ISSN 2278-3083

Johanna May L. Mangubat et al., International Journal of Science and Advanced Information Technology, 12 (5), September - October 2023, 38 - 43
Volume 12, No.5, September - October 2023
International Journal of Science and Applied Information Technology
Available Online at http://www.warse.org/ijsait/static/pdf/file/ijsait011252023.pdf
https://doi.org/10.30534/ijsait/2023/011252023

Online Student Clearance Management System

Johanna May L. Mangubat1, Kyle Van P. Reubal2, Jandawyne Francis M. Caluya3, James Klien B. Pepito4,
Mark Lester P. Catungal5, Dr. Philipcris C. Encarnacion6
1
Saint Columban College, Philippines, [email protected]
2
Saint Columban College, Philippines, [email protected]
3
Saint Columban College, Philippines, [email protected]
4
Saint Columban College, Philippines, [email protected]
5
Saint Columban College, Philippines, [email protected]
6
Saint Columban College, Philippines, [email protected]

Received Date : September 01, 2023 Accepted Date : September 24, 2023 Published Date : October 07, 2023

Communications Technology in bringing efficiency and

ABSTRACT convenience to organizations like academic institutions.
Academic institutions do not solely utilize Information
This Online Student Clearance Management System Technology in the teaching and learning process but
addressed the challenges in the manual process of also in administering administrative tasks such as
signing student clearances in one of the academic signing student clearances [1]. A clearance is a status
institutions in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur, that grants or authorizes individuals to access certain
Philippines, as a prerequisite before the release of a final information or proceed to a specific step in
permit which is a requirement to take the final period accomplishing something [2]. An academic institution
examinations. The current process of signing a student in Pagadian City in the province of Zamboanga del Sur,
clearance involves a piece of paper indicating the office Philippines, required students to obtain an appropriate
names, and office heads or representatives must affix clearance for a particular purpose, such as in the final
their signatures. The students will carry this paper and examination. The institution's current process of
submit it to various offices for signing. This system has allowing its students to secure a final examination
eliminated the challenges present in the current process permit is achieved manually. Students are given a
through a web-based approach where clearance signing clearance form that indicates all the individuals required
will now be processed online. This system integrates to sign, which denotes that the student is already cleared
into the existing online portal of the institution, where [3]. Afterward, the students will be allowed to settle
students may view their clearance status. The office their final examination bill to secure a final permit. This
heads or representatives will approve or disapprove permit grants a student to take the final examination.
student clearances through the existing portal as a new Particular challenges are encountered since the entire
mechanism for signing the clearance. This system also final examination permit clearance is performed
features QR code technology as a mechanism for the manually.
finalization of clearance signing, whereby students will
only have to present the code instead of the signed piece
of paper as evidence of the accomplishment of the The manual process is stressful to the students as it
clearance. These new approaches transformed the requires them to move from one office to another to be
current processes into a complete paperless transaction. cleared, other than being time-consuming. A process
like this makes the clearance form vulnerable to fraud
[4]. The clearing officers may also be absent, which
Key words: Clearance management, clearance system, online wastes time and delays since that would mean the
clearance, online system
students will have to revisit the same office again next
1. INTRODUCTION
time [5]. It is also possible to lose the documents due to
fire or rainfall. Hence, there is a need for an automated
The transformation of manual processes and method to overcome these challenges [6]. In doing so,
transactions into digitized versions is just one of the an online student clearance management system was
significant capabilities of Information and designed and developed to automate the process of

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Johanna May L. Mangubat et al., International Journal of Science and Advanced Information Technology, 12 (5), September - October 2023, 38 - 43

obtaining clearance on the students' part and signing or more students who will visit the office to process
these clearances on the part of the office heads or their clearance. AlSideiri et al. [15] also developed a
personnel, or an academic institution. Because it is software system that replaced the manual method of
online, the students can now process their clearance clearance processing for students, which eventually
electronically over the web. In this case, the students can served as a reliable and effective means of eliminating
process it using an existing web portal from the delays, a common reason for developing a better
abovementioned academic institution. A portal is a clearance system.
website that allows visitors to retrieve information [7].

