Potential MIS contribution to institutional strengthening at the Open University of Sri Lanka

The OUSL partially computerised its student records more than a decade ago, with the creation of a simple transaction processing system to hold details of students' course choices, marks and grades. However, this system was never transformed into a management information system, its reporting capability remaining limited to simple student lists of one sort or another, and its data coverage remaining exclusively focused on student data. Neither was the database ever extended to include demographic student information which would be useful, for example, in analyses of programme take-up for forecasting and planning purposes. Staff participation in the 3-year DfID/OUSL Distance Education Project highlighted database inadequacies in terms of its potential as an information resource for educational research. But the inadequacies have affected all staff in the university, most of whom continue to function in increasingly difficult circumstances in this paper-based environment. In order to help address the problem the DfID agreed to fund the design and development of an integrated management information system for the university. The principal purpose of this paper is to identify some of the benefits that can be expected from use of the management information system for university management and administration, teaching, learning and assessment, and educational research.

doi: 10.4038/ouslj.v2i0.362

OUSL Journal (1999) Vol.2, (pp.26-43)