Through a memorandum of understanding, signed in July 1995 by administrators from three major university systems, a new partnership was formed. The Consortium for Educational Technology for University Systems (CETUS) links California State University, the State University of New York and the City University of New York in pursuit of the following objectives:

* helping students, at both K-12 and university levels, improve their academic achievement and become more productive learners;

* empowering faculty by providing resources that will increase their instructional and research options;

* encouraging the development of technology-mediated courseware;

* providing commercial suppliers/developers and others with beta test sites;

* acting in concert to negotiate favorable purchasing contracts;

* developing and promoting appropriate methods and standards for evaluating the pedagogical efficacy of existing and future methodologies and products;

* exploring and clarifying issues related to the sharing of information resources and the protection of intellectual property.

The concept of a partnership originated when some of the major technology officers in the three largest public institutions in the country realized that together they could accomplish more than each of them working separately. The three university systems enroll approximately 12 percent of the nation's undergraduates, almost a million students, on more than 100 campuses. What better laboratory could exist for testing how technology can be intelligently applied to the challenges of teaching and learning?

Seeking both public and private-sector assistance to further the objectives of the partnership, CETUS will focus on course authoring and assessment tools; development of courseware in mathematics, humanities and the arts; technology-based library resources; promotion of universal Internet access; group purchasing and contracting opportunities; government policies reflecting higher education and telecommunications; sharing of resources for, and assessment of, distance learning.

Already CUNY has benefitted from the fruits of the CETUS partnership. Mathematical courseware is being tested at several CUNY colleges for possible licensing. "Fair Use of Copyrighted Works: A Crucial Element in Educating America" (see pp. 18-20 of this issue) is a product of the CSU-SUNY-CUNY Work Group on Ownership, Legal Rights of Use and Fair Use. Vendors of dialup Internet services have taken notice of the CETUS partnership and CETUS partners hope to leverage that interest into favorable offerings for their constituents.

Oddly, it is the state of technology today that allows this partnership that spans the continent to flourish without major overhead costs. Electronic mail, video-conferencing, and the WWW all contribute to ease of communication in ways that were not dreamed of a few years ago! The WWW homepage (http://www.cetus.org) will also serve as a repository for materials developed by CETUS, and as a point of presence on the web for this technology-driven partnership.