CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The field of information technology has advanced dramatically over the last decade, with the introduction of numerous new technologies such as e-commerce, e-learning, e-business, and e-registration, to name a few.
Information is regarded as a valuable asset for every academic institution in current modern era of education and industry. Data and feedback from students can assist an educational institution in aligning its business processes with the needs of its students and stakeholders. Effective data management can assist schools in reaching out directly to students and stakeholders while also streamlining their operations.
Innovations such as information updating, continuous enrolment, e-payment, and online student registration can all contribute to the success of tertiary education.
Many events have shown that successful e-businesses are those that recognize their target users’ needs and match them to relevant content. We currently live in a time when knowledge is king and content is king. This phrase is frequently used to describe any internet-based business. People desire to be able to use a person’s or company’s products and services at any time of day or night. They also anticipate dependable, functional, quick, and user-friendly services, and businesses who supply these services have a greater success rate.
These e-business advantages are also felt in academic institutions. It can be used for online registration and payment of school fees for students.
This project, which focuses on the design and implementation of an e-registration system for tertiary institutions, aims to provide a modern approach to addressing student problems in order to maintain an effective service delivery system. Concerns have been made about the manual processing of registration and student records, as well as the general goal of boosting registration efficiency.
E-registration sites, which are mostly portals, can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection. A web portal, according to Pena-Lopez (2009), is a site that serves as a point of access to information on the World Wide Web, and portals display information from a variety of sources. E-registration is a technique that allows a school to conveniently manage its student body while also giving extra benefits. It streamlines the registration procedure using a web-based, user-friendly wizard and uses an intuitive process and tools to digitize all supporting documents. The education system necessitates a massive amount of data and documentation, and this e-registration solution allows institutions to focus less on paperwork and more on what matters most: meeting their students’ educational needs, thanks to a cost-effective, secure registration process that allows for easy access to student files. Intranets and portals are designed to provide an infrastructure for end-users to acquire effective access to information sources that will help them with daily tasks including decision-making, planning, and research (Brakel, 2003).
Many Nigerian institutions have taken advantage of the great transformational potential of portals by developing and implementing their own. The portal of the Federal University of Technology in Owerri, Nigeria, is one of them. In general, an institution with growing student numbers, working in a society with a growing desire for immediate access to information, should carefully investigate innovative ways to communicate with its students in order to improve efficiency (Brown 2000; Twigg and Obinge 1997).
Students are enrolled in a 2-year National Diploma academic program (ND) and a 2-year Higher National Diploma academic program (HND) at Imo State Polytechnic Umuagwo, much like at the other polytechnics (HND)
In order to qualify for admission, students must pass and obtain the minimal polytechnic entry standards of the SSSCE/WASSCE examination.
A registered student is responsible for registering and paying their school fees. Enrolling and registering a new student, in most situations, entails various manual processes that cause delays for both the school and, more importantly, the students.
The majority of student registration takes place in a registration center. To complete the registration procedure, students must physically come to campus. The following are the issues that the current system has.
1. Inadequate utilities for managing student registration.
2. Students’ inability to register remotely and promptly access their registration number.
3. Students waste too much time completing their registration, which is much worse.
The existing system is out of date and can only be accessed by a clerk at the registration office or center. All pupils will be able to access the system via a PC connected to the internet under the new system. The goal of e-registration is to direct students to a convenient option to register for classes online. Students will be able to save time and money while also submitting their information in a matter of minutes. Furthermore, it can be done whenever and anywhere they like, as long as it is completed inside the time frame.
In order to design and implement an e-registration system for the school, this project examines the student registration procedure at Imo State Polytechnic Umuagwo.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The following issues, which sparked this effort, can be seen in the study’s background:
1. Students’ difficulty in retrieving their misplaced bursary receipt.
2. Discomforts experienced by pupils waiting in line to pay school fees and obtain registration forms.
3. Data can be lost as a result of wear and tear that occurs during file retrieval and manual manipulation.
4. Paperwork at the bursary department and the course form registration center has increased.
5. Difficulties encountered when updating an entry in a file.
6. A student’s record is misplaced, lost, or damaged.
7. Students’ inability to register and obtain papers such as school fees receipts from a distance.
8. Finding registration at critical periods is difficult.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The primary goal of this project will be to develop software that will aid in the elimination of problems associated with students’ manual registration methods. To put it another way, the study’s overall goal is to develop e-registration software.
The following are the precise goals:
1. To compile a detailed list of students.
2. Develop a database for the pupils.
3. To develop an online transaction processing system for students’ fee payment and receipt creation.
4. Create a user interface that is simple to use and understand.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This project effort, “the design and implementation of an e-registration system,” will be extremely beneficial to tertiary institutions because it will assist them in overcoming the issues associated with manual processes. Students’ difficulties in updating a record in a file, their trouble in retrieving a lost bursary receipt, and their inability to remotely register and access documents such as school fees receipts are examples of such issues.
This institution will utilize the program to access the records of their students. The institution will realize the necessity to completely adopt this new system as a result of the knowledge obtained in this project. Students will also benefit immensely from this project because it will provide them with a novel registration experience when the time comes.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The goal of this research is to create an e-registration system for the Imo State Polytechnic in Umuagwo. It will feature programs that will hold complete information about the students from the time they initially enrolled until they graduate, including all of the students’ information and procedures required during registration.
LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
It was not a simple process to carry out project work like this. The researcher faced a number of difficulties, but she worked hard to overcome them and achieve the study’s goals.
1. In this section of the country, there is a lack of data and resource materials for researchers.
2. The researcher also had to contend with the issue of time constraints, as this job had a deadline.
3. The issue of financial constraint was also a major source of concern. To do this assignment, I had to handle the limited funds I had.
4. The problem of intermittent power supply hampered my ability to design quickly.
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