A Model of an Online Student Admission System for Federal Unity Colleges
Chapter One
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
Online student admission system is aimed at automating the admission process of federal unity colleges in Nigeria with the following objective:
- To design an online system for student admission (into the federal unity colleges) using Structure Query Language on SQL Server Management studio for its database and Active Server Pages.net (Hyper Text Markup Language and Visual Basic.net are incorporated) on Visual Studio for its interface design. This system will enhance:
- Conglomeration of geographically scattered applicants.
- Time reduction in activities handling
- Paperless admission
- Reduced manpower
- Centralized data handling
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
“The process of facilitating knowledge and the transfer of skills, value and belief is known as education. The transfer of skills, knowledge, habits and so on is transferred from the educator to the seeker. The transfer of knowledge can take diverse platform such as storytelling, discussion, teaching, research and so on. Education has stages and admission into a particular stage must be given. Here comes the role of the admission personnel. Education is compulsory in most places up to a certain age, attendance at school often isn’t, and a minority of parents chooses home-schooling, sometimes with the assistance of modern electronic educational technology (also called e-learning). Education can take place in formal or informal settings mostly but recently, non-formal is on the recognition especially in India”. (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/education, accessed on: 20/10/2015)
Educational technology is prevailing in application for admission and online learning but has been neglected in the admission process. The admission process is the most cumbersome and tedious event, because lots of individuals must have applied for study and these application has to be scrutinized to check the attainment of the spelt out requirements. This is indeed stressful to human and time wasting.
The automation of admission processing will pave way for greater and effectual efficiency, lesser paper work which in turns returns lowers cost, a simpler process of admission with optimum resources and reduction in error of application data and easy communication.
HISTORY OF FEDERAL UNITY SCHOOLS IN NIGERIA
Schools in Nigerian are either privately owned or public (government) owned. The government schools are either the state schools or the federal government colleges (unity schools). After the Nigeria-Biafra civil war which lasted for 3 years or more, the federal government headed by General Yakubu Gowon decided to float programmes that will foster the unity of the country via the campaign of the 3Rs which are Reconciliation, Restoration and Renovation.
Unity schools were first established in Sokoto (Northern Nigeria), Warri (Southern Nigeria), Enugu (Eastern Nigeria) and Odogbolu (Western Nigeria). After the visit of General Gowon in 1973 to Sokoto, he decided to expand the unity schools to all the states of the nation (then it was 12 states) reports http://www.nigerianbestforum.com/generaltopics/why-i-established-unity-schools-gowon/, 27/11/15. Now, the unity schools are distributed all over the country and the list is thus below:
completed his/her primary or basic education. The entrances cut off mark differs from state to state in the federation and like the tertiary education entrance examination, the choices of the candidate is noted when the forms are filled and candidates will be given admission in their choice unity school is the cut off mark is met by the pupil.
In 2015, 88,444 candidates sat for the NCEE out of the 95,926 that registered said NECO (https://www.students.com.ng/common-entrance-88444-candidates-sat-for-exam-by-neco/, accessed 27/11/2015). The cut off mark for each state as of 2014 is below:
CONCEPT OF COMPUTING/COMPUTER SYSTEM
Computers as present help a lot to speed up processes and activities of human. Computers are looked upon as obedient servants who are ever ready to free man from tedious procedures and produce results as compared with human computing time. A machine that is capable of accepting input data, store and process the data based on instructions given by the user and produces expected results called output is termed a computer. Computing is the act of using a computer to perform a task.
The instructions or programs given to a computer system aid the computer to perform the demanded or required task. Hence, a program is a sequence of instructions given to the computer to perform a specific operation. From Encarta Encyclopedia, computer program is a set of instructions that directs a computer to perform some processing function or combination of functions. Consequently, the function of a computer system is limitless as long as the task is programmable –that is if the manual task can be represented electronically via codes and tags. Thus the vide application area of computer (in medicine, education, sport and others). The relevance of computer to management cannot be over emphasized as organizations need timely, updated and accurate information to base their decision on current operations and future plans, so as to enable production respond quickly to changes in demand and other circumstances.
“A system is a collection of components that works together to realize some objective forms of a system”, Stella Chiemeke, (2006). A system can also be seen as a combination of machine, people and processes to achieving a unified goal. Systems always have an input that the people initiate the processes to acts on it through the machines to have an output according to the system’s design and programming.
CHAPTER THREE
SYSTEM ANALYSISAND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
SYSTEM ANALYSIS
System analysis is a problem solving techniques that decomposes a system into its component pieces for the purpose of studying how well those components part work and interact to accomplish their purpose. (Lonnie D.B., 2004).
ANALYSIS OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM
The process of admitting a student into the federal unity college in Nigeria is a manual process whereby the prospective applicant after satisfying the requirement of having completed his/her basic education proceeds to purchase the NECO NCEE form, complete same and waits for admission. The process of applying for admission is not manual but the admission process is manual.
The federal unity colleges are supervised by the federal ministry of education and the examination body for it is an agency of the ministry. National Examination Council (NECO) conducts the NCEE (National Common Entrance Examination) same date in the respective states of the federation and some foreign countries. After the NCEE, the cut off mark is released for that year and it is not uniform but differs from state to state.
The present system being a manual system is full of negativities ranging from the favoritism in selection of the students into their choice unity college to delay. The present system is full of delay despite after the release of the approved cut off mark for admission into the colleges and the candidates score.
Input Analysis
The input into the system is the candidate’s examination details comprising of the candidate name, exam number, choice of unity school and exam score. The system matches the chosen unity college’s requirement against the candidate’s credentials including the score from the NCEE.
CHAPTER FOUR
SYSTEM DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
After a new system has been analyzed, it should be designed and implemented as to ascertain the level of success or otherwise. An automated system that is not implemented or is not successful implemented cannot replace the previous system because of its ill performance. Stella (2006) said, “Even after the development phase is over, the system project isn’t complete. The new system must be implemented or installed”.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMEDATION
SUMMARY
Admission process should be a process handled with all honesty and care. Admission officers should in no way be influenced. Hence this system has automated the role played by human admission officers so as to avoid partiality and wrong admission. Also, this system will put a square peg in a square hole by ensuring and admitting only those that meet the requirements and the cut off mark. This system moreover, has made admission to be immediate as soon as the prospective student fills all the data, the admission can be check.
In a nut shell, the values of this over the existing system are as follows:
Reliability
Efficiency
Accuracy
Users friendliness with simple GUI
Easy Accessibility
Prompt and instantaneous response
Speed
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED
The visits paid to Federal Government Colleges which are the Unity Schools are not easy. Since there was no existing automated admission system for the federal unity colleges, the design of this once wasn’t system since then rules has to be automated such as:
If (ed – Today.Year < 10) Then ‘dob condition – cand must be atleast 10
If (lbEY.Text = Today.Year) Then ‘ exam year condition – exam must be for the present year
If (lbSex.Text = “Male”) Then ‘ sch selection based on sex
If (lbCC1.Text = cc1 And lbES.Text >= cc2) Then
lbStatus.Text = “Congrats! You Have Been Admitted into ” & lbCC1.Text & “.”
Label3.Text = “Admitted” : Label4.Text = lbCC1.Text
ElseIf (lbCC2.Text = cc1 And lbES.Text >= cc2) Then
lbStatus.Text = “Congrats! You Have Been Admitted into ” & lbCC2.Text & “.”
Label3.Text = “Admitted” : Label4.Text = lbCC2.Text
Else
lbStatus.Text = “Sorry! You Scored Low and Have Not Been Admitted.”
End If
ElseIf (lbSex.Text = “Female”) Then
If (lbCC1.Text = cc1 And lbES.Text >= cc3) Then
lbStatus.Text = “Congrats! You Have Been Admitted into ” & lbCC1.Text & “.”
Label3.Text = “Admitted” : Label4.Text = lbCC1.Text
ElseIf (lbCC2.Text = cc1 And lbES.Text >= cc3) Then
lbStatus.Text = “Congrats! You Have Been Admitted into ” & lbCC2.Text & “.”
Label3.Text = “Admitted” : Label4.Text = lbCC2.Text
Else
lbStatus.Text = “Sorry! You Scored Low and Have Not Been Admitted.”
End If
End If
Else
lbStatus.Text = “Your Score Has Expired For This Year. Retake Exam this Year.”
End If
Else
lbStatus.Text = “You Are too Young. Wait Till Your Are Atleast 10 years.”
End If
CONCLUSION
Automated systems are more successful when compared with the manual or traditional systems. The increased speed, confidentiality and ease of use are some of the successes of automated system over traditional or manual system.
Unity Colleges Online Admission System (UCOAS) when pair side by side with the manual system has so many benefits. There is no need for a prospective student of his/her parent to keep visiting the principal of the choice college. This time around, no student that merited admission that will not be given due to nepotism or favouritism. Even the parent can check and verifiy his/her child’s admission status.
Finally, the issues of paper work have been eradicated, information privacy has been enhanced and data security is promoted.
RECOMMENDATION FOR FURTHER STUDIES
Further research is advice on this research to facilitate on the system’s function and design. The inclusion of more modules and feature like the use of biometric should be incorporated in upcoming research.
Also, a further research should be done on the data collection to avoid prospective student entering their score and other information.
CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE
This work has contributed to knowledge in the area of online admission systems. There are little online admission systems that operates in real time like this. The automation of admission rules has also contributed to knowledge in a way or another.
REFERENCES
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- David, C. Van Essen and Charles, H. Aderson. (2005). Information Processing Strategies and Pathways in the Primate Visual System. Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Escalle, C. (February, 1999) Enterprise resource planning. Harvard Business Review.
- Hampo, J.A. (2011). Design and Implementation of Students Verification System for Delta State University Nigeria (DELSU E-VERIFY). An unpublished B.Sc Thesis, Delta State University, Abraka-Delta State.
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