STUDENTS RECORD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM PROJECT.

A CASE STUDY OF
UNIVERSITY OF KABIANGA, KENYA

CALEB KWEMOI

DIS/M/0003/2023

A PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF
DIPLOMA IN INFORMATION SCIENCE.
 DECLARATION
I, CALEB KWEMOI, hereby declare that this is my original work and that it has never been
published or presented to any University for any academic award.

NAME:………………………………………REG NO:……………….………………

DATE:……………………SIGN…………………..

APPROVAL BY THE SUPERVISOR

I hereby submit this Project Report for Examination with the approval of the project supervisor.

DR. EMILY MULI

LECTURER,

INFORMATION SCIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT,

Signature ……………………………. Date ………………………………

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 DEDICATION
I dedicate this entire project to my siblings, my parents for their tireless support they accorded
to me since childhood. I thank them for the spirit of hard work, courage and determination they
had installed in me throughout the school days till today. Finally, to Creative Thinkers and
Researchers.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am grateful to all my lecturer who have contributed in inspiring and clarifying my thought
over the years; Dr. Emily Muli and many other lecturers of University of Kabianga.

I wish to acknowledge my supervisor at University of Kabianga (UOK), Dr. Muli, who was
instrumental in bringing this thesis to light.

I am thankful also for the tireless generosity to my sponsors, well-wishers and my family for
spiritual, moral and even financial support and my beloved parents.

Thanks also to the entire staff of UOK, for making me feel so welcome at UOK from day one.
Your hospitality is very much appreciated.

Finally, Honor and glory to the highest God for having enabled me successfully accomplishes.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents
DECLARATION ....................................................................................................................... ii

DEDICATION .......................................................................................................................... iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ........................................................................................................ iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................... v

LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................... ix

LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................... x

ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. xi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS/ACRONYMS .......................................................................... xii

DEFINITION OF OPERATIONAL TERMS......................................................................... xiii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1

1.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1

1.1. Background of the Study................................................................................................. 1

1.2. Problem Statement .......................................................................................................... 1

1.3. Project Objective ............................................................................................................. 1

1.3.1 Specific Objectives; .................................................................................................. 2

1.4 Scope ................................................................................................................................ 2

1.5. Purpose of Project ........................................................................................................... 2

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................ 3

2.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 3

2.1. Integrated Information System........................................................................................ 3

2.3. Database and Database Management System ................................................................. 4

2.4. Student Records/Data Management ................................................................................ 5

2.5. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 6

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY .................................................................................. 7

3.0. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 7

3.1. Approach for the Development of DBMS ...................................................................... 7

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 3.2. Data Collection ............................................................................................................... 7

3.2.1 Observation ............................................................................................................... 7

3.2.2. Interviewing ............................................................................................................. 7

3.3 Database Design. .............................................................................................................. 8

3.3.1 System Implementation ............................................................................................. 8

3.3.2 Systems Testing and Validation ................................................................................ 8

3.2.3 Development of the System ...................................................................................... 8

CHAPTER FOUR: SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN .................................................... 10

4.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 10

4.1 System Study.................................................................................................................. 10

4.2. System Analysis ............................................................................................................ 10

4.2.1. Existing Student Record Management Systems .................................................... 10

4.2.2 Requirements Specifications ................................................................................... 11

4.2.3 User Requirement ................................................................................................... 11

4.2.4 Functional and Non Functional Requirements........................................................ 11

4.2.5 System Requirement ............................................................................................... 12

4.2.6 Proposed Features for the New System .................................................................. 12

4.3 System Design................................................................................................................ 13

4.3.1 Logical Model ......................................................................................................... 13

4.3.2 System Architecture ................................................................................................ 13

4.3.3 Entity Relationship Diagrams ................................................................................. 14

4.3.4 Conceptual Database Design .................................................................................. 15

4.3.5 Strength of the Current System ............................................................................... 16

4..3.6 Weakness of the Current System ........................................................................... 16

4.4. Technologies Used ........................................................................................................ 16

4.4.1. Steps Involved in Database Creation ..................................................................... 16

4.4.2 Forms Creation and Connection to the Database .................................................... 17

4.5 Implementation .............................................................................................................. 18

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 4.6 How to Access the System ............................................................................................. 18

4.7 User Requirement .......................................................................................................... 18

4.7.1 Functional Requirement .......................................................................................... 19

4.7.2 Non Functional Requirement .................................................................................. 19

4.7.3 Software Requirements ........................................................................................... 19

4.8 System Implementation .................................................................................................. 20

4.9 System Testing ............................................................................................................... 20

4.9.1 Unit Testing............................................................................................................. 20

4.9.2 Integration Testing .................................................................................................. 21

4.9.3 System Validation ................................................................................................... 21

4.10 Presentation of results .................................................................................................. 21

4.10.1 Login Form for Users ............................................................................................ 21

4.11 Maintenance ................................................................................................................. 21

4.12 System Interfaces ......................................................................................................... 21

4.12.1 Welcome Memo form ........................................................................................... 21

4.12.2 Login Form ........................................................................................................... 22

