The Use of Software as a Service to Facilitate Quality Learning Experience for Students in Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

Abstract—Higher Education institutions (HEIs) contribute to knowledge creation and the development of individuals which leads to national development and economic growth. Although governments continuously provide funding for HEIs, the ever increasing population of students and changing cost of purchasing and maintaining needed resources makes the funding from governments insufficient for HEIs to provide students with all the necessary resources. One of the resources needed to train students and provide them with quality learning is software and applications which are expensive to buy and maintain. As a result, most HEIs are unable to provide their students with needed software and application and this makes learning process difficult for students. This research suggests that Software as a Service (SaaS) can provide a solution to this problem because HEIs can subscribe at little or no cost to service providers and students can access the needed software or application at any time from any place using any internet enabled device. This will also help HEIs to save a lot on cost as they only pay for the software when it is used thereby ensuring that the use of software and applications is maximized. This research looks into the current use of SaaS in HEIs to identify ways in which SaaS could be used effectively so as to contribute towards the creation of a conducive learning environment which can enhance quality learning.
 Index Terms: Software as a Service, SaaS, students, higher education, quality learning