UG Celebrates 10 years of online service

May 05, 2019 News

On April 19, the University of Guyana (UG) celebrated 10 years of offering online services through the Student Records Management System (SRMS) which opened for online applications in 2009. Vice Chancellor and Principal of the university, Professor Ivelaw Griffith, has described this accomplishment as a “notable milestone.”
Professor Griffith said, “Anniversaries are always opportunities to reflect and give appreciation, and a tenth anniversary is an even more notable milestone, especially for something as institutionally significant and impactful as the SRMS.
“Thus, allow me to take this opportunity to record my enormous thanks to the Software Services team, both for creating this enterprise mechanism and for maintaining and enhancing it over the years. I trust that our efforts to move to an industry enterprise soon will begin to bear fruit, and that we shall be celebrating the launch of Ellucian Banner before too long.”
Dr. Theodosius Velloza, Deputy Registrar, said that without SRMS a student had to visit his office to air their concern. He said that he would listen and ask the student to return because he wants to peruse his/her academic records. Thereafter, he would ask the student to return to conclude the matter.
He pointed out that, “A passage of time no less than 24 hours has elapsed.” However, with SRMS, he said, “I go online, and retrieve the student’s record electronically, while the student is in my office. I peruse the record and deal with the matter immediately. A passage of time no more than 15 minutes has elapsed!”
The Deputy Registrar further said that this transformational relationship between the university and its clientele was only possible with the advent of the SRMS. He added that online applications are available for admission and transcripts can be done from the comfort of the home or office.
Students are notified via email when grades are available, financial standing can be viewed and monitored by administrative Heads and clients online, and alumni can track the progress of their transcript applications, Velloza added.
“Internal transfer of physical files has been minimized. Staff in the Faculty and the Registry can view the same record simultaneously. Indeed, we have progressed greatly with the SRMS, and we will continue to offer better service to our students as the SRMS improves.”
Meanwhile, the Staff, Department of Software Services at the University had this to say, “SRMS has been designed and developed using Free and Open Source Software by the staff from Department of Software Services. Our team is conscious of the fact that SRMS has to be more student-friendly, easy to use and there is so much scope for improvements. It’s a work in progress. We are happy to be of service to you.”
Prior to the launch of SRMS, prospective students, current students and alumni had to make their applications on paper for various student services. After the launch of SRMS, many features like Registration for courses, Leave of Absence, Change of Registration, Exemptions, Transfers, Programme Withdrawals, Transcript Applications, Payment Options, etc. were added in a phased manner.
`The University of Guyana was established in April 1963. It began its operations in October of the same year with a batch of 164 students in temporary premises loaned from Queen’s College in Georgetown. It now has campuses at Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown and Tain, Berbice.
It offers certificate, diploma, associate degree, undergraduate degree, graduate (post-graduate) degree, and professional degree programmes. These programmes are delivered through seven Faculties and one School, each of which is headed by a Dean. These include the faculty Agriculture and Forestry; Earth and Environmental Studies; Education and Humanities; Engineering and Technology; Health Sciences; Natural Sciences; and Social Sciences, and the school of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation.
The institution also offers the opportunity for student engagement in debating, sports, and cultural, religious and professional activities. In 2017, the university recorded an enrollment of some 8,000 students. More than 20,000 students have graduated and have gone on to successful careers locally, regionally and internationally in all professional fields of endeavour. The university is a major contributor to the public and private sectors and to the national economy.

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