4.12.3 System Navigation Home page ............................................................................. 22

4.12.4 System Administration Access form..................................................................... 22

4.12.5 Students Details Registration form ....................................................................... 22

4.12.6 Student list form .................................................................................................... 22

4.12.7 Students Transcript ............................................................................................... 22

CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION ...................................... 23

5.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 23

5.1 Limitations ..................................................................................................................... 23

5.2 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 23

5.3. Recommendation .......................................................................................................... 24

5.4. Opportunity and Lesson Learned .................................................................................. 24

REFERENCES......................................................................................................................... 25

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APPENDICES ......................................................................................................................... 27

APPENDIX I: THE LOGIN SOURCE CODE OF THE SYSTEM .................................... 27

APPENDIX III: INTERVIEW............................................................................................. 29

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 LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Hardware Requirement .............................................................................................. 12

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 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Logical flow of data in DBMS ................................................................................. 13
Figure 2: System Architecture of University of Kabianga ...................................................... 14
Figure 3: Entity Relationship Diagram .................................................................................... 14
Figure 4: Student list form ....................................................................................................... 22

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 ABSTRACT
The success of any organization such as University of Kabianga depends on its ability to
acquire accurate and timely data about its operations, to manage this data effectively, and to
use it to analyze and guide its activities. The Student Record Management system offer users
(Registrar) with a unified view of data from multiple sources.

The main objective of this project is to build a student database system that will store records
of students. It is purposed to reduce time spent on administrative tasks. The system is intended
to accept process, generate students reports and grades and transcripts accurately. The system
is also intended to provide better services to users, provide meaningful, consistent, and timely
data and information and finally promotes efficiency by converting paper processes to
electronic form. The system was developed using basic technologies such as Microsoft access,
embedded visual basic, and Graffiti creator .The system is free of errors and very efficient and
less time consuming due to the care taken to develop it. All the phases of software development
cycle are employed and it is worthwhile to state that the system is user friendly and strong.
Provision is made for future development in the system.

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 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS/ACRONYMS

IT……………………………………………………………………Information Technology

SDLC…………………………………………………….…System Development Life Cycle

DFD……………………………………………………….………………Data Flow Diagrams

ERD………………………………………………………………Entity Relationship Diagram

DBMS……………………………………………………….…Database Management System

RDBMS……………………………………………..Relational Database Management System

SDBMS……………………………………………...…Student Database Management System

RAD…………………………………………………..………Rapid Application Development

VBA……………………………………………………………Visual Basic for Applications

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 DEFINITION OF OPERATIONAL TERMS
Entity relations diagram: is a specialized graphic that illustrates the relationships between
entities in a database.

System development life cycle: is a conceptual model used in project management that
describes the stages involved in an information system development project

Database: is basically a collection of information organized in such a way that a computer

program can quickly select desired pieces of data.

Data Flow diagram: is a graphical representation of the "flow" of data through an information
system, modelling its process aspects.

Microsoft Access: is an information management tool that helps you store information for
reference, reporting, and analysis.

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 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

The registrar of University of Kabianga is responsible for handling student information and
gathering them during enrollment. This information includes each student’s background
information, student courses taken student attendance at lectures grades, performance record,
and other information needed by the Institution.

1.1. Background of the Study

The scope of the service is UOK which provides structural help to vulnerable children in their
cultural setting of the extended family. The school has more than 8,000 students that take
different courses. It is true that success of UOK depends on its ability to acquire accurate and
timely data about its operations, to manage this data effectively, and to use it to analyze and
guide its internal daily activities.

Student Database System deals with all kind of student details by tracking all the details of a
student from the day one to the end of his or her course which can be used for all reporting
purpose, tracking of attendance, progress in the course, completed semesters years, coming
semester year curriculum details, exam details, project or any other assignment details, final
exam result; and all these are purposed for future references when interpreting an organization
performance.

1.2. Problem Statement

University of Kabianga is a Tertiary Institution with is still capturing and storing student’s
record details locally, where hard copies of files for every student is kept in office shelves, this
seem to be tiresome and time consuming in case the registrar is looking of a particular student
document. The problems facing the current manual system are data redundancy, difficult to
update and maintain, inconsistent data, insecurity, difficult to impose constraints on various
data file and difficult to backup. Therefore, because of these drawbacks that Student Record
Management System has been developed to address the problems catalogued above.

1.3. Project Objective

The main objective is to develop a robust Student Database Management System for University
of Kabianga.

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1.3.1 Specific Objectives;

i. To implement the system

ii. To test and validate the system

1.4 Scope

This project is basically designed for University of Kabianga. This learning institution provides
a lot of services to students which includes; Vocational training to students, Admits new
students, keep students records, for every department.

The project provides comprehensive Student Database System for UOK . The system is able to
capture, validate, sort, classify, calculate, summarize, store and retrieve data. Student Database
System store semester details, course details, department details and all the details of students
including their background information, educational qualifications and personal details and etc.

