DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ONLINE STUDENT ADMISSION AND DOCUMENT VERIFICATION SYSTEM

1.1 Introduction

A verification system as in this project is an application program used to verify that someone or something rightly and legally belongs to a collection, an organization or an individual. There are different verification system, notably address verification system, adult verification system and card verification system to mention but a few. Student verification system is used to know whether or not a student is or was a legal and rightly registered student. In this context, it is used to verify that a student belongs/belonged to an institution and to confirm that he/she is properly registered in a particular department running any of the institutions programme. This student verification system, also known as University of Nigeria Admission Student Admission system is an internet based system. It is an electronic and computerized means of verifying someone’s claim of studentship to an institution by means of their matriculation number (Mat No) being input, hence using an output clearly showing the truth or false of his/her claim (Stella C. Chiemeke and Franca A. Egbokdara, 2006).

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 this modern age, computers have verified the cause of their existence. The advent of computers in our society caused a lot of criticism on the danger it poses on the society. Critics of computer and new techniques express their fear on how computers will displace and replace all human skills thus resulting to mass unemployment. The presence of computer on virtually every field of today’s fast life has proved the critic wrong as the invention of computers and new technologies continues to create additional jobs for those who identify themselves with computers and new technologies. This make computes partner to human beings in any fields of human endeavor. Over the past decades, students identification and verification has been a major problem in large institutions as documents, certificate and studentship can be forged at a great rate and easy way, using the computer negatively. Forgers fail to know that in this fast moving world, the computer has equally served as an aid to decision making, verification and authentication. This is because of computers efficiency in terms of speed, accuracy, reliability, cost and security among others.

The need for student admission verification system has become necessary to check mate and expunge invalid studentship, invalid document and invalid certificate yielding to authenticity of certificate and documents. Forgery has long crept into our educational system and, counterfeit and forged admission status / certificate and document have upper hand in various certificate and degrees awarding institution. Invalid studentship has become greater than valid studentship.

In recent years, awareness has existed and created in people as it concerned the use of computer in verifying, authenticating and security activities either through web-based (internet) or window-based. Decision support system and others system like management information system and information system are used in organization. Decisions are largely based on experience and principle. The value of every degree is the reputation of the institution and the students produced, hence, the greatest obstacle to any academic institution which is dishonesty and forgery has to be balanced with verification and authentication systems and processes. “In recent times, effort are being made to build intelligence into computer system, whereby the computer can be used to process large volume of structural and unstructured information for decision making” (Uzoka, 1998).

1.3 Statement of the Problem

Investigation reveals that during verification of a student certificate, there were cases of employers spending lot of money in order to verify the authenticity of a certificate presented to them during job interviews. Lack of effectiveness in their methods of keeping certificates record, further compounds the problem. The epidemic of fake admission is ravaging the Nigerian tertiary institution as victims to such fraud are often left frustrated. Students are sometimes offered fake admission with fake documentations from fraudulent persons posing as University Officials. This practice has led to many students losing their time and money studying in a University where they are not authentic students.

Another Issue is that the admission verification process in most tertiary institutions in Nigeria is very strenuous. During the analysis and data collection of this project, it was discovered that there existed a manual form of verifying students’ admission status and for future purpose by the Students Affairs Department of the University of Nigeria. That is to say that the process of daily task and activities are done manually which is quite unfortunate; manual procedural for over one million admitted students yearly, the execution is always delaying and reduces result output quality.

1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the study is to design and implement an online student admission and document verification system using the University of Nigeria as a case study. In achieving this aim, the following objectives were set out as follows to design and develop an application software that will:

1. Prove the authenticity of students’ admission status thereby expunging forged and counterfeit admission status and document from circulation.
2. Show the valid and legally registered student of University of Nigeria.
3. Prove its supremacy over the existing manual system of verification and identification.
4. Highlight the importance of verifying and authenticating students for future purpose.
5. Enable the registrar to automatically generate unique certificate code for each certificate added.

1.5 Significance of the Study

The importance of authentic verification of student admission system certificate cannot be overemphasized as the reputations of institution are affected in every counterfeit or forged document. The study will be beneficial to the student, staff, school management and anyone that wants to verify the authenticity of any certificate from the school.

The Verification system would also improve the monitoring capacities of those who maintain the system. Furthermore, the registrar would be much guided when it comes to adding and generating the certificates of the student, letting them print it promptly and accordingly. Besides, the study will serve as reference material for subsequent researcher in the field or related topics.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The scope and focus of this study is on students’ admission verification system, to help validate students’ admission status via the keep of their basic academic information and bio data updated. Importantly, the student must choose to be students of University of Nigeria (UNN).

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.

1.8 Definition of Terms

University: A high-level educational institution in which students study for degrees and academic research is done.

Verification: The process of establishing the truth, accuracy, or validity of something.

Identification: The action or process of identifying someone or something or the fact of being identified.

Manual: Relating to or done with the hands.

Window based: Hardware and software that runs a version of Microsoft Windows.

Invention: Something, typically a process of development that has been invented.

Registration: This means to keep records received from the management for reference purposes.

Certificate Number (Code): An Assign Numeric data added to each certificate to uniquely identify each certificate.

Management: It is the co-ordination of all the resources of an Organization through the process of planning, Organization, directing and controlling

System: Physical component of a computer that is used to perform certain task.

Data: Numbers, Text or image which is in the form suitable for Storage in or processing by a computer, or incomplete information.

Information: A meaning full material derived from computer data by organizing it and interpreting it in a specified way.

Input: Data entered into a computer for storage or processing.

Output: Information produced from a computer after processing.

Information System: A set of interrelated components that collect (or retrieve), process, store and distribute information to support decision making and control in an organization.

Computer: Computer is an electronic device that accepts data as Input, processes data and gives out information as output to the user.

Software: Software is set of related programs that are designed by the manufacturer to control the hardware and to enable the computer perform a given task.

Hardware: Hardware is a physical part of a computer that can be touched, seen, feel which are been control by the software to perform a given task.

Database: Database is the collection of related data in an organized form.

Programming: Programming is a set of coded instruction which the computers understands and obey.

Technology: Technology is the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use technical and their interrelation with life, society and the environment, drawing upon such as industrial art, engineering, applied science and pure science.

Algorithm: A set of logic rules determined during the design phase of a data matching application. The ‘blueprint’ used to turn logic rules into computer instructions that detail what step to perform in what order.

Application: The final combination of software and hardware which performs the data matching.

Data matching database: A structured collection of records or data that is stored in a computer system.

Data integrity: The quality of correctness, completeness and complain with the intention of the creators of the data i.e ‘fit for purpose’

Password: This is a secret code that a user must type into a computer to enable he/she access it or its applications. This is made up of numbers, letters, characters or contribution of any of the above categories.