DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A COMPUTERIZED STUDENTS ADMISSION SYSTEM

1.1 Introduction

Students Admission System is aimed at developing a computer based 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 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.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

1.2 Background of the Study

In the past years, an inspection at close observation of some admission offices in some reputable tertiary institution revealed that there has been lack of proper documentaries of admission forms. Also, much time was spent in sorting out qualified and non qualified forms. This has resulted to a meaningful lost of substantial efficiency and accuracy in the methods used for instance, in many tertiary institution, one could not adequately give details of applicants such as the total number of these that applied the number that qualified from each state or local government.

When one looked back with analytical mid, we can concluded that computer technology keeps an advancing with remarkable increase in speed accuracy and reliability. Computing in whatever field i.e. science, Business and industry is reaching directly or indirectly into various aspect of our society without loss of generality, the world has shrunk into such compactness that no part can afford to lack behind or lie in isolation.

The advert of computer was hated by the world as a great revolution like any industry revolution. It promised to free and from simple routine jobs of respective nature by providing computing power. The first to have exploited the facility was the search for scientific acquires, this was not unconnected with the fact the designers by these systems were Scientifics themselves. Several problems have been eliding satisfactory solutions through, numerical methods of solution exist but involved a very huge amount of computation then, by rendering the problem in accurately accomplished. Not only did computer make reliable solution possible it equally opened new application methods.

The focus of this project work is to develop an computerized students admission 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).

In view of the above, this project is design to implement effectively and efficiently the processing of admission for PRE- NCE and DEGREE programme. Higher Institution of today is non among oat an efficient and standard method of selecting applicant.

1. Purchasing admission forms
2. Submitting the correctly completed forms
3. Selecting the qualified applicants.
4. Determine the number of intakes
5. Compilation of the list of qualified applications

The afore-motional processes are carried out in this project with the aid of computer. There is no doubt that is these present days is as a result of the benefit derived from the prime requirement where are completing for skilled job today. The reality is that the factory machinery is computer based, air line reservations depend on compute, personnel, financial and administrative procedure has become computerized including the command and control functions of the military and the police. This is what prompt the development of a software which will help management of Osun State College of Education, Ila In the area of student admission.

1.3 Statement of Problem

Investigation revealed that 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.

1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of this study is to design and implement a Computerized Students Admission System. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out to develop an application software that will:

1. Ensure accuracy in the computation and compilation of reports with reliability.
2. Speed up transaction processing of admission operation and generation of operation with the manual processing of basic electrical operation of admission decision.
3. Relief the staff operation with the manual processing of basic electrical operation of heavy, tedious and boring work.
4. Prevent repetitive work and duplication of jobs common in the existing system with a convectional database 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.

1.5 Significance of the Study

Research was carried out with an interview the admission officer in person, so as to know the way and manner of the existing system as well as the administrative of the unit and the problem they are facing.

The procedure studies are advertisement, sales, sub mission of application form, sorting into the department, grades and admission of qualified forms for preliminary and degree candidates since school has to personally deal with the form and NCE Brochure for course that is to be scattered for in JAMB and O level requirements.

The study will also provide a computerized student admission 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. It 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.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The scope of this research focuses on the Design and Implementation of a Computerized Students Admission System. 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.

1.7 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.

1.8 Definition of Terms

Admission: The process of accepting students for study at an institution.

Processing: To deal with somebody or something according to an established procedure.

System: Set of computer components which are an assembly of computer Hardware, Software and peripherals functioning together.

Computerized: Convert to computer - based system to install or start using a computer system to organize, control, or automate something.

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.