1.5. Purpose of Project

The proposed system is intended to make life easy. The main purpose of the project is to build
a student database system to facilitate easy access of student’s records. The Student Database
System will allow the registrar of UOK, Login to edit, update students details records. It also
enhances efficient management of student’s information and process and print out student’s
transcripts/ result slips.

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 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

A project on Student Information Management system which was carried out by Caleb
Kwemoi, a DIS student at University of Kabianga, It is developed to be used by Tertiary
Institute to maintain records of students easily. Achieving this objectives is difficult using a
manual system as the information is scattered, can be redundant and collecting relevant
information can be very time consuming. All these problems are solved using this project.
Throughout the project the focus has been on presenting information in an easy and intelligible
manner. The project is very useful for those who want to know about Student Information
Management Systems and want to develop software on the same concept.

The goal of this chapter is to explain the theory of database management system development
which will be applied in the development of student database management system for UOK
vocational Institute. The following issues will be presented respectively.

This will give an insight into the project area and help to get information that will enhance the
development of the student database management system.

2.1. Integrated Information System

Integrated Information Systems offer users with a unified view of heterogeneous data sources.
To provide a single consistent result for every object represented in these data sources, data
fusion is concerned with resolving data inconsistencies present in the sources. Querying the
heterogeneous data sources, combining the results, and presenting them to the user is performed
by the integration system.

When multiple sources are to be integrated into a single and consistent view, at least the
following three steps need to be performed:

Uncertainty is a conflict between a non-null value and one or more null values that are used to
describe the same property of an object. Usually it occurs as a result of missing information.
Null values present in tables can have different meanings. Three interpretations of null values
can be distinguished as follows:

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The other type of conflicts is contradiction. It is the conflict between two or more different non-
null values that are used to describe the same property of an object. An example is the case if
two or more data sources provide two or more different values for the same attribute on the
same object.

One good reason for regarding uncertainty as a special case of conflict is the fact that it is easier
to deal with uncertainty than contradiction.

Several forms and reports are used in day to day processing of documents. A database can
integrate these several components hence resulting in improved and more efficient operations
(Greenwald et al., 2005; Connolly and Begg, 2004).

2.3. Database and Database Management System

A database is an integrated collection of data, usually so large that it has to be stored on

secondary storage devices such as disks or tapes. This data can be maintained as a collection
of operating system files, or stored in a DBMS (database management system).

A Database Management System (DBMS) is computer software designed for the purpose of
managing databases based on a variety of data models. A DBMS is a complex set of software
programs that controls the organization, storage, management, and retrieval of data in a
database. DBMS are categorized according to their data structures or types, sometime DBMS
is also known as Database Manager. It is a set of prewritten programs that are used to store,
update and retrieve a Database (Gerald C. Okereke, 2009).

When a DBMS is used, information systems can be changed much more easily as the
organization's information requirements change. New categories of data can be added to the
database without disruption to the existing system. Organizations may use one kind of DBMS
for daily transaction processing and then move the detail onto another computer that uses
another DBMS better suited for random inquiries and analysis.

According Jantz (2001) the emergence of computer based information system has changed the
world a great deal, both large and small system have adopted the new methodology by use of
personal computer; to fulfill several roles in the production of information therefore
computerizing the documentation of student record to enable easier manipulation of the input
process and output will bring us to this existing new world of information system.
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Advantages of DBMS

 Improved strategic use of corporate data

 Reduced complexity of the organization’s information systems environment
 Reduced data redundancy and inconsistency
 Enhanced data integrity
 Improved security
 Improved flexibility of information systems
 Logical & Physical data independence
 Facilitate atomicity problem
 Provides central control on the system

2.4. Student Records/Data Management

According to student records manual prepared by UOK (office of the registrar) the creation and
maintenance of records relating to the students of an institution are essential to:

 Manage the relationship between the institution and the student;

 Controlling the student’s academic progress and measuring their achievement.
In addition, student records contain data which the institution can aggregate and analyze to
inform future strategy, planning and service provision.

A student is an individual who is registered for a pursuing a given course or program.

A student record/data contains information directly related to a student, which include student
name, student ID, student address, guardian information, medical information, Room number
and name and attached student passport photo and a list of personal characteristics. Student
records could be maintained in handwriting, print, computer’s main memory, magnetic tape,
and disk even on cloud backup for safety.
The student records are used by the organization to assist offices in support of their basic
institutional objectives and to document student progress and achievement in the educational
process of the institute.

Educational institution is required to conform to fair information practices. This means that
persons who are subjects of data systems must:

5
  Be informed of the existence of such systems
 Have identified for them what data about them are on record,
 Be given assurances that such data are used only for intended purposes
 Be certain that those responsible for data systems take reasonable precautions to prevent
misuse of the data.

2.5. Conclusion

Finally, since the data generated daily by University of Kabianga increase geometrically

according to the registrar, it is worthwhile and holistic to develop robust student database

management system for the Institution to hold the large amount of data that is generated. The

proposed system, SDMS, should be able to stand the test of time because student records should

be kept as long as is necessary to:

 Fulfill the promised obligations established between the institution and the student.
 Provides information on the academic career and achievements of the student, and as
part of their lifelong learning record.

