Physics Access (Mar 2023)
Design of an Automated Admission Ranking Information System (AARISYS)
Abstract
A Decision Support System (DSS) is a useful information systems tool that supports decision-making as it aids institutional admission committees in effective and efficient decision-making. Several types of admission DSS are said to have existed over time. However, for most of the admission DSS as seen from the literature reviewed, soft copies of data are obtained from a source and uploaded onto the system, whereas, the DSS can be made to obtain data directly from the source into itself, thereby speeding up system procedures. The objectives of this study, are to develop an Application Programming Interface (API) and use mathematical methods of weighted grade points for ranking and provision of information for sensitive admission analysis and decision-making. The method of inquiry used in this study was inductive, geared majorly towards consultations of research papers, relevant materials such as educational journals, publications, websites etc., and resource persons through oral interviews. This study adopts a qualitative approach, by studying admission DSS with the aim of improving the existing systems. A Use-case scenario was used as a design model and the system architectural model and program flow were demonstrated as well. Thus, the DSS developed in this study referred to as AARISYS (Automated Admission Ranking System), was implemented using scripting (PHP & JavaScript) and markup languages (HTML & CSS) with MySQL. The web-based system fetches Applicants' data from an external Database (source) via an API, store and assign rank scores. Validation and defect tests were also used and the system results were displayed. Thus, with the aid of API, admission DSS can now obtain data from sources by itself, in contrast to the methods of inputting soft copied data, as used by other DSS.
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