Abstract
A new vision of higher education systems, in which the student is the central subject of the teaching process, opens up new learning opportunities that include customization of teaching methods to the students’ needs, and new modes of communication both between teachers and students and among students themselves. The main subject of this chapter is the implementation and improvement of the Student Relationship Management (SRM) concept as a cloud service in an e-education system by using social media. The experimental part of the chapter presents the design and implementation of an e-education model based on cloud computing. The proposed model is implemented at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade, by using the existing cloud computing infrastructure of the Laboratory for E-Business.
TopLiterature Review
Customer Relationship Management
Customer relationship management has been defined as a management approach that involves identifying, attracting, developing and maintaining successful customer relationships over time in order to increase the retention of profitable customers. CRM is a coherent and complete set of processes and technologies for managing relationships with current and potential customers and associates of the company, using the marketing, sales and service departments, regardless of the channel of communication (Chen & Popovich, 2003). Presents a highly fragmented environment and has different meanings for different people (Sohrabi, Haghighi, & Khanlari, 2010). CRM is endorsed to generate and administer bonds with clients more efficiently through the itemized and precise analysis of customer information utilizing distinctive information technologies (Peppers & Rogers, 2011). To assess future customer behavior and offer the best possible care, it is necessary to exploit, evaluate and regularly update the company’s knowledge about the customer (Wilde, 2011). CRM is therefore understood as a customer-oriented management approach where information systems provide information to support operational, analytical and collaborative CRM processes and thus contribute to customer profitability and retention (King & Burgess, 2008).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Student Relationship Management Metrics: Represent measures of success and feedback mechanism for continuous development of strategies and tactics of an educational institution.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM): The management approach that involves identifying, attracting, developing and maintaining successful customer relationships over time in order to increase the retention of profitable customers.
Student Relationship Management (SRM): A specialized CRM concept applied to academic institutions, which involves automating and synchronizing a number of different processes such as academic advising and counseling, in aim to improve the student experience, reduce dropout rates, and improve organizational efficiency.
Social media: Term is related to use of the technology and platforms that enable collaboration among participants through the creation and exchange of interactive content on Web.
Social CRM: A philosophy and a business strategy, supported by a system and a technology, designed to engage the customer in a collaborative interaction that provides mutually beneficial value in a trusted and transparent business environment.
Social Computing (SoC): An interactive and collaborative behavior between computer users, where the Internet allows them to interact through social media tools, such as: social networks, blogs, microblogging services, multiplayer games, wikis and instant messages.
E-Learning: Represents all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching which have aim to effect on the construction of knowledge of the learners.
Cloud Computing (CC): An infrastructure that brings a new value to an e-learning system, because provides suitable environment for ubiquitous learning activities that can be delivered in a reliable and efficient way.