TITLE PAGE

ONLINE CLEARANCE SYSTEM FOR GRADUATING

STUDENTS

BY

ODO JUDE CHIBUZOR

EBSU/2007/42250

A PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF

COMPUTER SCIENCE

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE

AWARD OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (B.Sc) DEGREE IN
COMPUTER SCIENCE, EBONYI STATE UNIVERSITY

MARCH, 2012
 ii

CERTIFICATION PAGE

This is to certify that this research project titled Online Clearance System for

Graduating Students was carried out by Odo Jude Chibuzor with Matriculation Number,

EBSU/2007/42250 under the supervision of Mrs Ajah I. A. and has not been submitted

either in part or whole to any other institution for award of any degree, diploma or other

certificate.

ODO JUDE CHIBUZOR -----------------------------------

EBSU/2007/42250 DATE
 iii

APPROVAL PAGE

The Project titled “ONLINE CLEARANCE SYSTEM FOR GRADUATING

STUDENTS” has been approved for Odo Jude Chibuzor (EBSU/2007/42250) in partial

fulfilment for the award of Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) degree in Computer Science in

Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria.

SIGN: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------

MRS AJAH I. A. DATE

PROJECT SUPERVISOR

SIGN: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------

ENGR IGBOKE M. DATE

HOD COMPUTER SCIENCE

SIGN: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

NAME: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - DATE

EXTERNAL EXAMINER
 iv

DEDICATION

I dedicate this research work to my wonderful Mother Mrs. M.O. Odo who by her

prayers I am successful, also to the lovers of Computer Science.

 v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am most grateful to Almighty God who gave me the grace, strength and

understanding to carry out my research work notwithstanding my worthiness.

In a special way, I sincerely appreciate the supporting role of my project

supervisor, Mrs. Ajah I. A. for her unbound and inestimable advice, contributions and

corrections during the process of proofreading my work not minding her situation then,

May God in his abundance grace reward you immensely.

My gratitude goes to my HOD, Engr. M. Igboke whose fatherly guidance and

caring has made our staying in this school a success.

I sincerely appreciate the efforts of the Lecturers of Computer Science department

who by their inspirations, enlightenments and impacts has inculcated in me the

knowledge I came to search for in Ebonyi State University, to mention but few are, Dr.

Mbam, Engr. Ekeh V.O, Dr. Onu, Dr. Ituma, Engr. Ugah, Dr. Alo, Engr. Okpara, Engr.

Emeka, Mr Igwe J. etc, may the almighty God bless you all.

I am indebted to my Parents Supol Nicodemus Odo and Mrs. Marcillina Odo, my

siblings Ikechukwu, Sunny, Ego, Okey, Oluchi, Nonso and Dera who have never relaxed

in praying for my success and my well-being. I am grateful to them for many other

considerations to the success of my academics.

I must remain grateful and appreciative to my mentors Rev. Simon Jude Ezike and

Rev. Fr. Matthew Eze who’s counselling and prayers have contributed to my mindset.

I cannot neglect to acknowledge the endearing understanding and hospitality

enjoyed from my friends Kris Nwani (my worthy room-mate), Joel, Cosmos, Joshua

respectively.
 vi

I am also thankful to many people who at different times, in simple but significant

ways shared the burden involved in my academics. I singled out Abel Agbo and Barr.

Chidi Mark Agbo. I appreciate your wonderful efforts.

