INTEGRATED RE-ENGINEERING OF FACULTY LEVEL COMPUTER INFORMATION SYSTEM
Abstract
Map:
Introduction
At present, the interaction between CTI dean's office and students occurs in three forms:
Paper - to exchange various information statements or other forms. Dean’s office also places announcements and the academic calendar in the paper.
Personal - students apply directly to the dean's employees generally to obtain information and verbal explanations
Digital - keeps records of achievement, attendance, and stores various information about students (Computer Management System "Dean")
In fact, to obtain any necessary information, as well as to bring it to the end listener requires personal presence in the student's dean. This applies to schedule, the timing of delivery of applications, certificates, information about the transfer of classes (single, continuous), the replacement of teachers, classrooms, canceling classes due to unplanned events, and any other information related to the educational process.
In addition, the paperwork is not automated in 100%. For example, the schedule for each group is written by hand, and constantly corrected manually; similar happens with the schedule of the teachers at the department. All forms of applications are distributed in paper form or as a file.
Thus, automation is only available in one area - in the students performance system of Computer Management System "Dean".
The purpose of this master's work is to improve the efficiency of the dean’s office, with an increase of automation level in the interaction between the dean’s office and students.
Feasibility Study
To date, computers penetrated into all spheres of human life, and for faculty CTIs this is especially true. Also, Internet.has reCTIved the widespread development.
Based on statistics published by Sputnikmedia company and Ukrainian portal bigmir) net [1],normalized site attendance (participating in the rating of the portal) from 2007 to 2009 has increased from 210000 to 450000 visitors visitors, i.e. 2 times.
Figure 1. Dynamics of Ukrainian sites attendance during the period from 2007 to 2009
Thus, the Internet is currentyl the most promising way of interaction between the dean and the students.
In university during the winter semester of 2008-2009 the best methods of interaction between students and teachers were the social network vKontakte.ru and groups.google.com.
It follows that the automatic directional exchange of information is not high enough for the realities of the modern world.
Existing Systems Review
Existing systems differ by methods of management and automation capabilities.
Traditional, fully manual, pre-computer management system.
Partially-automated system, part of the tasks performed with the help of computers.
Maximally automated system, in accordance with the possibilities of educational institution.
Pre-Computer Management System
All directives of deans’office circulate in writing and verbal forms and pass through the entire hierarchy of the faculty before reaching the student.
Consequently, without the group’s monitor journal it is impossible to know the number of classes the student missed.
The main student interaction and the solution to most issues are the responsibility of group's monitor. The monitor also performs transfer of directives, proposals and reports from the dean of students and vice versa, storage of students contact information and other [2] [3].
Also, the student has the opportunity to apply in person at the deanery to obtain personal or proprietary information, and view the ads and the calendar posted next to the dean’s office.
Through a multi-year practice, the system works steadily, but works very slowly.
Partially Automated System
Such a system is a partial computerisation of the above process.
Typically, this is an executable application, which facilitates the processing of chairs personnel and dean’s office.
The capabilities of such systems are examined by the example of computer management system "Dean" of Tupolev’s University:
based on the data transferred from the examining board, to prepare an order for admission of students and about allocation of students by groups;
personal sudent’s card management (personal data);
issuance of certification, test and examination records;
entering of student’s marks;
transfer of student from the course to course;
preparing documents for publication;
release of various reports and information.
Also under this system "for each specialty, there is an approved training plan (curriculum). All these plans are recorded in electronic form. Structure of the curriculum is as close as possible to the paper version.
The curriculum includes information on subjects that should be studied in certain semesters. From any curriculum, a working plan for a semester can be automatically derived. Any curriculum or working plan can be printed out. It is possible to track the training of students on individual work plans. "
"The system automates the release of reporting forms 3NK, reporting on the movement of students over a period of time, statistical information about students, etc.". [4]
This form of automation is also present in many other universities, including DonNTU.
However, these systems continue to be local - they have no interface with the student and employees with editing access rights. In the system [4] there is only "version of the system with the ability to view any information without the right to change it.". And it is a separate version, not the complete solution.
Partially the interaction with the students is implemented in the system presented by "МКР" company[5]
"Using system provided units the students select the required number of courses through the Internet"
Also, the system allows to display the calendar on the website of faculty [6]This system is being used used in many Russian and Ukrainian universities.
Maximally Automated System
This is the system,with the best possible usage of modern technologies in the management of university and faculty.
A good example of such a system is a system of university management, applied at the Ohio State University [7].
This system is an integrated management solution as a whole. It almost completely eliminates paperwork.
The core of the saystem is a Registry.
“The Registry is a kernel of university system. It contains the basic data of all students and all the reading courses, it monitors communications between students and courses, accumulates the assessment in all subjects in the examination. According to a Prospect, the main functions of the Registry are as follows:
Collection and preservation of information on education programs, including those relating to the registration of the courses (the lists of students in courses, lists of courses, examination evaluation, schedule, checking the correctness of the data).
Compilation of data on the basis of available records of the students, official documents (fortnight records, academic references, evidence).
Determining the amount of tuition fees.
Assessment of opportunities and procedures for ensuring the transfer of credits for students coming from other universities.
A formal response to requests for students and educational programs, maintaining the officials in terms of access to information on students performance
Coordination of resources that are shared by different units (eg, university-wide auditoriums and other public places).
Support for various systems of national and university testing (eg, ACT, GRE, SAT, EM, Entering testing).
Optimization of educational resources available to students.
Providing the necessary services in the Office of Undergraduate Studies and the Office of Academic
Affairs (e-mail, image processing, workflow, etc.)„;[7]
Under the theme of this work, particular attention is drawn to the following features of this approach and of related computer system:
On the basis of an individual curriculum to each student an individual timetable is given, and to each teacher - student list (roster), who enrolled for his course. All this information is available through the university Web-site
All didactic materials related to the course, are exposed by a lecturer on the Internet.[8]
Each student can view and print the current state of their performance and history of their education at a university on the Internet, when login under the appropriate password.
Applicants may apply in absentia - by regular mail, electronic mail, or via the Internet on-line, filling out the registration form on the university website (approximately 60% of applications reCTIved via the Internet).
Information database is accessible from all parts of the university via a specialized interface, as well as from the Internet through Web-interface
Examination marks by the teacher evaluation appear on-line, and the system shows them with a list of students (roster), registering on this course.There are no test booklets, test reports and test books in department.
The Development of Faculty Management System in CTI
The management of VTI Faculty isimplemented towards the partial automation.
In the domestic access (only from the Faculty computers and only for the faculty personnel), there is a automated control systems "Dean", developed and implemented by the university.
The system performs:
Accounting of attendance and performance of sttudents
Print supplements to the diploma
Complete lists of groups print out
The output of information about each student
Release of permits to give an academic arrears
Getting information about the curriculum.
This system facilitates the work of the staff of the dean, but does not provide a sufficient level of automation for teachers and students. In particular, there is no dynamic timetable. Information about events related to the schedules of educational process, in the form of advertisements displayed on the stands. Examples of such information:
Schedule of course works presentations.
Plans for the delivery of laboratory work, individual tasks.
Consulting schedule of teachers
Timing of delivery of various certificates and letters.
Terms of delivery and the availability of the necessary works in the semester, for example scientific students work.
Terms of delivery and the passing of various practices.
All materials related to the teaching process, are distributed personally rather than through a dedicated resource.
This way, the management system of the faculty is well-functioning internally automated system, but there is no interface with the teachers, students, and between teachers and students.
It is this interface is being developed within the framework of this master work.
To achieve the greatest effect on this interface should be as transparent and accessible from any location, without having to install special software.
In the most effective way it can be arranged in the form of Web-portal of faculty, which performs the following functions:
Derivation of dynamic scheduling. (All changes to the calendar quickly appear on the site). The dispay is possible as by academic groups and teachers, as well by auditoriums. It also shows the presence of recurrent transfers work and overlay on the selected schedule of consultations, selected teachers and other important events in the Faculty.
Accumulation of personal information about students, mandatory (contact info) provided by student (participation in various events, competitions and so on). Also are possible the lists the options for students in different disciplines.
File archive with materials related to the educational process. Methodical materials, options for individual tasks. All files related to the discipline, the teacher, as well other possible connection. Addition of new materials is carried out as a teacher or student.
News and events stream at the faculty and the ads. These records also are associated with different objects and can be filtered according to user requirements.
Tools for collecting various statistics students, and output a summary of a particular student on the basis of performance and of personal data. Tools are intended for authorized representatives of the faculty.
The preparatino of letters, certificates, applications, essential for putting in the dean's office or beyond. To simplify the dissemination of models for students.
Authorization for the site occurs through a username and password. The registration requires confirmation of any of your personal information known only to the student and the dean, or a personal message in the Deanery.
In the future, integration is possible with databases of computer management system "Dean" or partial replication of the student to gain access to its proprietary information (assessment of the exam in the history of education and omissions, the hsitory of tuition fees), for a timely solution to the problems associated with these areas of the learning process.
Object of Study
As research part of the master's work it is planned to perform the comparative analysis of efficiency, resource intensity and complexity of the design and implementation of several possible options for interaction between the dean’s office, students and teachers:
Traditional system with the need for personal presence
Partially automated system. Static site with examples of the necessary papers, schedule, deadlines, etc.
The capacity study of social networks and other Internet accessible resources.
Development of faculty information systems with the dynamic schedule, active forms of statements and letters, registration and withdrawal the most important events in the near future (a semester), depending on the user to a group, also with the possibility of collecting statistics by users.
Выводы
Computer Information Systems of faculty level are important area of university computerization
The existing systems do not cover all of the functions of the faculty and are often built on old technologies
Requirements are established for the management system on the example of the Faculty of CTI
An implementation method of such a system is developed based on advanced technologies JavaScript Ajax, PHP, MySQL, Apache.
Literature
- Нормированная посещаемость украинских сайтов. - Портал bigmir)net (http://index.bigmir.net/)
- Положение о старосте студенческой учебной группы. - г.Таганрог, Технологический институт Южного федерального университета - 2007 (http://studprof.tsure.ru/documents/starosta/)
- Положение о старосте. - Алтайский государственный университет, 2001 (http://www2.asu.ru/students/liga/documents/starosta.ru.shtml)
- Архитектура и принципы построения интегрированной информационной системы управления учебным процессом КГТУ им.А.Н.Туполева.(http://cnitrt.kai.ru/portfolio/it_razrabotki/dekanat)
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