Specifically, this software development dealt with the

An electronic clearance system becomes more following concerns:
necessary, given that people nowadays use computers
for a productive and more efficient experience [8]. This
computing solution transforms any manual process into 1. How may the Online Student Clearance
an electronic and paperless mechanism. A paperless Management System be developed using the
system sends data via automated means. Therefore, Waterfall Model:
using paper media will now be unnecessary [9]. A 1.1 Requirements Specification;
paperless transaction also promotes efficiency and is 1.2 Planning
environment-friendly. 1.3 Designing;
1.4 Development/Implementation;
1.5 Testing;
Further, it also supports better documentation 1.6 Deployment;
management [10]. The entire clearance process is then
1.7 Maintenance;
facilitated online through the institution's existing web
portal, where students can retrieve updates regarding the
2. How may the Online Student Management
status or progress of their clearance. The concerned
System be evaluated by the IT Experts and the
individuals who must sign the clearance will simply
End-Users who are the students of an academic
approve or reject a clearance by clicking a button
institution based on the following attributes or
instead of affixing their digital signatures to simulate the
criteria:
manual process. An office head may reject clearances
for special reasons, such as when a student has yet to 2.1 Functional Suitability;
accomplish a pre-requirement like a pertinent document 2.2 Performance Efficiency;
that had initially been required. 2.3 Compatibility;
2.4 Usability;
Several studies were conducted on online clearance 2.5 Reliability;
systems development. Alroobaea [11] developed a 2.6 Security;
clearance system that is designed for educational 2.7 Maintainability;
institutions to help students, including staff members, in 2.8 Portability
processing clearance to settle pending dues or
belongings after graduating or after an employee was
terminated. An open-source web-based clearance 2. METHODOLOGY
system for Iraqi educational institutions was proposed
by Ramadhan et al. [12] to reduce time, effort, and cost 2.1 Research Design
and increase the speed of the entire process. Seezi et al.
[13] developed a reliable, effective, efficient, and
The Waterfall Model is used as the basis for
transparent online clearance system that enables
developing this system. This model has been adapted as
students to monitor the progress and status of their
a research design methodology due to its structured and
clearance forms online, eliminating the manual process.
systematic approach. As a research design, the waterfall
Another related project was designing and developing
model involves a sequential or linear progression
an online clearance system for a university by Ahurira et
through different phases, akin to a cascading waterfall.
al. [14]. This system eliminated the university's long
In addition, the development of this system also adopted
queues at the offices when the students are clearing,
the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics
which consumes time, the inadequate number of staff
Engineers) Recommendation in software engineering.
who will process the clearance, and the collision of two
This recommendation refers to a set of standards and
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Johanna May L. Mangubat et al., International Journal of Science and Advanced Information Technology, 12 (5), September - October 2023, 38 - 43

best practices established by the IEEE for developing, resources to be used, and potential risks to be managed.
documenting, and maintaining software projects. These Changes may occur during the development process.
recommendations cover various aspects of software Hence, reviews and updates are essential should a new
engineering, including requirements analysis, design, set of requirements arise during the course of the
coding, testing, and documentation. By adhering to project.
IEEE guidelines, software engineers ensure that their
projects are developed with high quality, reliability, and 1.3 Designing
maintainability. These standards help in promoting This phase is another crucial step in the software
consistency and interoperability in software development process as it transforms the requirements
development, making it easier for different teams to gathered in the earlier phases into a detailed design that
collaborate and understand each other's work. will produce another blueprint for developing the
Additionally, following IEEE recommendations in software system. The system is a web-based application
software engineering enhances software products' that enables students to process clearance online. The
credibility and trustworthiness, benefiting developers system is also designed to enable the office heads or
and end-users alike. authorized personnel to approve or disapprove a
clearance.
3. RESULTS
a. Technical Specification
This system is composed of the following
1. Design and Development of an Online Student
components: a website portal which is already
Clearance Management System
existing where this system is integrated; the
necessary required hardware, which is a PC or a
The Online Student Clearance Management System was smartphone; the office administrators who will
completed through the waterfall software development approve or disapprove the clearance; and the
model and by adopting the IEEE recommendation in students who are the end-users. The following
software engineering. The phases involved in the entire components also serve as the building blocks of the
development process are outlined and discussed below. system:
 HTML5
 PHP
1.1 Requirements Specification
 MySQL
The requirements specification plays a crucial role in  JavaScript
the development of software systems. It defines and  Bootstrap
documents the software's functional and non-functional
requirements to meet the intended purpose and user b. Use Case Diagram
expectations. In this phase, the developers have A use case diagram visually represents the
gathered data in one of the academic institutions in functional requirements and the interactions of a
Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur, concerning the system from the perspective of the end users. Its
entire process that students and office heads must follow primary purpose is to provide a clear and high-level
regarding the manual signing of clearance. Ultimately, overview of how the end users interact with the
the collected data will be used and become the basis for system.
the succeeding phases of the development process.

