Smart Student Hub: A Unified Academic Management Portal

Abstract

Traditional academic management systems are often fragmented, relying on legacy technologies that limit scalability, integration, and user experience. This paper presents Smart Student Hub, a full-stack web application designed as a unified portal for students, faculty, and administrators to manage academic activities efficiently. The system integrates core modules including attendance tracking, study material distribution, marks management, assignment submission, timetable scheduling, and real-time chat functionality. Built using React (Vite + Tailwind CSS) on the frontend, and Node.js with Express, Socket.IO, and MongoDB on the backend, the platform employs secure authentication via JSON Web Tokens (JWT) and role-based access control. File storage is handled using Firebase Cloud Storage with local fallback support, while real-time messaging via Web Sockets ensures seamless collaborative learning. Experimental deployment demonstrates that the system offers a scalable, secure, and user-friendly solution for modern academic institutions, addressing key limitations of existing Learning Management Systems (LMS).