Requirements Analysis for a Student Relationship Management System--Results from an Empirical Study in Ivy League Universities

The higher education sector encounters increasing number of students with more diverse attributes, expectations, and demands. In times of sinking budgets and severe competition among universities, student relationship management (SRM) has become a key instrument in attracting paying students and retaining a long-lasting relationship, which in turn provides financial benefits and enhances the reputation of the university. In this paper, a structured literature review revealed a lack of requirement analysis for a student relationship management system (SRMS) from the target group perspective. An online survey was conducted with students and alumni from four Ivy League universities. The survey showed that university administration needs to improve their relationship and communication habits with the target groups. Because modern communication channels such as social network, blogs and apps are not yet wide-spread in this context, SRMS need to be further enhanced to include them.