1.2 Planning

The planning phase is fundamental in the entire

development process. It is where project objectives,
requirements, resources, and constraints are further
defined and organized to ensure the successful
execution of the software project. In this phase, the
developers prepared a comprehensive plan that will Figure 1: Use Case Diagram of the Developed System
serve as a guide throughout the project. This plan also
serves as a blueprint that outlines the steps to be taken,

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Johanna May L. Mangubat et al., International Journal of Science and Advanced Information Technology, 12 (5), September - October 2023, 38 - 43

Figure 1 depicts the functional requirements and the testing is performed in other phases to regularly identify
interactions of a system from the perspective of the end and manage issues to ensure the software meets the
users by showing that a student can request for his desired quality standards. The testing for the functional
clearance to be approved and also generate a QR code. requirements yielded an overall positive and acceptable
The QR code generation is simply a feature in the result. Requesting clearance, tracking clearance
system when the entire clearance signing process is progress, submitting further requirements, and
already completed. This special code is then shown to approving and disapproving the clearance requests were
the final office, where students can settle their final found satisfying by end users. The system was also
examination bill in order to acquire a final examination considered user-friendly, with satisfactory user
permit to take the final examination. feedback.

c. Interface Design 1.6 Deployment

A system's interface design refers to the Deployment is a phase that prepares the system to be
graphical user interface (GUI) or the command-line integrated into the intended environment so it is
interface (CLI) that users interact with to perform available for use by the intended end-users. Like the
relevant tasks or to access system functionalities. other phases, deployment is also a critical step in the
The design itself provides users with a seamless system development life cycle which will require
and efficient experience while interacting with the planning, coordination with the client, and further
system. testing to ensure its successful use. Currently, the
academic institution where this system will be installed
is already in the process of integrating it into their
operations for the use of their students for the upcoming
clearance signing. Certain considerations have been
considered so the system will be successfully integrated
into the institution's existing student portal. During this
phase, the system developers are constantly
collaborating with the institution's personnel so
integration will become a success.

1.7 Maintenance
Figure 2: Clearance Approval Interface
This phase refers to continuously managing the
system's performance and functionality throughout its
Figure 2 shows the interface of the online student
operation. It is also a crucial aspect of the system
clearance management system where the status of a
because it ensures that the system will continuously
student's clearance for each office is shown, whether it
perform. According to the deployment plan,
is approved or rejected.
maintenance is performed by the IT Department of the
1.4 Development/Implementation concerned academic institution as soon as the system
integrates.
The software or system's actual construction and
coding occur in this phase. The planning and design
1. IT Experts and Students Evaluation of Online
phases were critical steps as this phase follows it. The
Student Clearance Management System
developers in this phase wrote the code based on the
detailed design specifications defined in the previous
phase. Hence, this is the actual implementation of the Overall, thirty-nine (39) respondents were a
outlined functionalities and features. As already combination of IT Experts and Students. These
specified, this system is a web-based application, and respondents rated the system using the same
the actual development involved the technologies criteria, with 5 as the highest rating and 1 as the
HTML5, PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, and Bootstrap as lowest rating. The results are the following:
the underlying building blocks of the system.
2.1 Functional Suitability
1.5 Testing  25 out of 39, or 64.1%, respondents rated
This phase ensures that the system adheres to the 5 for functional completeness under the
requirements specified in the planning phase. Software criteria of functional suitability.