To many more people who have contributed, though not mentioned I am also

grateful. God Bless you all!

 vii

ABSTRACT
Online clearance system for graduating student is a system that will serve as a more

reliable and effective means of undertaking students’ clearance during graduation. It is

discovered that students faced various problems such as queuing up during clearance,

delay in processing of clearance form, unavailability of some key staffs while processing

clearance form thereby leading to students’ consistent visit in a particular office, loss of

vital documents etc. This has led students to the issue of delayed youth’s service as a

result of their inability to complete the tedious manual process of clearance. It is based on

this problem that the project is focused on the development of students’ online clearance

system to solve and eliminate the shortcomings of the manual system. This computer

based system will be carried out and implemented using PHP, HTML and MYSQL for

database.
 viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Certification - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -ii

Approval Page - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -iii

Dedication - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -iv

Acknowledgement - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -v

Abstract - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -vii

Table of Contents - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -viii

List of Figures - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -xi

List of Tables - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - xii

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of Study- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1

1.2 Problem Statement- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -2

1.3 Aim and Objectives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2

1.4 Scope of Study - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3

1.5 Limitations - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -3

1.6 Significance of Study - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -3

1.7 Definition of Terms - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -4

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Role of Information Technology in Academic System - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6

2.2 Data and Information - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -7

2.3 Computer-Based Information System - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -8

2.4 Databases - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9

CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHOLOGY/SYSTEM ANALYSIS

3.1 Methods of Data Collection - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 12

3.2 General Analysis of the Existing System - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 13

 ix

3.2.1 Information Flow Diagram - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 14

3.2.2 Input Analysis - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 15

3.2.3 Process Analysis - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -15

3.2.4 Output Analysis - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 15

3.2.5 Objectives of the Existing System - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 15

3.2.6 Problem of the Existing System - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -15

3.2.7 Organisational Structure - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -17

3.3 Overview of the Proposed System- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 18

CHAPTER FOUR SPECIFICATION AND DESIGN OF THE NEW

SYSTEM

4.1 General System Functions - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 19

4.2 Main Menu Specification - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 20

4.3 Input Specification - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 20

4.4 Output Specification - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 21

4.5 Database Specification - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -21

4.6 Program Modules Specification - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -25

4.7 Main Menu Design - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 26

4.8 System Flowchart - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 27

4.9 Program Flowchart - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 28

4.10 Database Design - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 33

CHAPTER FIVE SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION AND TESTING

5.1 System Implementation - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -37

5.1.1 Student’s Data Form - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -39

5.1.2 Create Account Page - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 40

5.1.3 Clearance Processing Page - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 41

 x

5.1.4 Students Login - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 43

5.1.5 Clearance Status - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 44

5.2 Choice of Programming Language - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -46

5.3 System Specification and Requirement - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -46

5.4 System Testing and Integration - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 47

5.5 Change Over Process - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 48

CHAPTER SIX SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATION

6.1 Summary - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -50

6.2 Conclusion - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -50

6.3 Recommendations - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -50

BIBLIOGRAPHY - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -52

APPENDIX A Clearance Form - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 54

APPENDIX B Interview - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 55

APPENDIX C Home Page - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -56

APPENDIX D Students List - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -57

APPENDIX E Codes - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -58

 xi

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3.1 Information Flow Diagram - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 14

Figure 3.2 Organisational Structure of Ebonyi State

University - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 17

Figure 4.1 Main Menu - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 26

Figure 4.2 System Flowcharts - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 27

Figure 4.3 Program Flowcharts for Admin Clearance

Login (Phase A) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 30

Figure 4.4 Program Flowcharts for Admin Clearance

Login (Phase B) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 31

Figure 4.5 Program Flowcharts for Students’ Login - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 32

Figure 5.1 Control Panel Login for Admin - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 37

Figure 5.2 Control Panel - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 38

Figure 5.3 Students Data Form - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 39

Figure 5.4 Account Creation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 40

Figure 5.5 Admin Login for Clearance Processing - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 41

Figure 5.6 Clearance Page for Library - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 42

Figure 5.7 Login Page for Students- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 43

Figure 5.8 Clearance Status(a) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 44

Figure 5.9 Clearance Status(b) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 45

Figure 5.6 Clearance Slip - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 45

 xii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.5.1 Admin_account Database Structure - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 22

Table 4.5.2 Department Database Structure - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 22

Table 4.5.3 Student_account Database Structure - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -23

Table 4.5.4 Student Clearance Database Structure - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -23

Table 4.5.5 Student_record Database Structure - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -24