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A TOOL FOR THE ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT OF UNIVERSITY
PROFILE INFORMATION
Jacques Bulchand, Jorge Rodríguez, Ana C. Chattah
University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
KEYWORDS
Internet, Management Tool, e-administration, Higher Education, Information and
Communications Technologies.
STRUCTURED ABSTRACT
Case study
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a management tool that helps to achieve
the objectives of the Plan for Info-Tech Systems and Communications of the
University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for the 2003-2006 period.
Design/methodology/approach
The chosen methodology is absolutely practical. The tool was put into motion
and results were observed as university members started using it and getting
results out of it.
Findings
How easy it is to break the resistance to change and the fears stemming from
new technologies when a useful tool taught with the idea of what users really
need is given to users.
Research limitations/implications (if applicable)
As usual in all case studies, the results of this research are limited by the
methodology, since results have to be reviewed carefully before applying them
to other tools or universities.
Practical implications (if applicable)
It is absolutely fundamental to take users’ needs into account and
implementation of technology tools should be properly planned across time.
What is original/value of paper
The paper presents an easy to use tool that allows university community
members to carry out e-administration processes in a very simple and easy
manner.
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1. INTRODUCTION
Information systems (IS) are valuable elements for organizations since they
support decision-making, organize and classify data and process transactions,
among many other activities (Connolly; 1999) However, when they are based
on information and communications technologies (ITC), the availability of the
means to generate continuous unlimited information may give rise to an
information mountain that makes it difficult to take effective actions and make
well-founded decisions (Applehans et al.; 1999). This situation is called info-
smog, a concept that has been increasing in importance in recent years, with
the exponential growth of content generating different levels of information
utilization (Shadbolt; 2004). Thus, faced with a massive content, users require
management models and tools that can channel, screen, classify, search, find
and integrate whatever is relevant to their profile (Fagan; 2003). At the same
time, those instruments must enable not only existing knowledge to be saved,
but also future knowledge resulting from each user’s contributions, thus
enriching the system.
In this context, the new technologies and the high development of the Internet
are contributing to the creation of personalized websites that integrate and
screen the information for each user (Kohrs and Merialdo, 2001). Linked to this
concept is the need to consider the way to display information for the different
interested parties; that is, the design that enables each of the categories to
access what is relevant to them. Hence, personalization services have become
one of the most important tools to avoid information saturation. The possibility of
creating custom-made sites enables websites to contribute with a much higher
added value in comparison to other means of communication (Galo, 2002).
In this new scenario, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC)
has designed a simple-to-use tool that permits more efficient information
administration in line with the three profiles present in the University
environment: students, faculty and research staff (FRS) and services and
administration staff (SAS). This tool also optimizes the content management
and facilitates access to knowledge through the publications of the FRS. These
tasks are performed by means of a single-access management instrument,
permitting a simple and fast operation and making more efficient use of time
and information.
2. METHODOLOGY
The development of this project started in June 2002 as a result of the
university community management and services objectives defined in the Plan
for Info-Tech Systems and Communications ULPGC 2003-2006 (Pl@n STIC
ULPGC 2003-2006). June 2003 saw the launch of the MiULPGC tool with the
aim of linking, promoting and facilitating interaction between the various actors
in the university community. To make this synergy possible, the different profiles
and the relationships between them were defined at the outset. The interaction
and liaison of human resources is achieved through a series of mechanisms for
participation, by means of which the role, needs, limitations, strengths and
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expectations of each actor are identified. These activities lead to a clear
definition of services in line with the different categories. Figure 1 shows how
the interaction between the key factors based on technology determined the
main actions required of MiULPGC.
Students
FRS
Tool
(MiULPGC)
SAS
Research
Administration
Information
Content Management
Communication
Technology
Educ ation
Figure 1: Interaction between the different actors.
