CHAPTER ONE/INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Student admissions are a vital part of any academic instituion’s running because students are what keep the institutions alive. The student admission is one of the most important activities within a university as one cannot survive without students. A poor admissions system can mean fewer students being admitted into a university because of mistakes or an overly slow response time. The process begins with a potential student completing an application form through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, the first step for students is to apply directly to the university through a custom online form. The next step is for the Admissions service center has to review the application and ensure that all of the required information has been provided, from the form itself to the supplementary documentation, such as language and degree certificates. If any of the required information is missing, it is the secretary for the department to which the application concerns that contacts the potential student and arranges for the delivery of the outstanding data. The application in its entirety is then forwarded, complete with a recommendation, to the respective department’s Admissions Tutor, who has the final say as to whether each potential student is accepted or rejected. Before making a decision, the Admissions Tutor reviews the application and the additional documentation, comparing the academic credentials to a list of university rankings and previous, similar applications.
 

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

The national focus on student outcomes has placed an additional burden on our nation’s schools, school districts, and state education agencies, for they must monitor the achievement of individual students, as well as groups of students, and show that all students are meeting high standards for learning. An education organization’s ability to meet this challenge is affected by the organization’s access to complete, accurate, and timely information about its students. Many schools, school districts, and state education agencies already collect and use data effectively. However, the proliferation of new reporting requirements and dramatic changes in technology have had a profound effect on the need for student data and the education community’s ability to manage student records. Purchase of more powerful computer hardware and software and the reconfiguration of information systems have become essential components in efforts to meet the needs of all students. There is probably no single best information system solution that can meet the needs of all 90,000+ public schools, 16,000+ school districts, 27,000 private schools, and 57 education agencies in states and outlying areas. However, there are certain steps that could help all education organizations to determine the best solution for their particular situations. This booklet can lead education organization decision-makers through the process of making the best and most cost-effective decisions about information management systems devoted to individual student records.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Many institutions do not have an automated system to manage the admission screening of prospective students. The consequence of this is that the time spent in processing admission becomes too long. In addition, the manual system in place makes it very difficult for the admission officers to record and retrieve needed information pertaining to admission. Errors are numerous in the manual screening. There is therefore need for an automated system to handle the admission screening process so as to improve admission screening, reduce errors and save time. More importantly, the record of admission status of the students should be easily stored and retrieved.
 

• AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The aim of the study is to develop an admission screening system for tertiary institutions. The following are the specific objectives:

• To develop an automated system that will aid in the screening of students based on admission requirements
• To develop a system that will allow the easy updating of admission information
• To develop a system that will enable easy storage and retrieval of admission information.
• To implement a system that can hold a database of admission records such that it can be queried to get report.

1.4 Scope of the study

This study covers admission screening for tertiary institutions, using Akwa Ibom state polytechnic as a case study

1.5 Significance of the study

The significance of the study is that it will provide a possible solution to the problem of admission screening. It will aid admission officers of Akwa Ibom state polytechnic to carry out their duties effectively. The study will also benefit the students and management as it will reduce the time spent in processing admission. The study will also serve as a useful reference material to other researchers seeking information on the subject.
 

1.6 Organization of the Research

This research work is organized into five chapters. Chapter one is concerned with the introduction of the research study and it presents the preliminaries, theoretical background, statement of the problem, aim and objectives of the study, significance of the study, scope of the study, organization of the research and definition of terms.Chapter two focuses on the literature review, the contributions of other scholars on the subject matter is discussed.
Chapter three is concerned with the system analysis and design. It analyzes the present system to identify the problems and provides information on the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed system. The system design is also presented in this chapter.
Chapter four presents the system implementation and documentation. The choice of programming language, analysis of modules, choice of programming language and system requirements for implementation.
Chapter five focuses on the summary, conclusion and recommendations are provided in this chapter based on the study carried out.