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The purpose of this paper is to explore customer relationship management (CRM) in a higher education setting.

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 college's 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.

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 college's programs and services.

The entire community college system has not implemented the project. Rather, only the phase one colleges have implemented at this juncture.

Viewing students as customers provides a competitive advantage and enhances a college's ability to attract, retain and serve its customers. As colleges increasingly embrace distance learning and e‐business, CRM will become more pervasive.

Literature indicates African American parents can feel real or perceived discrimination that strains their interactions with teachers, resulting in them feeling alienated from their children’s school.

This is an exploratory case study of two African American parents, who although guarded in their relationships with teachers, exposed their vulnerabilities to Project ESTEEM faculty as they requested support in resolving behavioral and academic challenges with their children. It is an exploratory case study in that the field notes were taken prior to defining the research question, positioning it as research that sets the stage for a future more comprehensive study. The researchers, as participant observers recorded field notes of events and interactions that occurred. The research question was, “What were the factors that influenced the relationships between the Project ESTEEM faculty and African American Parents? The subquestions were “What were the distinctions of alienation that challenged the parents’ relationships in the schools? and "How were the factors that challenged the parents’ relationships with teachers mitigated in Project ESTEEM faculty’s relationships with the parents?” A constant comparative method was used beginning with open coding, followed by identifying patterns, themes and subthemes reflecting the specific needs of the parents in relationship to the overall theme.

The stories highlight sociocultural contexts influencing the alienation of some African American parents in their children’s education through an analysis of the relationships fostered with Project ESTEEM faculty.

This case study reports the experiences of two parents from one community and school, participating in a specialized program.

The significance resides in the representation of alternate viewpoints in understanding the alienation experiences of African American parents from schools.

The Soweto revolt of 1976 was mounted by black students in South Africa mobilized under the banner of the Black Consciousness (BC) ideology. However, when thousands of these youths were driven into exile by state repression, they joined the African National Congress (ANC) or its military wing. When hundreds of them returned as guerrillas after 1978, some were arrested and tried, while others were involved in spectacular shootouts with the police. The resulting press coverage began to revive ANC ideology in popular consciousness. With further publicity in 1980 from a Free Mandela campaign, and from luridly successful sabotage attacks, popular support for the ANC soared, shaping political events for the rest of the decade. The only other noteworthy tendency among blacks was the Zulu‐based Inkatha movement led by Chief Gatsha Buthelezi, whose support among young people was slight because of his hostile stance to both BC and the ANC.