In order to reduce the resistance to change and the fears stemming from new
technologies, the tools must never be included in a plan or project as
predefined, or taken-for-granted, tools. Therefore, this tool was developed in a
network, with the active participation of all those involved by means of
continuous courses with the aim both of promoting and demonstrating its
benefits and of adapting it to the different needs arising in the university
community. The efficacy of MiULPGC is due to the fact that when it was
introduced into the system it took the users’ needs into account and did not
adapt the contents to the tool.
2.1 The MiULPGC Management Tool
Based on the definition of a design, in particular the contents and the objectives
of the tool, the services are defined as shown in Figure 2. The presentation of
those services leads to the administration of information and the creation and
interaction of knowledge. The special feature of this tool is that it permits a
series of services to be managed by means of a single, personalized access
according to the needs of each profile.
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MyULPGC FAVORITES
MyFILES
MyMANAGEMENT
MyEVALUATION
MyTRAINING
MyDOCTORATE
MyRECORD
MyPROFESSOR
MySUBJECTS
MyELECTORAL DATA
MyPROFILE
MyPERSONAL DATA
StudentsSASFRS
Figure 2: MiULPGC Services
By means of a single password MiULPGC enables users to access the features
offered by www.ulpgc.es. When the user name and password are entered, the
system gives a personalized welcome to the user. From that point, the user can
access any of the following services, depending on the user profile.
My Personal Data. This permits registered users to consult their
identification data.
My Profile. This contains details of the official registration in ULPGC as
well as membership to different groups of Web users.
My Electoral Data. This accesses the census information of ULPGC
thus permitting the user to exercise his/her right to vote in the different
university electoral processes.
My Subjects. In this section, students at ULPGC have direct access to
the Web pages of the subjects included in their registration.
My Professors. This is also aimed at students and gives them direct
access to the professors teaching the subjects included in the student
registration.
My Record. If the user is presently or has been a student at ULPGC, this
section offers the details of his/her academic record.
My Doctorate. This enables Doctorate students to access their grades in
the Doctorate courses.
My Training. This contains the offer of training courses available to
workers at ULPGC.
My Evaluation. This permits professors of ULPGC to consult the results
of the questionnaires of Evaluation of Faculty Staff of the University of
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
My Management. Those responsible for managing the Web pages of
any area of ULPGC (e.g. the professors for each of their subjects, their
personal pages and the pages of their research groups, the SAS for the
pages of their service) will find centralized access to the management
area of the relevant pages.
My Files. This permits users to store and manage files and images that
may be later included in their websites.
My ULPGC Favorites. This offers the possibility of adding links to
favorite sites within ULPGC. These links will be displayed on the user’s
welcome page.
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We can see how the transformation of the administrative processes into
electronic formats and e-administration, as a way of facilitating and streamlining
operations, is addressed by this tool. For example, the users, depending on the
defined characteristics, can enroll and register for the subjects and courses in
the relevant periods. The special feature of enrollment for courses through My
Training is that it covers all the available places and, if any user confirms their
non-attendance, the system automatically fills the vacant place with another
applicant.
MiULPGC is a tool that is used intuitively and includes different options that
make it possible to create Web pages easily as well as to store files and images
in a folder structure in the University server in such a way that other users can
share them. Apart from the fact that MiULPGC is so simple to use, no special
knowledge of HTML language is necessary to be able to structure documents.
The tool facilitates the creation of pages in the same style as the ULPGC home
page, thus maintaining complete uniformity of the contents published by
different users. This allows greater independence and less control in the
creation of pages since some predetermined conditions exist without imposing
any restrictions on user creativity.
This new virtual-social space enables knowledge, experiences and research to
be shared with the university community, class notes to be provided for
students, and the content of the Web page to be modified within the relevant
departmental group. Each student and group of actors has unique
characteristics that determine their reaction and interaction when faced with
technology and the emerging scenarios. What is important about this tool is that
it helps to organize, classify, screen, store and synthesize knowledge, making
logical and critical thinking easier.
2.2 Evaluation and Control
The development of this type of project has a social, cultural and technological
dimension. It is not sufficient merely to set it in motion; what we plan is one
thing, but what happens in reality and how the actors respond to the project is
another.
