CHAPTER ONE

1.0       INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

Result Computing and Online Result Checker are vital recurrent procedures and processes in every university system that is inevitable. It is the university’s tradition to carry out these processes every first semester of every session, where each student is to know he/her performance in each of the course offered.

These important processes provide the vital performance of student’s in each level in the university system.

The importance of maintaining a consistent approach to the development, upgrading use and review of the Result Computing and Online Result Checker within every department must be an ongoing concern of every institution, because Result Computing and Online Result Checker provides the result of every student in the university system. The basic grades and result computing during the compilation of student result is taking for a session, which comprises the courses in the student’s course outline that corresponds to his/her current level. If a student remains on probation of three consecutive semesters by failing to obtain the status of “good academic standing” i.e minimum CGPA of 1.50 at the end of the first semester 200level (3 semester) which is probation shall be withdrawn from the university. A student withdrawn may be enroll afresh through the relevant qualifying examination (stated in the school handbook).

Mathematics and Computer Science is a department in Faculty of Natural Science, IBBU Lapai. Since its creation, its result checker and result computing has not met the requirements of the current technology age; this is as a result of the inability of the department to implement an automated or computerized system(s) capable of managing information flow within the department.

Considering the fact that Result Computing and Online Result Checker Software (RCAORS) enhances the overall decision making process, job performance, provision of date and information that helps the faculty board and management in making strategic decision, and also the provision of means through which departmental activities can be monitored in order to disseminate result to management and employee. Thus the need for an automated or computerized Result Computing and Online Result Checker should be the sole or primary concern of each department and the University system in large.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

In Mathematics and Computer Science Department, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Lapai, students result grading has always been done by Microsoft Excel, for the past some years, examiner placed student result in department and any student’s having problem with he/her result will write a letter to the examiner of department to rectify it. With the help of Result Computing and Online Result Checker, it will reduce the work of the students (by checking the result and send message of complain to administration), administration (grading student and save time in submission of the grades computing of result) and life is very easy with the help of computer and different type of software’s.

It is obvious that we are now in a technology age where science and technology is applied to almost every sphere of life to make tasks faster, easier and more accurate. As a University it is our duty to lead the way into Science and Technology for other institutions and organizations to emulate by implementing automated systems that will replace all manual processes within our University System. 

The manual system of student result computing and result checker has a lot of limitations which include:

i.                    High risk of vital information e.g Examiner misplacing student’s result complain letter.

ii.                  A student checked examiner’s office several time before he/she successfully give letter of complaint result.

iii.                Since the existence of Mathematics/Computer Science Department the placement of result do not carry courses mark or scores e.g every student’s supposed to know he/her performance in each course.

iv.                Too much time is wasted before a student successfully completes check his/her result.

v.                  Must student do not remember what they have in previous courses because the manual result checker process do not allow you to have a copy of your result.  

vi.                The manual system of result computing is only capable to attend to a limited number of result submitted by course lecturer.

1.3       Significance of the Study

The Result Computing and Online Result Checker portal is an information management system, which employ database technology to process and manage students’ result, this is actually achieved by the actual collection of grade and computing student result through the user interface of a software, storing the grades in the database, collecting students’ scores from course lecturers, and computing those results in a way that determines the grade, course point and CGPA of every student. These procedures help in decision making, because the output of the result computation determine each student’s result and performance, hence the academic grades of each student is obtained.

The benefits of database software like the RCAORCS cannot be overemphasized, as it is evident that any successful organization in the world today also enjoys the benefits of database technology.

Database software like the RCAORCS are designed to save user information, facilitate the manipulation of data in a faster rate, provide concurrent access to authorized users, and also ensure the integrity and accuracy of the information stored by the authorized users. The Result Computing and Online Result Checker software has been designed to manage two accounts; The Student Account, The Admin Account. Each of these accounts have been granted with privileges to ensure that the necessary information are collected and managed in a  way that guarantees the integrity of the data stored in the application. Password restrictions have been embedded in the software to deny access to unauthorized users who may intentionally or unintentionally try to illegally access information and manipulate it to their interest.

This project work has carefully combined the important features of database services required to successfully replace the existing manual course registration process with an automated or computerized system.

1.4       Aim and Objectives of the Study

1.4.1    Aim of the Study

The aim of this project work is to develop a Result Computing and Online Result Checker Software (R.C.A.O.R.C.S) that is capable of replacing the existing result checker with an automated or computerized system.  The proposed automated and computerized system is aimed at addressing the limitations of the existing manual system of student result checker in Mathematics and Computer Science Department of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Lapai, Niger State.

1.4.2    Objectives of the Study

        i.            Provide an objective system for recording aggregating and computing students’ result.

      ii.            To enhance or improve the computer literacy of every IBBU Lapai student.

    iii.            To reduce crowd and queuing of student result checker.

    iv.            To reduce the possibility of making error or mistakes during the result grading and computing.

      v.            To reduce misplacement of student complains letter of result by the examiner.

    vi.            To provide a room to enter student’s result before senate meeting and after senate meeting.

  vii.            To also reduce students population in examiner office after the release of result for complains rather student will send message/comment to examiner on he/her result through this Result Computing and Online Result Checker.

1.5       Methodology

To successfully achieve the Result Computing and Online Result Checker Software (R.C.A.R.C.S) database project, the following methods were used:

i.                    Collection of data from student handbook used for result computation:

The Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University handbook contains all the information on result computation, it is the basic source of result computing information used in designing the result computing and online result checker software (R.C.A.O.R.C.S).

ii.                  Use of Web Design tools as front-end to create the all graphical User Interface in the RCAORC software:

Web design is used to designing a web site or web page layout which will includes the graphical elements on a page, for a site to be dynamic this languages are required; html, csc, js. The Result Computing and Online Result Checker software in this project is designed using Web Design and its languages.

iii.                Use of MySQL database for the back-end:

MySQL is a database management system: A database is a structured collection of data. To add, access, and process data stored in a computer database, you need a database management system, such as MySQL Server.

MySQL is a relational database management system: A relational database stores data in separate tables rather than putting all the data in one big storeroom.

MySQL software is Open Source: Open Source means that it is possible for anyone to use and modify the software. MySQL 5.0 Reference Manual

1.6       Scope and Limitation of the Study

1.6.1    Scope of the Study

The Result Computing and Online Result Checker software will be design to manage the result computing of only Mathematics and Computer Science Department Students from 100 level to 400 level of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Lapai.

1.6.2    Limitation of the Study

For the purpose of this project, the services provided by the RCAORCS is only restricted to Mathematics and Computer Science Department, it does not extend to other departments in the university.

1.7       Definition of Terms

        i.            Computer

Computer is an electronic device that accepts, processes, stores and outputs data at high speeds according to programmed instructions.

      ii.            Internet

Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet Protocol suite (TCP/IP) to serve several billion of users worldwide.

    iii.            R.C.A.O.R.C.S

The term R.C.A.O.R.C.S means Result Computing and Online Result Checker Software.

    iv.            Result Computing:

This is the process of computing each student’s result in a course by each course lecturer to determine every student’s performance in their course. A student’s result consists the individual courses results of the courses registered by the student.

      v.            Software:

The term software refers to a computer program or application installed in a computer, used to perform some specific task(s). The uses of applications or software to perform tasks make work easy, save time, and reduce the possibility of making mistakes or errors.

    vi.            Database:

Database is the integrated gathering of data, information or file intended to service many users concurrently (at the same time).

  vii.            User Interface:

User Interface can be seen as where the user interact with a machine. A user interface includes hardware and software components.

viii.            DBMS:

Database Management System.

    ix.            SQL:

Structured Query Language.

      x.            HTML

Hypertext Mark-up Language

    xi.            CSS

Cascading Style Select