Information technology networked system for student mobility support
International Journal of Information and Learning Technology
ISSN: 2056-4880
Article publication date: 5 January 2015
Abstract
Purpose
This paper presents an IT system – Student Connectivity Module (SCM) – designed to support administration of student exchange between universities in different countries, developed under the EU seventh Framework Program. The purpose of this paper is to share the acquired knowledge on existing difficulties in mobility management, propose solutions to those problems, and present results of system validation using its prototype deployed at two universities.
Design/methodology/approach
Prior to the system design, the needs, plans and expectations concerning the academic IT services were surveyed among 100 universities. On this basis, in close with prospective system users, an original peer-to-peer system was developed using top-down model-driven and agile software development techniques.
Findings
The barriers to effective interoperation of academic information systems (AIS) were revealed: first, diversity and heterogeneity of campus IT solutions; second, differences in patterns of international student mobility flow; third, diversity in national personal data protection policies; and fourth, lack of standards for e-data exchange. The SCM system overcomes these problems by adopting platform-independent IT solutions, web-services, a network of trusted authority servers, and a novel “quasi-standard” solution for e-data exchange, with the use of home university campus cards to access facilities at host institutions.
Originality/value
The management of foreign student exchange is a complicated process. It involves students, faculty, administrative staff and external institutions. To the authors knowledge, there is no other comprehensive networked IT system available to facilitate administration of student mobility, make it better controlled, less laborious and faster, in a secure way. The IT solution contributes to overcoming the current barriers to academic mobility within Europe and elsewhere.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work has been supported by the “European Education Connectivity Solution” project under European Union 7th Framework Program. The collaboration with European Campus Card Association (ECCA), in particular, the help of ECCA members, Eugene McKenna, Tor Fridell, and Sinead Nealon, in conducting the university survey, is much appreciated.
Citation
Dębiec, P. and Materka, A. (2015), "Information technology networked system for student mobility support", International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, Vol. 32 No. 1, pp. 17-31. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJILT-06-2014-0014
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited