College Management System Case of Ark Royal College - Essay Example

 College Management System Case of Ark Royal College Developments in information systems have been having a great impact upon the education sector. Principles have actually been using the management systems to make improvements in the management and administrative services. The aim of this paper is to bring into light the need for a new college management system in your college after shedding light into the current issues that the college is having which the system will seek to solve. 1 Introduction 1.1 Background The management of an institute has a very clear and direct impact on the performance of that institute. Therefore, there is need for a system that will help improve the efficiency and also the other undertakings of a college environment. With the use of properly designed software, the management should be in a position to access all the necessary departmental information and also manage the flow of information in the college. With the current method and manual systems in place, data and information redundancy is the order of the day. This has a cost repercussion on the institute. We will discuss the details of the proposed system compared to the current issues that the institute is going through. Today as we refer this age to be a technology dispensation, there is clear need for every institution or organization to have a system for it to survive (Demir, 2003). Because of the priority accorded information technologies in the modern society, information technology has acquired a high priority state in the education sector and much emphasis is being put on this (Webber, 2003; Flanagan & Jacopsen, 2003; Selwood, 2000, Pelgrum, 2001; Yuen, Law & Wong, 2003). 1.2 College Management System The computerization of the college management is the basic subject of a contemporary college setup. Principals might already have started to make use of the systems in the day to day management of the colleges and the gradually increasing staff duties (May, 2003). From a general perspective, the use of a management system is to increase the efficiency of the management in processing information and decision making, helping them gain experience and superiority in the education industry (Yuen, Law & Wong, 2003). The college management system seeks to create an efficient environment for the management by helping in the processing of information. Telem (1999) defines these college management systems as “a management information system that is designed to match the management task, structure, special needs and instructional process of a college”. As for a more general definition, the college management system functions can be defined as to make programs be more effective, changes in the earning environment more effective, allowing for the teachers to make more systematic changes to their teaching methods, team work and also to determine the needs of the students (Gurr, 2000; Pegler, 1992). It also creates room for the support of the managers and also other teaching and non-teaching staff in the development of their performance, doing of their duty, enhancement of their effectiveness and efficiency (Telem & Buvitski, 1995). In other words, the college management system increases efficiency and effectiveness by saving time, and also by facilitating the quick development of alternative solutions to issues (Vissher & Wild, 1997; Pegler, 1992). 1.3 Current System With the numbers that the college is admitting, there is bound to be trouble in the management and information storage especially because there is no electronic automated management and data storage. Currently the information is stored in manual storage systems and managed manually. There are complains already lodged claiming that the information management system (manual) is hectic and is wearing and killing the teaching and non-teaching staff’s morale. With the colleges need and desire to continue to flourish in the education industry, it is logical to say that the current management system won’t get you there. The current system cannot serve the institute well. Very few people are in contact with the system and fewer people that can feed data into the system. This can only mean that even the system cannot be relied upon to contain precise and up to date information about the different sections and departments of the college. The current administrative resources are located on the main server. This server is called “L-Drive”. Here, the documents are stacked in several folders and sub-folders named after some departments. This is not efficiently marked and the documents cannot be easily accessed. The storage system also allows for there to be data duplication and multiple information storage. Though this storage system is used in the storage of some very important files like the departmental financial reports, these are not safe and non-redundant. 1.3.1 Current Issues There are issues that the college is facing that might be solved by a well designed system. Ranging from the data redundancy and duplication, to the automation of the tiresome manual storage system. Also there are too few parties who have access to the current system. This needs to be changed as there is no sharing of information and some information is not even in the system. This means that the administration/management would have to search for this information manually through the manual filing system. The college doesn’t have an online advertisement platform where it can advertise to the parents and guardians and create awareness of its existence and what it stands for and offers. 1.3.2 Needed Changes There needs to be a system that will take care of the above named issues just to mention a few. The system should also be online to incorporate the website concept. 1.4 Feasibility Study There is a clear and open need for a college management system that is online with a website as an extra in this institution. The current management has been handling things from a shoe string as they are not in contact with all the required information that they need to make the right and developmental decisions. 2 Methods and Procedures 2.1 College Logo and “Motto” I propose to have “May our reading flourish to great rewards” as the college moto. I propose also to have the below design as the college logo. Figure 1: Logo 2.2 System Architecture 2.3 Functions 2.4 System Development Process 2.5 System Requirements 2.6 Budget 3 Proposed System 3.1 Description of Proposed System 3.2 Improvements The new system will have databases for all the necessary and required information. These databases will be accessible to the authorise3d personnel and this will allow for there to be openness and efficiency in the carrying out of duties by the staff and management too. The website will help the administration market the college to the outside world. This will definitely have positive effects on the admissions that are made by the college. With the current plans to expand the college, the online system will allow for smooth incorporation of other branches into the system. It will be easy to do this as only the database will be engineered to accommodate the other college without altering the system. As the system is hosted at a central location, the security of the data is guaranteed and there will be less or negligible data redundancy. This is also bound to create accountability for any data handling as the system will keep logs of all activity with specific details of the acting individual. 3.3 Time and Resource Costs It will take 2 months to design and code the system, one month to test it and another one month to implement it. After the system is implemented, support and maintenance will take place through out the time it is installed. 3.4 Impacts The impact caused by the implementation of a new system is rather very open. There is bound to be rejection and opposition as people rarely agree with or even support change. The flip side of this is that, the system will bring positive change in the functionality and efficiency of administrative functions of the school as well as other management functions like educational reports storage and disciplinary cases records. 3.5 Equipment Impacts New equipment is required for the implementation of the system. The new system cannot run well on the old machines used in the previous system. This is because it will require higher and better processors, as well as more data storage space. Networking equipment is also required as this will be an online system. 3.6 Software Impacts The existing applications will be modified and incorporated in the new system. Specifically, there will be a module for the management only and another will be introduced for the teaching and non-teaching staff. This will allow them to report on cases and also manage the information and data in their different departments. 3.7 Organizational and Developmental Impacts There will be a need for the staff to undergo training on how to use the system. The system will require the user to have basic computer skills and also to be able to follow instructions set for the specific module that they are operating under, be it the management or the subordinate staff module. The website will require marketing and also the schools management and staff will need training too on the different functions of the website as it will not only be used to sell the school but the staff will be able to access their allowed sections online. 3.8 Site or Facility Impacts 3.9 Security and Privacy Impacts 3.10 Rationale for Proposal The proposed system will have additional functions to allow for extra curriculum activities. These we realize and know to be great for the perfect shaping and molding of a child into a well rounded adult equipped to face the reality of life once they graduate. The system will have online games that will have a database for the winners. I propose to incorporate a card and checkers game for the children to play during their free time as well as during the holidays. At least the parents and college management will know what the children are doing during their free time. There will also be some arithmetic and design games that will sharpen the players minds. 4 Results 5 Conclusion 6 Appendices a) Bibliography (Harvard ref) b) Appendices (web pages) Read More