It is not uncommon today to hear university leaders and students lament higher education's failure to more fully capitalize on its investments in information technology (IT), especially in support of residential instruction. While instructional technology's potential is being realized in isolated pockets of innovation, its impact at the institutional level has been marginal on most campuses. To avoid a similar assessment 10 years from now, what changes must occur? How should instructional technologists--often charged with promoting effective use of IT--respond to the challenge? The author suggests that in order to make a difference, instructional technologists must challenge assumptions about their own goals and roles to promote a broader context for instructional improvement. He highlights five issues that characterize the instructional technology community's current approach to instructional improvement: (1) over-reliance on exemplars; (2) overselling technology; (3) equating technology with instructional improvement; (4) giving lip service to assessment; and (5) settling for a marginal voice in instruction. (Contains 1 endnote.)