EduConnect: A Comprehensive Review of a Decentralized Campus Networking and Academic Resource Management System

Abstract

Traditional academic management systems often lack a unified platform that bridges the gap between student networking and administrative resource management. This paper reviews ’EduConnect’, a full-stack MERN-based portal designed to streamline campus activities. The system integrates Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to manage functionalities for Students, Teachers, and Admins. Key features include a skill-based student discovery engine, real-time collaboration via personal and group chats using Socket.io, and automated academic modules. Built using MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.js, EduConnect aims to foster a digital ecosystem that enhances peer-to-peer learning and administrative transparency.

Introduction

EduConnect is a centralized campus platform designed to solve fragmentation in academic communication and collaboration. It addresses key issues in traditional campus systems, such as difficulty in finding peers with specific skills, scattered placement and assignment information across messaging apps, and limited access to inter-branch academic resources like timetables.

The system follows an MVC architecture and is built using the MERN stack (React.js, Node.js, Express.js, and MongoDB), with Cloudinary used for media storage. It includes a secure role-based authentication system with separate access for students and teachers, where students can register with profiles showcasing skills and achievements, while teacher accounts are admin-managed.

Core features include a “Connection Hub” for discovering peers based on technical skills and real-time communication using Socket.io, and an Academic Management module for assignment distribution, submissions, and smart timetable sharing

Conclusion

EduConnect successfully integrates the requirements of academic management with student networking. It addresses communication challenges by providing a single source of truth for assignments and peer interaction.

References

[1] EduConnect Project Specification and Technical Ecosystem Summary, 2026. [2] Tess, P. A. (2013). The role of social media in higher education classes – A literature review. [3] Kietzmann, J. H., et al. (2011). Understanding the functional building blocks of social media. [4] Hrastinski, S. (2008). Asynchronous and synchronous e-learning. [5] Dabbagh, M. , & Kitsantas, A.(2012). Personal learning environment self-regulated learning. [6] MongoDB Documentation – Database Management System. [7] React.js Documentation – Frontend Development Framework. [8] Node.js Documentation – Backend Runtime Environment

Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Tanisha Deshmukh, K. Tejaswini Swarnkar, Tanya Sahu, Akriti Gupta, Prince Kumar Sahu. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.