Margaret T. O'Hara

Customer Relationship Management in Higher Education: Using Information Systems to Improve the Student-School Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore customer relationship management (CRM) in a higher education setting.Design/methodology/approach – The development and implementation of a CRM project in a state community college was examined as were the benefits realized by implementing CRM. As colleges increasingly embrace distance learning and e‐business, CRM will become stronger and more pervasive. Viewing students as customers provides a competitive advantage for higher education and enhances a colleges ability to attract, retain and serve its customers. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with individuals involved with the planning, development and implementation of a statewide CIS system. Student support personnel were additionally interviewed.Findings – The benefits of implementing CRM in a college setting include a student‐centric focus, improved customer data and process management, increased student loyalty, retention and satisfaction with the colleges programs and services.Research lim...

The impact of government intervention on technology adoption and diffusion: the example of wireless location technology

Wireless Cellular Technology (WCT) has advanced rapidly in both the USA and the European Union; however, the two are pursuing different public policy and business market approaches in developing, adopting and deploying the technology. Efforts to promote the commercialisation of the technology to further wireless enhanced emergency call services policy also differ. We explore existing mandates and the current state of cellular technology. Factors influencing WCTs development are modelled, illustrating how government intervention has affected the technology.

The Core Information Technology Course at AACSB-Accredited Schools: Consistency or Chaos?.

Abstract Business school deans have identified the lack of consistency in the core information technology (IT) course as a critical issue. In this integrative study, we employed a content analysis of course syllabi (n = 84) and a survey on the importance of topics covered (n = 36) to compare the core IT course at AACSB-accredited schools. Results may be useful as a benchmarking tool for individuals who teach IT courses and for those responsible for IT curricula or involved in AACSB accreditation efforts.

Five Principles for MOOC Design: With a Case Study.

New web technologies have enabled online education to take on a massive scale, prompting many universities to create massively open online courses (MOOCs) that take advantage of these technologies in a seemingly effortless manner. Designing a MOOC, however, is anything but trivial. It involves developing content, learning activities, and assessments to accommodate both the massiveness and openness of the course. To design an effective MOOC, instructors need to integrate both pedagogical and information systems theory. In this paper, we present a case study of a MOOC grant and a series of decisions made in its development. These decisions, when paired with the theoretical framework, suggest five principles – meaningful, engaging, measurable, accessible, and scalable – may be applicable to future MOOC development projects.

Standardizing the MIS Course: Benefits and Pitfalls

Although many universities require courses in management information systems for their business majors, little information exists as to what objectives should be included in the course, and the course topics vary greatly across institutions. Differences in course objectives even exist within schools if multiple sections of the course are taught by different faculty. Typically, a significant portion of the class is devoted to database concepts. In many cases, the course requirements include developing a database for a small business. This database project can consume faculty time and resources, especially if student teams choose their own projects and no guidelines exist for faculty reference. In this paper, guidelines for developing a standardized database project that challenges students while freeing up faculty resources are presented. Experiences in dealing with these projects in both face‐to‐face and online classes at one university are detailed.

Exploring Pair Programming Benefits for MIS Majors.

Pair programming is a collaborative programming practice that places participants in dyads, working in tandem at one computer to complete programming assignments. Pair programming studies with Computer Science (CS) and Software Engineering (SE) majors have identified benefits such as technical productivity, program/design quality, academic performance, and increased satisfaction for their participants. In this paper, pair programming is studied with Management Information Systems (MIS) majors, who (unlike CS and SE majors taking several programming courses) typically take only one programming course and often struggle to develop advanced programming skills within that single course. The researchers conducted two pair programming experiments in an introductory software development course for MIS majors over three semesters to determine if pair programming could enhance learning for MIS students. The program results, researchers’ direct observations, and participants’ responses to a survey questionnaire were analyzed after each experiment. The results indicate that pair programming appears to be beneficial to MIS students’ technical productivity and program design quality, specifically the ability to create programs using high-level concepts. Additionally, results confirmed increased student satisfaction and reduced frustration, as the pairs worked collaboratively to produce a program while actively communicating and enjoying the process.