The information gathered whilst reviewing existing literature on student information

management system has been very useful in the development of the proposed system.

The project when completed will provide an efficient way to store and organize data than
spreadsheet.
It will also serve as a centralized facility that can simplify the work of the registrar. The
proposed

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 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

3.0. Introduction

This Chapter gives a brief description of the methodology used to develop the proposed system.
The main methodology involves feasibility study, data collection, system analysis and design,
developing and implementing Student Database Management System. The data considered
necessary to build the system were collected and analyzed. The methodology is very important
to ensure that the new system would give benefits to the proposed learning institution.

3.1. Approach for the Development of DBMS

The system development life cycle (SDLC) waterfall model was considered. In this model, the
system follows a series of events from the requirement definition, system and software design,
implementation and unit testing, integration and system testing and operational maintenance.
There was use of different aspects from other models like prototyping which helped in coming
up with system definition and analysis, data flow diagrams (DFD) and entity relationship
diagram (ERD). The ERD was used to show the relationship between entities while the Data
Flow Diagrams were used to show the flow of data in the system.

3.2. Data Collection

The required data including department details, course details, student personal details,
semester details, exam details etc. were collected. The data collected would help identify
attributes, relationships, classes, entities/objects that describe, relate and interact with the
system.

The data collection tools and techniques that were used are as follows:

3.2.1 Observation

The researcher went to UOK and observed their daily as regards their current system and they
were manually recording the student’s records in registrars, and principal offices. A follow up
was made to determine the time it took to carry out the student record management. I observed
their system’s weaknesses.

3.2.2. Interviewing

Interview is a powerful tool for data gathering since it allows the interviewer to probe and
clarify a number of issues. Face to face interview was used to interact with the registrar and the

7
Principal of the proposed system to obtain the data required for the database management
system.

3.3 Database Design.

A relational database design was used to design the database. A relational database
management system (RDBMS) is an excellent tool for organizing large amount of data and
defining the relationship between the datasets in a consistent and understandable way. A
RDBMS provides a structure which is flexible enough to accommodate almost any kind of
data. Relationships between the tables were defined by creating special columns (keys), which
contain the same set of values in each table. The tables can be joined in different combinations
to extract the needed data. A RDBMS also offered flexibility that enabled redesign and
regeneration of reports from the database without need to re-enter the data.

3.3.1 System Implementation

This describes the tools used to implement the graphical user interface and the database.
Microsoft Access was used to create and connect relational tables in the database.

3.3.2 Systems Testing and Validation

Testing was done after the system was put in place. This was done in two ways: Implementation
and Unit testing was carried out on individual modules of the system to ensure that they are
fully functional units. The integration system testing carried out after different modules had
been put together to make a complete system. Integration was aimed at ensuring that modules
are compatible and they can be integrated to form a complete working system. For example we
tested to ensure that when a user key in username, password. The system will verifies this
information first before the user is authorized to enter the system, if the password or user name
is incorrect, the system will reject the user access.

3.2.3 Development of the System

This section describes what is evolves to come up with the system and how the system works.

 Front end: enable the construction of easy and intuitive user interface for accessing the
database and navigation purpose.

 Middle end: enables links of the text entered in the created graphic user interface to be
sent to the database.
8
 Back end: it’s easy to use, inexpensive database language it can runs on operating
system such as window and others.

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 CHAPTER FOUR: SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

4.0 Introduction

The chapter describes the system study, analysis, design, strengths and weaknesses of the
current system, Context level diagrams, Entity Relationship Diagrams, Architectural design,
Technologies Used, System Implementation, Testing, and system maintenance.

A student database system intended to track and store student records as the outcome of the
project after a critical analysis, design, building and testing of the system. Evaluation was
properly done to ensure that the system meet all the requirements and specifications.

A stringent plan to monitor the implementation of the new system is laid-out and the entire
project documented. Finally, the new system is deployed and users will receive some training
to understand the new system. The new system would run alongside the old system until the
new system is proven to be effective and efficient.

4.1 System Study

The study was carried out at University of Kabianga the main purpose of the study was to find
out the processes on how student’s record is carried out.

4.2. System Analysis

During the system study phase, requirements of DBMS were categorized into user
requirements, system and hardware requirements.

4.2.1. Existing Student Record Management Systems

Refer to the literature review, observation, interviews and questionnaires as explained in

chapter 3 it should be noted that at UOK the researcher was able to analyze existing systems
as discussed below.

The current system was more of manual where data is written on different papers and
transferred to the different departments, human errors were vulnerable since it was paper based
and retrieval of files was time consuming as they had to manually locate files some of which
were even lost and thus finding such information was hard. Per the statistics carried 90% of
the users were not contented with the system reason that it was not secure in terms of security

10
and storage as it was prone to damages like loss of important information, worn out papers,
outbreak of fire, The speed of recording and retrieval student’s information was average yet
10% were somehow okay with the system reason that the paper work can used for future
reference. The users recommended that the proposed system should be user friendly,
multipurpose enough to handle a number of task at once, could generate feedback when request
is submitted and use of passwords which could deny access to unauthorized users of system
which ensured security. Context diagrams, Data flow diagrams and Entity Relationship
Diagrams (ERDs) were used in the analysis and design of the system.

