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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore customer relationship management (CRM) in a higher education setting.Design/methodology/approachThe 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.FindingsThe 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.Research limitations/implicationsThe entire community college system has not implemented the project. Rather, only the phase one colleges have implemented at this juncture.Originality/valueViewing 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.

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.

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