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| A student pays portion of the tuition fee due for the prelim examination manually by filling up three receipts instead of the usual payment slip, July 21. The administration used the manual mode of payment since June after the unexpected breakdown of the Management Information System (MIS). (USA Publications/Kristine Louise L. Andrade) |
Stimulating long queues, inaccessible information and manual transactions, the Management Information System (MIS) of the University suffered from a major database server malfunction.
Vice President for Student Affairs (VPSA) Rev. Fr. Pederito Aparece, OSA, disclosed that the technical problem was initially reported on July 21, 2011.
“We noticed the malfunction due to colleges inquiring about some difficulties in the database server,” Aparece, also the MIS director, said in an interview.
In effect, the server crash has resulted to physical, emotional and financial problems according to Prof. Gemma Halili, University registrar.
“Physical, because the problem requires personnel to render extra service to reconstruct data; emotional, because the personnel, as front-liners, serves as shock absorbers of clientele’s dissatisfaction and annoyance; [and] financial, because the personnel has to do overtime work in order to cater to the urgent needs of the clientele,” Halili stated.
Two probable causes of the server breakdown are considered by the MIS: hardware glitches and software glitches. In terms of the hardware malfunction, Aparece held that this arises from the overheating of essential components such as the motherboard and other chips as well as other electrical factors. The software glitches, on the other hand, stem from the corruption of files and programs.
With the on-going repair, the MIS, together with the administration, is undertaking contingency measures to respond to the server crash. The troubleshooting of equipments and restructuring of the database server are carried out side by side by the original programmer and former MIS director, Atty. Rey Ejes, and the newly-hired system database administrator.
“As far as the problem is concerned, only these persons are allowed to tackle kay very delicate ang data,” Aparece stressed. “To suffice and for the students to know, they are using efficient tools in recovering the data which are lost or hidden.”
Halili likewise assures that the Registrar’s Office keeps hard copies of each student’s complete academic records saying that “when needed, the transcript of records, diplomas, certificates and the like could be generated manually.” She adds that “the same is true with the students’ payment and account balances.”
Minimal expenditures are currently spent for the fixing of the database server. According to Atty. Rey Magtubo, University chief accountant, the costs for the repair are primarily allocated for the financial incentives, accommodation payments and travelling allowances of the in-house programmers.
Furthermore, Aparece recommended that a long-term solution must be realized through an overhaul of the network structure and system in order to avoid future occurrences. In fact, the MIS deems the provision of a secure back-up on-site and off-site alongside with the re-evaluation of the integrity of the software to assess the compatibility of the old and new programs.
“My vision is to have a better MIS in which equipments are up-to-date… especially that we are aspiring towards the full automation of the records,” Aparece shared.
As of this writing, the server has resumed its partial operations but it is still in the process of retrieving the entire server data.
“The server is up already and running. What we are doing right now is to recover the data…,” Aparece revealed.
Originally procured in circa 2004, Aparece believes that the MIS is “congruent to the modernity of the University” as the MIS shelters the digitalized form of records from the most confidential information down to the basic information that students can access like grades and assessment of fees.
In addition, Halili regards the importance of the MIS since the data generated basically provides the administration with the vital information necessary for sound decision making. Also, it helps the University provide good services to its clienteles by allowing the Registrar’s Office, the Student Accounts Section and departments/colleges to efficiently and effectively generate reports on enrolment, student profiles, grade reports, faculty load, class list, class schedules, class size and account balance, to name a few.
The information uploaded in the University’s intranet system is made available for public use which then allows faculty members to access the class records in encoding the periodic grades of their students.
Amid the inconvenience, Aparece emphasized that this must not hamper the University’s pursuit because there are “other means of coping with this particular problem.”
“Let us just wait until the machine is restored to its normal state and again, patience. Patience is a virtue,” Aparece appealed.
Vice President for Student Affairs (VPSA) Rev. Fr. Pederito Aparece, OSA, disclosed that the technical problem was initially reported on July 21, 2011.
“We noticed the malfunction due to colleges inquiring about some difficulties in the database server,” Aparece, also the MIS director, said in an interview.
In effect, the server crash has resulted to physical, emotional and financial problems according to Prof. Gemma Halili, University registrar.
“Physical, because the problem requires personnel to render extra service to reconstruct data; emotional, because the personnel, as front-liners, serves as shock absorbers of clientele’s dissatisfaction and annoyance; [and] financial, because the personnel has to do overtime work in order to cater to the urgent needs of the clientele,” Halili stated.
Two probable causes of the server breakdown are considered by the MIS: hardware glitches and software glitches. In terms of the hardware malfunction, Aparece held that this arises from the overheating of essential components such as the motherboard and other chips as well as other electrical factors. The software glitches, on the other hand, stem from the corruption of files and programs.
With the on-going repair, the MIS, together with the administration, is undertaking contingency measures to respond to the server crash. The troubleshooting of equipments and restructuring of the database server are carried out side by side by the original programmer and former MIS director, Atty. Rey Ejes, and the newly-hired system database administrator.
“As far as the problem is concerned, only these persons are allowed to tackle kay very delicate ang data,” Aparece stressed. “To suffice and for the students to know, they are using efficient tools in recovering the data which are lost or hidden.”
Halili likewise assures that the Registrar’s Office keeps hard copies of each student’s complete academic records saying that “when needed, the transcript of records, diplomas, certificates and the like could be generated manually.” She adds that “the same is true with the students’ payment and account balances.”
Minimal expenditures are currently spent for the fixing of the database server. According to Atty. Rey Magtubo, University chief accountant, the costs for the repair are primarily allocated for the financial incentives, accommodation payments and travelling allowances of the in-house programmers.
Furthermore, Aparece recommended that a long-term solution must be realized through an overhaul of the network structure and system in order to avoid future occurrences. In fact, the MIS deems the provision of a secure back-up on-site and off-site alongside with the re-evaluation of the integrity of the software to assess the compatibility of the old and new programs.
“My vision is to have a better MIS in which equipments are up-to-date… especially that we are aspiring towards the full automation of the records,” Aparece shared.
As of this writing, the server has resumed its partial operations but it is still in the process of retrieving the entire server data.
“The server is up already and running. What we are doing right now is to recover the data…,” Aparece revealed.
Originally procured in circa 2004, Aparece believes that the MIS is “congruent to the modernity of the University” as the MIS shelters the digitalized form of records from the most confidential information down to the basic information that students can access like grades and assessment of fees.
In addition, Halili regards the importance of the MIS since the data generated basically provides the administration with the vital information necessary for sound decision making. Also, it helps the University provide good services to its clienteles by allowing the Registrar’s Office, the Student Accounts Section and departments/colleges to efficiently and effectively generate reports on enrolment, student profiles, grade reports, faculty load, class list, class schedules, class size and account balance, to name a few.
The information uploaded in the University’s intranet system is made available for public use which then allows faculty members to access the class records in encoding the periodic grades of their students.
Amid the inconvenience, Aparece emphasized that this must not hamper the University’s pursuit because there are “other means of coping with this particular problem.”
“Let us just wait until the machine is restored to its normal state and again, patience. Patience is a virtue,” Aparece appealed.
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