A collaborative community of colleges, universities and Microsoft, the Higher Ed Consortium provides its members a forum dedicated to the discussion of technology and how it can better serve the world of higher education. Among the subjects it addresses through meetings and shared resources are:

• Using technology to implement educational best practices for the benefit of educators, students and administrative staff.
• Developing innovative ways to use technology to improve teaching, curriculum design, learning, research, student recruitment, and more.
• Providing feedback to Microsoft about its products and how to improve them to better address the needs of higher education. 
• How technology can help higher education meet the challenges of a difficult economy.

The consortium is organized into six councils:

• Constituent Relationship Management
• Business Intelligence
• e-Portfolios
• Teaching & Learning
• Global Leadership
• MEIHE

Led by a Microsoft expert, each area addresses a specific technology need or issue affecting higher education. Members of each council—including the Microsoft moderators—are able to share case studies, videos, technology roadmaps, vision documents, long-range forecasts and planning documents, and more through a dedicated consortium SharePoint site. By becoming a member of the Microsoft Higher Ed Consortium, you’ll gain an influential voice in developing the new technologies that will propel higher education forward in the future. At the same time, you’ll also have access to some of the most insightful and brilliant minds in the worlds of education and technology. Imagine what you can learn from them, and they from you.