Although the project was launched in June 2003, as previously mentioned, this
tool had a six-month simulation period and so there are data predating that
month. This section contains some of the statistics developed to evaluate the
tool, to improve the practices, strengths and experiences of the tool, as well as
to address its weaknesses.
Table 1 shows the percentage of potential MiULPGC users per profile actually
registered in MiULPGC. The low values for the months prior to June 2003
represent the pre-launch simulation period. The upward trend shows around
60% of registered users in each profile in January 2004.
Date % FRS %SAS %Students
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Jan-03 0% 0% 0%
Feb-03 1% 1% 0%
Mar-03 1% 1% 0%
Apr-03 1% 1% 0%
May-03 1% 2% 0%
Jun-03 26% 33% 2%
Jul-03 32% 37% 22%
Aug-03 33% 39% 29%
Sep-03 36% 41% 40%
Oct-03 58% 44% 45%
Nov-03 60% 49% 48%
Dec-03 62% 51% 65%
Jan-04 67% 56% 67%
Table I: Percentage of potential users actually registered.
Table II shows the average number of pages requested by each registered user
of MiULPGC. In June 2003, the greatest demand was by students, while the
increased demand by the FRS in October is due to the start of the academic
year as well as to the effect of a promotion campaign encouraging professors to
develop teaching material and supply it to the students.
Date
Pag
Req/ FRS
Pag
Req/SAS
Pag
Req/Stud
Jun-03 5 5 23
Jul-03 11 6 32
Aug-03 4 10 14
Sep-03 24 10 24
Oct-03 71 18 16
Nov-03 30 16 9
Dec-03 19 18 12
Table II: Pages requested per user profile.
This type of regular evaluation and measure of acceptance of MiULPGC in key
periods enables us to detect its defects and limitations.
3. CONCLUSION
MiULPGC is a tool that facilitates the design and development of the learning
experience while also streamlining administrative and management tasks. It
should be stressed that the new services that ULPGC continuously offers are
integrated in a single application in a way that gives rapid, personalized access
according to the needs of each profile.
This instrument makes it possible for the different actors to interact through the
common use of technology as a support for virtual instruments. This situation
permits a series of activities to be combined and visible advantages to be
obtained.
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It perfects teaching and research work.
It promotes interaction by means of communication spaces and instant
response.
It motivates participation and collaboration in works by providing notes
and files for students and researchers.
It improves feedback by making it faster, more fluid and more
appropriate.
It contributes to distance learning and to administration processes.
It streamlines management and administration.
In this new age, ICT and its instruments are evolving rapidly and yet most of its
applications are still in the experimental stage. The scenarios and actors are
more and more demanding, which means designing and developing easy-to-
use tools like MiULPGC that are capable of dynamic management and
administration of contents and the integration of information without
overwhelming the users, while offering a space that enables them to act and be
players.
REFERENCES
Applehans, W., Globe, A. and Laugero, G. (1999), Managing Knowledge: A
practical Web-based approach. Addison Wesley.
Connolly, F. (1999), The Human Side of Campus Computing. Campus-Wide
Information Systems. Vol. 16 Nº 4. pp. 131-135
Fagan, M. H. (2003), Exploring e-Education Applications: A Framework for
Análisis. Campus-Wide Information Systems. Vol. 20, Nº 4. pp. 129-136.
Galo, I. (2002), Websites Personalizados: Una herramienta de valor añadido. El
Universal, available at:
http://srvtem.infocentro.gov.ve/srvtem/?MIval=viewFormatHtml&id_biblio=9180
Kohrs, A. and Merialdo, B. (2001), Creating user-adapted Websites by the use
of collaborative filtering. Interacting With Computers. Vol. 13, pp. 695-716.
Shadbolt, N.(2004), Engineering Webs of Knowledge. University of Newcastle,
available at:
http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/research/events/colloquia/abstract.php?id=106
