Software Implementation for Project Software of an Online Admission Screening System

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

Online Admission screening system is aimed at developing an online admission application for a college. This system is an online system that can be accessed throughout the organization and outside as well with proper login provided. Our system has two type of accessing modes, administrator and user. Student management system is managed by an administrator. It is the job of the administrator to admit and monitor the whole process. When a user log in to the system. He would only view details of the student. He can't perform any changes .The system has two modules. They are:

• User
• Administrator

Students logging is to apply for the course by filling an application form provided by online. College principal/administrator logging in may also access/search information put up by the students.

The focus of this project work is to develop an automated admission screening system that shall bring about this paradigm shift, in other to proffer solution to the challenges inherent in the existing system implemented by Lagos state polytechnic. The proposed system: Automated admission processing System shall be developed using HTML, CSS and PHP as the frontend, and MY SQL database management system as the backend (Desile, 2009)

1.2 Statement of Problem

Student admission processing as being done presently by Lagos state polytechnic is still similar to manual processing despite that student completes their application form online. The existing system has the following drawbacks.

1. Slow operation due to human intervention.
2. Delayed information retrieval as a result of heavy web-contents.
3. Prone to error due to little data validation.
4. Unfriendly or difficult to use interface.
5. High cost of operation.
6. Application still ends up looking more like a manual process because there is no feature that supports decision in the current information system.

1.3 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of this research work is to critically assess the collection and processing of student admission form process in order to identify issues encountered in the system, so as to design a new system that will help reduce or completely eradicate the identified problems. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows to:

1. Study the existing system in order to get a full understanding of it.
2. Identify problems of the existing system.
3. Alleviate problems with the application process and record keeping.
4. Enhance the institution document management system.
5. Make the system easier to use for even students with less computer knowledge
6. Provide easy retrieval of student's data.
7. Make the web contents lighter to enhance retrieval speed even on slow internet.

1.4 Scope of the Study

The scope of this study is centered on designing an automated web-based application software for student admission processing. The system is strictly based on student's application processing, record keeping and information retrieval in Lagos State Polytechnic. It will also be capable of short-listing admissible students and will make them available for a final administrator approval before they are offered a provisional admission.

1.5 Significance of the Study

The study will provide an automated online admission processing system that will help increase speed of processing student admission and help reduce or eliminate work by automating the admission process to the most convenient.

The automated admission processing system will help reduce some of the laborious work involve in student admission processing, maximized returns for the institution, provide a friendly user interface to users.

This study will also be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.

1.6 Limitations of the study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this institution to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.
3. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
4. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
5. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials.

1.7 Definition of Terms

1. Automation: The replacement of human workers by technology; A system in which a workplace or process has been converted to one that replaced or ministries human labour with electronic or mechanical equipment.
2. Admission: The process of accepting students for study at an institution.
3. Processing: To deal with somebody or something according to an established procedure.
4. System: Set of computer components which are an assembly of computer Hardware, Software and peripherals functioning together.
5. Computerized: Convert to computer - based system to install or start using a computer system to organize, control, or automate something.
6. Online: Connected via computer attached to or available via a central computer or computer network.
7. Offline: Disconnected from computer Network; Describes a computer terminal or peripheral device that is disconnected or is functioning separately from associated computer or computer network.
8. Web: A complex structure, or design www: computer-based network of information resources that combines text and multimedia. The information on the www can be accessing and search through the internet, a global computer network.
9. Database: Any collection of data organized for storage in a computer memory and designed for easy access by authorized users.
10. Database Update: This simply means applying and maintaining changes on a database after data must have been added, removed or modified
11. System Administrator: This is a person responsible for maintaining and operating a computer system.
12. Password: This is a secret code that a user must type into a computer to enable him access it or its applications. This is made up of numbers; letters, special characters or a contribution of any of the above categories.