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Johanna May L. Mangubat et al., International Journal of Science and Advanced Information Technology, 12 (5), September - October 2023, 38 - 43

 24 out of 39, or 61.5%, respondents rated  24 out of 39, or 61.5%, respondents rated
5 for functional correctness under the 5 in the aspect of fault tolerance under
criteria of functional suitability. the reliability criteria.
 24 out of 39, or 61.5%, respondents rated  23 out of 39 or 59% of respondents rated 5
5 for functional appropriateness under in the aspect of recoverability under the
the criteria of functional suitability. reliability criteria.

2.2 Performance Efficiency 2.6 Security

 27 out of 39, or 69.52%, respondents rated  24 out of 39, or 61.5%, respondents rated
5 for time behavior under the criteria of 5 regarding confidentiality under the
performance efficiency. security criteria.
 25 out of 39, or 64.1%, respondents rated  26 out of 39, or 66.7%, respondents rated
5 for resource utilization under the 5 regarding integrity under the security
criteria of performance efficiency. criteria.
 24 out of 39, or 61.5%, respondents rated  23 out of 39 or 59% of respondents rated 5
5 for capacity under the criteria of regarding non-repudiation under the
performance efficiency. security criteria.
 25 out of 39, or 64.1%, respondents rated
5 in the aspect of accountability under
2.3 Compatibility the security criteria.
 22 out of 39 respondents, or 56.4%, rated  23 out of 39 or 59% of respondents rated 5
5 for co-existence under the in the aspect of authenticity under the
compatibility criteria. criteria of security.
 21 out of 39 respondents, or 53.8%, rated 2.7 Maintainability
5 for interoperability under the  26 out of 39 respondents, or 66.7%, rated
compatibility criteria. 5 in modularity under the
maintainability criteria.
2.4 Usability  23 out of 39 or 59% of respondents rated 5
 25 out of 39, or 64.1%, respondents rated regarding reusability under the
5 regarding appropriateness maintainability criteria.
recognizability under the usability  26 out of 39 respondents, or 66.7%, rated
criteria. 5 regarding analyzability under the
 25 out of 39, or 64.1%, respondents rated maintainability criteria.
5 in learnability under the usability  26 out of 39 respondents, or 66.7%, rated
criteria. 5 in modifiability under the
 24 out of 39, or 61.5%, respondents gave a maintainability criteria.
rating of 5 in the aspect of operability  24 out of 39 respondents, or 61.6%, scored
recognizability under the criteria of 5 in testability under the
usability. maintainability criteria.
 23 out of 39 or 59% of respondents rated 5
regarding user error protection under 2.7 Portability
the usability criteria.  27 out of 39 respondents, or 69.2%, rated
 25 out of 39, or 64.1%, respondents rated 5 regarding adaptability under the
5 regarding accessibility under the portability criteria.
usability criteria.  25 out of 39, or 64.1%, respondents rated
5 regarding installability under the
2.5 Reliability portability criteria.
 25 out of 39 respondents, or 64.1%, rated  26 out of 39, or 66.7%, respondents rated
5 regarding maturity under the 5 regarding replaceability under the
reliability criteria. portability criteria.

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Johanna May L. Mangubat et al., International Journal of Science and Advanced Information Technology, 12 (5), September - October 2023, 38 - 43

4. CONCLUSION [13] Seezi, Sunday., Kalinachi, L., Mawanda, S., &

Nansubuga, D. J. (2019), Online clearance system,
In conclusion, the test results confirm the
https://tinyurl.com/59errp5w
success of the development of the system, integrating all [14] Ahurira, R., Akello, R., Bakomeza, J., Kalinte, D.,
desired features effectively. It ensures security by Mukasa, S., Okumu, A., Ruba, B., & Tusiime, V. (2021), An
granting authorized personnel access to the system. The online students’ clearance system for Kyambogo University,
system's efficiency lies in its paperless approach, cloud https://tinyurl.com/yp97hs77
storage, and online accessibility. Usability is prioritized, [15] AlSideiri, A., Tawafak, R., AlFarsi, G., Khudayer, B. H.,
providing a user-friendly interface for executing all Cob, Z. C. (2023), Development of Online Clearance System
necessary functions. Using Web-Based System, https://tinyurl.com/4jc2wkxf

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