4.2.2 Requirements Specifications

After analyzing the data collected, researcher formulated a number of requirements namely
user requirement, system hardware software attribute. These were grouped as user, functional,
nonfunctional and systems requirements.

4.2.3 User Requirement

During data collection, the researcher investigated and found out how the current system
operates, not only that but also tried out which problems are faced and how best they can be
settled. The users described some of the basic requirements of the system this includes Search
for Student records, View all types of reports and grade and print out transcripts.

4.2.4 Functional and Non Functional Requirements

The following are the desired functionality of the new system.

For safety and security one user will be allowed to access the system

The proposed system will provide the following features to the registrar:

 Allow the registrar to send emails

 The system will process and print out student transcripts
 The system will contain all the students personal details, (Course, Room number,
Gender,
Nationality, etc.)
And non-functional requirement include the following

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  The system must verify and validate all user input and users must be notified in case of
errors detected in the course of using the system,

 The system only allows the administrator to delete records in the database; the system
should allow room for expansion.

4.2.5 System Requirement

This section describes the hardware components and software requirements needed for
effective and efficient running of the system

Table 1: Hardware Requirement

Hardware Minimum System requirement

Processor 2.4 GHZ processor speed
Memory 128 MB RAM (256 MB Recommended)
Disk space 80 GB (including 20 GB for database
Management system)
Display 800 x 600 colors (1024 x 768 High color- 16 bit
Recommended)
The table above shows hardware components of the machine that allows the system to function
as required for using DBMS

Software Minimum System requirement

Operating System Windows 7 or later
Microsoft office Access 2007 or later
Other  Importing data from Excel 2010 or Outlook 2010 requires
Excel 2010 or Outlook 2010.
 Integration with Business Connectivity Services requires
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.

The table above shows software requirements recommended to enable the system to run as
required for using DBMS

4.2.6 Proposed Features for the New System

The system captured and store Sstudent’s records for all departments in an Institution.

The system generates all Students grade transcripts automatically.

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The system identifies student attendance and store the record of the days a student was present
or absent.

4.3 System Design

After interpretation of the data, tables were drawn and process of data determined to guide the
researcher of the implementation stage of the project. The tools, which were employed during
this methodology stage, were mainly tables, Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) and Entity
Relationship Diagrams (ERDs). The design ensures that only allows authorized users to access
the system‟s information.

4.3.1 Logical Model

This figure shows the logical flow of events in the system, it caters for the time when the user
login and signs out from the system.

Figure 1: Logical flow of data in DBMS

4.3.2 System Architecture

This gives a high level view of the new system with the main components of the system and
the services they provide and how they communicate. The system is implemented using a three-
tier architecture that comprises of user interface, process management and DBMS as illustrated
below.

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Figure 2: System Architecture of University of Kabianga

4.3.3 Entity Relationship Diagrams

Entity Relationship diagrams is a specialized graphics that illustrate the interrelationship

between entities in a database. Here diagrams always use symbols to represent different types
of information.

Figure 3: Entity Relationship Diagram

Entity Relationship and their cardinality
This section demonstrates the binary relationships between two entities of the system.

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A STUDENT may enroll in zero, one, or many COURSEs. A COURSE may be attended by zero,
one, or many STUDENTs. The date that a specific STUDENT enrolls in a specific COURSE is
recorded in the registration date attribute of this relationship.

A TRANSCRIPT must record the grade for at least one COURSE, but may record grades for many
COURSEs. A COURSE may appear on zero, one, or many TRANSCRIPTs.

A STUDENT either has been issued a single TRANSCRIPT or has not. A TRANSCRIPT is assigned
to a single STUDENT

A COURSE may specify zero, one, or many prerequisite COURSEs. A COURSE may be a
prerequisite for zero, one, or many COURSEs.

4.3.4 Conceptual Database Design

After system investigation and analysis, the concept of the new system was designed and all
the relevant entities involved in the system were identified. Therefore the following entities
were chosen to capture organization information

i. Student
ii. Course
iii. Department

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4.3.5 Strength of the Current System

These were introduced to solve problems with the existing manual systems. The automated
Student information Management system has many advantages over the manual system. This
can be explain as follow

The major benefit of the system is that it helps the staff to accomplish their daily functions
more efficiently, and Limit the use of papers.

Quick access to the required information as it is only, one click away.

It solves the problem of time consuming, since data is centralized.

It also enhances security as access to the system requires authentication. This means that only
authorized users can access that system.
The registrar can login into the system and execute any of the available tasks;

 Can edit student information in the database;  Can make search for a specific student;
 Can access all the details of the student.
 Can view his/her personal details.
 Can upload student’s image.
 Generate students transcripts and print them out

4..3.6 Weakness of the Current System

The system is not web based therefore the user should create a backup somewhere else for
security purpose.

The institution administration finds it tiresome and time consuming when entering students
details for every department.

