A Student Information System is the software application that institutions, particularly schools, colleges and universities, use to manage data regarding the students. The system allows for online testing to be used, and subsequent online marking and rapid mark delivery, as well as storing information regarding the personal and contact details of the student, including their description, studies, current accommodation, and payment methods and details for tuition.
Some universities expand on this and assign students cards for their time at university. These cards act as electronic trackers that need to be scanned for each seminar or lecture, as well as provide access to university facilities such as libraries and student-only bars.
The scope of the information system is as wide as the human thought that goes into it. The computer system could be clever and know what items, be they books, food or alcohol, are bought in university premises and then analyze the trends involved and stock more in that direction in order to make the most sales. Alternatively, an educational institute could provide one of these student cards and have them with a built in tracker chip, to know whereabouts on campus or the school site was the most popular and where wasn't, enabling adjustments in facilities and provisions.
The limitations and pitfalls of such systems are their online presence. High security is needed to protect - especially in the case of universities - financial details, not to mention the other contact details of students. Personal information protection is a serious responsibility and heavily punishable by the law.
Other problems or limitations include power supply (especially in places like California which experience power outages fairly regularly) and the storage capacity needed for the amount of students. The more students, the more data, and the more data means the more server processing power and memory that is required, not to mention the on-site Internet speeds required to make such a system work fully.
Some universities expand on this and assign students cards for their time at university. These cards act as electronic trackers that need to be scanned for each seminar or lecture, as well as provide access to university facilities such as libraries and student-only bars.
The scope of the information system is as wide as the human thought that goes into it. The computer system could be clever and know what items, be they books, food or alcohol, are bought in university premises and then analyze the trends involved and stock more in that direction in order to make the most sales. Alternatively, an educational institute could provide one of these student cards and have them with a built in tracker chip, to know whereabouts on campus or the school site was the most popular and where wasn't, enabling adjustments in facilities and provisions.
The limitations and pitfalls of such systems are their online presence. High security is needed to protect - especially in the case of universities - financial details, not to mention the other contact details of students. Personal information protection is a serious responsibility and heavily punishable by the law.
Other problems or limitations include power supply (especially in places like California which experience power outages fairly regularly) and the storage capacity needed for the amount of students. The more students, the more data, and the more data means the more server processing power and memory that is required, not to mention the on-site Internet speeds required to make such a system work fully.
