Higher education has two primary purposes: (1) student learning for the improvement of self, family, employers, and society at large; and (2) knowledge generation, conservation, and dissemination for the advancement of everyone, now and in the future. To succeed in meeting these goals over the long term, colleges and universities: (1) have to be effective and efficient (the economic perspective); (2) should respond and adapt to the wants and needs of various stakeholders (the cultural perspective); (3) must serve the greater good of the community (the social or civic perspective); and (4) must demonstrate good judgment and leadership (the political perspective). These authors believe the role of the chief information officer (CIO) is to contribute to these strategies through the investigation and use of technological systems. A technology system is defined as a human-made, intelligence-based resource that has four interrelated components: (1) tools; (2) skills; (3) information; and (4) processes. All four components of an operational technology system interact dynamically and are required simultaneously for an organization's successful performance. Since technological innovation underpins the competitive status of modern organizations, making sound decisions about which technologies to recommend and how to justify these recommendations to presidents, provosts, and governing boards is one of the chief responsibilities of CIOs in academic institutions. It is a significant and challenging part of the job, and some presidents have noted that they do not always understand the proposals that CIOs put forward. This article describes a study designed to understand the decision-making mindset of CIOs at colleges and universities. The ultimate goal was to develop more systematic processes for technology decision making that integrate the best and most relevant perspectives. The conceptual framework for information technology decision making by CIOs presented in this article was initially constructed through a comprehensive analysis and synthesis of the literature of higher education administration and technology management. The framework was then compared, through a survey of CIOs, to real-world practices at liberal arts colleges and universities. (Contains 5 figures, 3 tables, and 20 endnotes.)