for this assessment process. We have identified ereadiness indicators namely infrastructural availability, manpower availability, top management support, electronic literacy, training, regulatory framework, and ICT deployment in the university affiliated colleges were assessed. The framework suggested is useful for universities for knowing the preparedness of colleges for effective and efficient participation in the educational e Governance initiative for offering eSuvidha to students and improve student e-service management. It will also help in understanding digital divide among affiliated colleges offering eSuvidha to students.
e-Governance, E-services Management
