1.1 Introduction
Online registration can be seen as the creation and use of an online registration form, electronic registration form, online registration process, online registration template or digital registration form completed by an individual, group or organization to apply to register for an agency, funding, newsletter, school, college, university, service or other types of necessary and vital services and purposes. E-registration processes or forms make registering for a newsletter, college, school, university or agency easy and simple to do from a computer, laptop or other type of electronic device that has online internet access (Metz, 2004).
The motivation of the study is the need to increase the efficiency of attending to registrants in order to reduce the time, cost and stress associated with the current process.This chapter will cover basic aspects of this study, which are; background and motivation of the study, statement of problems, aim and objectives, scope of the study, significance of the study, limitation of the study and definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background Of Study
A registered user is a user of a website, program, or other system who has previously registered. Registered users normally provide some sort of credentials (such as a username or e-mail address, and a password) to the system in order to prove their identity: this is known as logging in. Systems intended for use by the general public often allow any user to register simply by selecting a register or sign up function and providing these credentials for the first time. Registered users may be granted privileges beyond those granted to unregistered users. User registration and login enables a system to personalize itself. For example, a website might display a welcome banner with the user's name and change its appearance or behaviour according to preferences indicated by the user. The system may also allow a logged-in user to send and receive messages, and to view and modify personal files or other information (Schapranow, 2014).
Concepts Of Online Registration
According to Fraenkel&Wallen, (2010), online registration is the signing up of a user to a service. It involves accessing the system remotely over the internet and filing an online form with the required information demanded by the system. Each registrant is unique, with unique details and login access. In registering a new student, all registrants have to form a very lengthy queue at the screening office before they are attended to. This process keeps the screening officer under constant pressure and thus leads to agitation, tension, increased stress levels and human error. Not forgetting the time taken to sort through, arrange and document student data.
Why this is necessary to be implemented as an improvement to the existing system is that it takes away the hassles of a physical registration process and makes it possible for multiple users to carry out the registration process simultaneously without any delays.
It is against this background that this study was initiated to mitigate the challenges identified in the present system.
1.3 Statement Of Problem
The major challenge of the current system is the lack of an efficient mode of carrying out the registration process for students and this has led to the following problems;
- The current system requires that students must form long queues at all times before they are attended to.
- The current system keeps the screening officer under constant pressure and this could lead to mistakes.
- Much time is taken to attend to a single student during the registration process.
- Documentation of student registration data is poorly performed and the risk of damage is high.
1.4 Aim And Objectives Of The Study
The aim of the study is to design and implement an online Portal Registration Management System. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows to develop an application software that will:
- Provide an online portal that reduces the need to form queues at the screening office.
- Reduce the pressure that the screening officer faces by moving the registrants to an online system.
- Minimize the time taken to attend to a student by providing a system that allows multiple simultaneous registration.
- Provide an accurate documentation system for the recording of student data. That allows for easy retrieval and sorting of the data.
1.5 Significance Of Study
By implementing the proposed system, the following are the potential benefits.
- A decrease in the time it takes to attend to a student during registration.
- A significant reduction in the frequency of human errors that occur during registration.
- There would be a more effective method of documenting student data for easy retrieval.
- The overall efficiency of the registration process will be increased as screening officers will no longer be under much pressure.
Furthermore, the study will serve as a reference material for subsequent researchers.
1.6 Scope Of Study
The proposed system will be designed to handle the registration of students in Computer Science Department in order to issue out registration number.
The system will be able to keep accurate records of all students and their bio-data and this data can be retrieved effortlessly at any time.
Also, the study will cover the following areas of computer science such as; database management, web development and information technology.
1.7 Limitation Of Study
This study is not void of challenges and drawbacks, however there are two major impediments which greatly affected the study, they are;
- Insufficient Power Supply: In this part of the world, power supply is not steady. This affected the success of the project as a computer system which is the tool for downloading research papers, typing the project and coding the software needs to be powered almost always for it to work. For instance, typing of the project report took a lot of time due to incessant power outages. Incessant power outage also affects the speed and scope covered during the coding of the software.
- Schedule Constraint: This project was done while the academic session was on. It ran simultaneously with academic work. Schedules like Lectures, Practical and Supervisor meeting do clash sometimes. This affected the level of success achieved in the project because the researcher attends to one out of these important schedules.
- Finance: The unavailability of sufficient funds also impaired the furthering of the study because certain trips and tools needed for development were not done due to inadequate funds.
1.8 Definition Of Terms
Credentials:
A qualification, achievement, quality, or aspect of a person's background, especially when used to indicate their suitability for something.
Electronic:
Is a device having or operating with components such as microchips and transistors that control and direct electric currents.
Information:
What is conveyed or represented by a particular arrangement or sequence of things.
Login:
The act of logging in to a database, mobile device, or computer, especially a multiuser computer or a remote or networked computer system.
Online:
It is any activity that is performed while connected to a computer or under computer control.
Portal:
A website or web page providing access or links to other sites.
Registrant:
A person who registers something.
Registration:
The action or process of registering or of being registered.
Simultaneous:
Occurring, operating, or done at the same time.
Tension:
Mental or emotional strain.
Queue:
A line or sequence of people or vehicles awaiting their turn to be attended to or to proceed.
Screening:
The evaluation or investigation of something as part of a methodical survey, to assess suitability for a particular role or purpose.
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