![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/it\/files\/2018\/08\/exam_app-approved-new.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nUntil recently granting access to examinations for students has been a manual and time-consuming process of checking-off access lists. However, thanks to new technology developed by Information Technology in collaboration with the Examination Office in the Registrar\u2019s Division, this is no longer the case.\u202f\u202f\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since June this year,\u00a0the identification of students for access to examination venues\u00a0has been\u00a0facilitated\u00a0with the use of cell phones at each venue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A\u00a0student’s student card\u00a0is held against the\u00a0back of the cell phone, and on the screen, it is indicated whether the student is supposed to write the examination in the specific module in the specific venue. The screen will display a green mark if the student is at the correct exam venue (see image right) and a red cross if not. If the student is at the wrong venue, the screen will indicate where the student should\u202fbe for the exam or test.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
This will result in access to examination venues being easily and swiftly controlled and will certainly simplify and improve the function of access control\u00a0with regard to\u00a0examination venues.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
This easier scanning process is made possible by the\u00a0NFC (near-field communications) chip on Android phones which communicates with the\u00a0MIFARE chip embedded in the student\u00a0card,\u00a0 and<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the identification information\u00a0<\/span><\/span>is then\u00a0<\/span><\/span>used<\/span><\/span>\u00a0by<\/span><\/span>\u00a0the phone app\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to look up the student’s exam venue.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0The exam venue and module information\u00a0<\/span><\/span>come<\/span><\/span>\u00a0from the Student Information System.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Tests were first conducted\u00a0on a small scale during the November 2017 examination and\u00a0the technology was\u00a0rolled out fully for the\u00a0June 2018 examination.\u00a0It was\u00a0a resounding success.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Emce\u00a0Louw, Head of the Exam Office experienced the impact first-hand as the process was driven from her office. This included loading the cell phones, setting up data, training the convenors responsible for scanning at the venues and collecting the phones after the exams.\u00a0She received overwhelmingly positive feedback from invigilators and students alike:\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Scan<\/em> van studentekaarte is fantasties! Ek het gister 4de jaar Megatronika studente gehad. Hulle was vreeslik be\u00ef<\/span><\/span>n<\/span><\/span>druk met die scanning<\/em>!”<\/p>\n The development and successful completion of the technology was a\u00a0<\/span><\/span>cross-functional<\/span><\/span>\u00a0team\u00a0<\/span><\/span>effort<\/span><\/span>. Hendrik le Roux from Information Technology’s Access Control Division was the project manager and\u202fGuzelle\u202fHendricks was responsible for business analysis for the two\u00a0three-month\u00a0phases of the project which ran from the end of 2017 to June 2018.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to\u00a0Hendrik and\u00a0Guzelle\u202fthe following staff played a key role in getting the project off the ground – Phillip Greeff (TAS), Gregory Isaacs (TAS), Anna-Mari du Toit, Marc-Allen Johnson,\u00a0Jeremy van Rooyen,\u00a0Charles Hopkins,\u00a0who wrote the app and\u00a0Elmar Matthee\u00a0who was responsible for the back-end development. On the side of the functional stakeholders, besides for Emce, Neels Fourie (Deputy Registrar), and Jan du Toit and Helene Nieuwoudt (both from SISS) participated in the project.<\/p>\n [:af]<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n