A universal online application system for universities in Ghana

Abstract

Roughly half of the universities in Ghana still require applicants to send their applications in via post or in person. This places a huge burden on the applicants as many factors come into play, the biggest one being distance. Unnecessary costs are incurred by both the applicants and the schools. Another problem with the current application system in Ghana arises from the fact that universities ask for quite a lot of information from their applicants. In the case where applicants apply to multiple schools, the application process becomes repetitive and tiresome. In this paper, a solution is proposed whereby applicants create an account, fill their personal information once and be able to apply to multiple schools. This application streamlines the application process and makes it more convenient for its users. All the information required by the schools is managed in one account, reducing the stress and burden of applicants remembering various combinations of usernames and passwords. Research was conducted and requirements gathered to provide a basis for this solution. After requirements had been identified, the web application was designed using use cases and necessary diagrams. The application was implemented with the use of HTML, CSS, PHP and JavaScript languages. The system was finally subjected to testing (development and user) to ensure that it meets its requirements. Feedback was collected for future work.