4.4. Technologies Used

Microsoft Access, visual basic and programming language are used to create the interface
which allows the front end user to interact freely with the system.

4.4.1. Steps Involved in Database Creation

The following steps were followed to create the database in Microsoft Access:

 Before launching Access, DB designed on a paper. To do this, begin by considering

what database would accomplish.

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  Give your database a name (Student DB), select a folder to store it in and click Create.
 Create the Tables ( Login, Students, Guardian, etc)
 Add Captions to Fields
 Set the Primary Key for each available table created
 Create the relationship between tables
 Query tables
 From the table create the forms (Login, Students, Guardian, Transcript, Memo forms
etc.)
 Create reports to display the information entered in the system
 Create buttons (Print, Open, Close, Filter etc. ) for system navigation

4.4.2 Forms Creation and Connection to the Database

 Open the Navigation pane.

 Click the table or query on which you want to base your form.
 Activate the Create tab.
 Click Form in the Forms group. Access creates a form.

Modify a Form

After you create a form, it opens in Layout view, where you can modify it.
To change the size of a field:

 Click a side of the field and drag to change the width of the field.
 Click the top or bottom of a field and drag to change the height of a field.
To move a datasheet:

 Click the datasheet to select it.

 Click and drag the four-sided arrow in the upper-right corner to move the datasheet.
To resize a datasheet:

 Click the datasheet to select it.

 Click a side of the datasheet and drag to change the width.
 Click the top or bottom of the datasheet and drag to change the height. To apply an
AutoFormat:

The AutoFormat option on the Format tab enables you to apply formats quickly, such as
background colors, field colors, field label colors, and fonts.

 Activate the Format tab.

 Click AutoFormat. The AutoFormat menu appears.
 Click the format you want to apply. To change a form title:

When you create a form, by default, Access uses the form name as the title. You can change
the title.

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  Activate the Format tab.
 Click the Title button.
 Type the new title.
To add the date and time:

You can easily add the date and time to your form.

 Activate the Format tab.

 Click the Date and Time button. The Date and Time dialog box appears. Select the date
and time format you want. The date and time appear on your form.
For the login form to function, On clicking the command button (cmdLogin) the code is
attached to the buttons.

4.5 Implementation

Implementation includes all the activities that take place to convert from the old system to the
new. A proper implementation is required to provide a dependable system to meet the
requirements. An improper installation may affect the success of the system. The most
appropriate approach used was to run the old and new system in parallel. This offers high
security, because even if there is a flaw in the automated system, the manual system can be
depended on.

4.6 How to Access the System

 To identify the problems involved in the implementation of the current student

information system;

 To develop a database system that allows the registrar to list and update students
information;
 Login module: Login module will help in authentication of user . Users who have
valid login id and password can be allowed the access into the system;

 Search module: This model allows one to search for a particular student or group of
students using search criteria such as name of student, Index number, course code etc;

4.7 User Requirement

For effective use of the system, it is important that users are fully involved and are given
opportunities to participate as much as possible This rectifies numerous problems associated
with change management, users getting accustomed to using new way of doing things as

18
opposed to traditional system of student records management system. During data collection,
the researcher investigated and found out how the current system operates, not only that but
also tried out which problems are faced and how best they can be settled. The users described
some of the basic requirements of the system as;

 Search for Student

 Update, student records
 View all types of reports (Students attendance, Address book, and Phone list, Student
by room, Students by level, Medical information.
 Generates students transcripts and certificates Assign access rights and privileges to
the system users.

4.7.1 Functional Requirement

The following is the desired functionality of the new system.

 The system should authenticate the users of the system.

 The system should generation of students reports and Print out transcript and
certificates.  The system should only allow the administrator to delete records in the
database.

4.7.2 Non Functional Requirement

 The system should must verify and validate all user input and users must be notified in
case of errors detected in the course of using the system.
 The system should allow room for expansion.
 A system should have a high performance and reliability level.

4.7.3 Software Requirements

The technology selected for implementing Student Database System is Microsoft Access,
embedded visual basic and graffiti creator.

Microsoft Access

Microsoft Access is a rapid application development (RAD) relational database tool. Access
can be used for both desktop and web-based applications, and uses VBA as its coding language.

Visual Basic

Visual basic is a programming language and environment developed by Microsoft, based on

the BASIC language. Since its launch in 1990, the Visual Basic approach has become the norm
for programming languages. Now there are visual environments for many programming

19
languages, including C, C++, Pascal, and Java. Visual Basic is sometimes called a Rapid
Application Development (RAD) system because it enables programmers to quickly build
prototype applications.

Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project is a project management software program, developed and sold by Microsoft,
which is designed to assist a project manager in developing a plan, assigning resources to tasks,
tracking progress, managing the budget, and analyzing workloads.

Graffiti Creator

Graffiti is usually appeared as images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in

any manner on property.

4.8 System Implementation

This describes the tools used to implement the graphical user interface and the database.
Microsoft access was used to create and connect deferent tables, queries, forms and reports in
the database.

4.9 System Testing

The system testing was done to ensure that the system produces the right results. It was time
consuming to test the system because data must be carefully prepared, results reviewed and
corrections made in the system.

The following explain the ways in which testing is done.

4.9.1 Unit Testing

Unit testing was carried out on individual modules of the system to ensure that they are fully
functional units. This was done by examining each unit. It was checked to ensure that it
functions as required and that it adds student’s data and other details and also ensured that this
data is stored in the database. The success of each individual unit gave led a go ahead to
carryout integration testing. All identified errors were dealt with.

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4.9.2 Integration Testing

The integration testing carried out after different modules had been put together to make a
complete system. Integration was aimed at ensuring that modules are compatible and they can
be integrated to form a complete working system.

4.9.3 System Validation

Validation of the system was very important. Validation of the system was done by comparing
it to the questions asked by the users at University of Kabianga. Most of their answers matched
with what the system can do. For example the system ensures security for the student’s
information.

4.10 Presentation of results

The presentation of the results of SDBMS is analyzed in terms of the interfaces of the system
and output from the backend of the system. This includes activities of the users. The following
are the results after the implementation of the SDBMS.

4.10.1 Login Form for Users

Only authorized user with the right user name and password has right to access the services to
particular department he or she intent to view. When wrong user name and password is used
the system rejects access to the services.

4.11 Maintenance

The system will be maintained periodically through effective monitory and evaluation. This
will go a long way to help identify and debug emergency production problems and address
them accordingly. A considerable amount of time would be spent to effect changes in data,
files, reports, hardware and software.

4.12 System Interfaces

All system interfaces in this chapter were created in Microsoft Access and Graffiti creator

4.12.1 Welcome Memo form

Initializes the system functionality before user access to other forms

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4.12.2 Login Form

Only authorized user with the right user name and password has right to access the services to
particular department he or she intent to view. When wrong user name and password is used the
system rejects access to the services.

4.12.3 System Navigation Home page

The navigation Home page enables the access of each student’s record in all departments, the
system administrator and any authorized user like registrar has access to update the student’s
record.

4.12.4 System Administration Access form

The system administrator can add, edit system users by changing the user ID and Passwords,
and has access to view the services offered by the different departments in a learning institution.

4.12.5 Students Details Registration form

The authentic, user will have access to add or edit each students records, and entering/Capturing
new students details.

4.12.6 Student list form

The Student list form enable the registrar to view list of students in every department, and
navigating the student grade entry list forms.

Figure 4: Student list form

4.12.7 Students Transcript

The student’s transcripts are generated by the system as an academic ward for each student
whom the subject marks and grades has been entered by the registrar into the system. Below is
a print view sample of the transcript.

22
 CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

5.0 Introduction

This chapter describes discuss the objectives of the system stipulated in earlier chapter,
limitation of the system conclusion and recommendation of the system.

5.1 Limitations

This section describes those services that are not provided by the system and those include the
following

It is not cloud based database Management system, therefore it limits other users from
interacting with it. The user is to ensure separate information backup reason that we use
Microsoft access to develop the system which cannot support the system to be used on other
operating system like Linux and apple.

5.2 Conclusion

Information is an indispensable tool many organizations use to advance decision making. Large
amount of student’s data are generated either manually or electronically on daily basis.

When population of student in a school is less than a hundred, the manual system can work
perfectly but it is not the best method of managing records of students. The manual and
disintegrated electronic systems have numerous disadvantages because these methods of
capturing and managing data about students are prone to data inconsistency, data redundancy,
difficult to update and maintain data, bad security, difficult to impose constraint on various
data file and difficult to backup.

An integrated student database system provides prudent solutions to address problems

associated with manual system. In order to assess the performance of the school and students
overtime, there is the need to use past records of students without any missing data. The
integrated student database system which captures and maintains longitudinal data of students
would provide an accurate and reliable data about current and past students.

23
The system is free of errors and very efficient and less time consuming due to the care taken to
develop it. All the phases of software development cycle are employed and it is worthwhile to
state that the system is very robust. Provision is made for future development in the system.

5.3. Recommendation

Since student database system is very broad, the scope of this project covers only a small aspect
of student information system due to the fact that the stipulated one month within which the
project is expected to be executed is too short.
Students who are interested in building database system should be encouraged to work on other
aspect of student information system in that all the available related student database system
could be linked together.

This report could be useful to any person who wants to do a project on similar topic.

5.4. Opportunity and Lesson Learned

During the course of this project, the research was able to understand better what goes in the
student’s records management system in a learning institution. This was effectively done
through reading of literature and research. The whole process of developing the system was an
opportunistic challenge.

Seeing the system into a tangible system was a rewarding exercise.

24
 REFERENCES
Melogoza, P. and Gyeszly, S.D (2002) “Information overloads”.collection building 21, 1:32-
42.

Jantz, R. (2001) “Knowledge management in academic libraries:

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/V/Visual_Basic.html accessed on 19.3.2016

Adams, C., Beath, C. M, Bolan, R., Branin, J., D’Elia, G., Rhode, N.L. & Straub, D. 1991.
Issues
Relating to the Implementation and Management of an Integrated Information Centre.
Journal of the American Society for Information Science.

Connolly, T.M. and C.E. Begg, 2004. Database System: A Practical Approach to Design,
Implementation and Management. 4rd Edn., Addison Wesley; ISBN: 10: 0321210255,
pp: 1236

Adman, P. & Warren, L. 1996. Information systems management: Perspectives for Higher
Education. Lancs: Mir Press

Angell, I. O. & Smithson, S. 1991. Information Systems management: Opportunities and Risks.
London: Macmillan Education Ltd.

Association for the Development of Education in African. 2001. Technology as a Management

Tool: A New Approach and Implementation. http//www.technologia.org/ [accessed on
23rd March 2016].

Blaha M Rumbaugh 2005 (2nd ed.) Object-Oriented Modeling and Design with UML.
[Basically this is the second edition of Rumbaugh et al 1991]. Prentice Hall

Higgins, J.C. 1976. Information Systems for Planning and Control: Concepts and Cases.
London: Edward Arnold.

Husain, K.M. 1977. Information Systems: Basic Concepts, Management Information Systems
for Higher Education. Paris: The Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development.

Gerald, C.O. 2009. Database Management System. Nigeria National Open University.

Kroenke, D. & Hatach, R. 1994. Management Information Systems, 3rd edition. New York:
McGraw-Hill.

B. G. 1997. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. In Student Records
Management, edited by M Theresa Ruzicka and Beth Lee WeckMulle. London:
Greenwood Press, 43-76.

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Mennel, P.A (2006) “management information systems” information management vs. decision
making. Loudon.

Oliver, R. (2000). Creating Meaningful Contexts for Learning in Web-based Settings.

Proceedings of Open Learning 2000. (pp 53-62). Brisbane: Learning Network,
Queensland.

Lebow, D. (1993). Constructivist values for instructional systems design: Five principles
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Collis, B, & Pawlowski, J. (Eds.) Handbook on Technologies for Information and Training.
Berlin: Springer Verlag. http://www.opengatesw.net/ms-access-tutorials/What-Is-Microsoft-
Access-Used-For.htm accessed on 22.1.2016

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Jonassen, D. & Reeves, T. (1996). Learning with technology: Using computers as cognitive
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http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/D/database.html accessed on 20.1.2016

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 APPENDICES

APPENDIX I: THE LOGIN SOURCE CODE OF THE SYSTEM

Private Sub cmdLogin_Click()

'Check to see if data is entered into the UserName combo box

If IsNull(Me.cboEmployee) Or Me.cboEmployee = "" Then

MsgBox "You must enter a User Name.", vbOKOnly, "Required Data"

Me.cboEmployee.SetFocus

Exit Sub

End If

'Check to see if data is entered into the password box

If IsNull(Me.txtPassword) Or Me.txtPassword = "" Then

MsgBox "You must enter a Password.", vbOKOnly, "Required Data"

Me.txtPassword.SetFocus

Exit Sub

End If

'Check value of password in tblEmployees to see if this

'matches value chosen in combo box

If Me.txtPassword.Value = DLookup("strEmpPassword", "tblEmployees", _

"[lngEmpID]=" & Me.cboEmployee.Value) Then

lngMyEmpID = Me.cboEmployee.Value

'Close logon form and open splash screen

DoCmd.Close acForm, "frmLogon", acSaveNo

DoCmd.OpenForm "frmSplash_Screen"

Else

MsgBox "Password Invalid. Please Try Again", vbOKOnly, _

27
"Invalid Entry!"
Me.txtPassword.SetFocus

End If

'If User Enters incorrect password 3 times database will shutdown

intLogonAttempts = intLogonAttempts + 1

If intLogonAttempts > 3 Then

MsgBox "You do not have access to this database.Please contact admin.", _

vbCritical, "Restricted Access!"

Application.Quit

End If

End Sub

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APPENDIX III: INTERVIEW

AN INTERVIEW GUIDE ON: IMPACT OF INFOMATION MANAGEMENT ON

ORGANIZATION GROWTH A CASE STUDY OF UNIVERSITY OF KABIANGA

I am CALEB KWEMOI, a student of Diploma in Information Science at University of Kabianga. As

required by the University, I am carrying out a research on a topic entitled: Impact of Information
management on organization growth a case study of University of Kabianga.

You have been selected as a potential respondent and are kindly I would request you to help me to
answer these questions for me in a honestly and possible way please

1. How long you have worked for this Institute and what are your duties?
2. Could you please tell me some of the ways you manage information as an institution?
3. How is the students and staff data obtained here? Kindly, explain how this can be done?
4. Please madam/sir, do you think the method you use is safe for data security from authorized
users?
Please, explain?
5. In case it is not safe, your opinion, do you think that there are any ways that these can be
prevented? 6. In your own opinion, don’t you think failure to manage information can limit
the growth of the

Institution?
7. Please, explain to me how an Institution is trying to overcome some of these issues? This is
great!
8. I do appreciate for sacrificing your time for me, God bless.

Thank you.

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