User interaction with the registration system is meant to be simple and intuitive. Upon login, the user is presented with the main menu of options. Here there is a choice of:

1. Course registration
2. Viewing/changing user information
3. Exiting the system.

The main USER INTERFACE screen shot shows the screen before the student has selected any courses. In the upper right corner of the screen is the course selection window. Here we see a box containing every course offered by the university; typing a complete or partial course name in the yellow text entry box will take the student to that course. In this case, the student is looking at 400-level CPSC courses.

Selecting a course from the course selection window will bring its information up in the course information window, in the upper left corner. Here we display the course's name, title, and description, and show the days and times of all lectures, labs, and tutorials for that course. The student here is looking at CPSC 451, and has selected Lecture 1 and Lab 3. He can press the 'Add' button to add this course to his timetable.

The timetable is shown in the lower half of the screen. The grid on the right shows the student's timetable, and a list of all courses taken, along with their days and times, is shown on the left. Here the student has not yet added any courses.

In Screen Shot 1, the student has added CPSC 451 to his timetable. We see that CPSC 451 has been added to the timetable grid, and to the list of courses taken. The student may now change his lecture or lab section, then select 'Change'. He may also choose to 'Drop' the course.

Now that the student has chosen the first course, he may choose more courses from the course selection window, select their lab and lecture sections, and add them to the timetable. In Screen Shot 2, we see that the student has added three more courses. Each of them is shown on the grid, and on the list of courses taken. Now that he has completed his timetable, he may select 'Finished' to leave the registration screen.

In some cases, the student may not be able to add a particular course selection to the timetable. If the student does not have the necessary prerequisites, the system will inform him of this fact through a dialogue box, and suggest that the Registrar's office be consulted. If the student has selected course sections which conflict with his current timetable, the conflicting sections will be highlighted, and the system will suggest that the student change his selection for one or more of the offending courses.

If the course section selected is full, the system will ask the user whether he wishes to change to another section, or to add his name to a waiting list. The number of students ahead of him on the waiting list will be given. If the latter option is chosen, the student will be placed on the list. When another student leaves the course, or the course capacity is increased, the first student on the list is automatically enrolled and will be notified the next time he uses the system.

On the user information screen, the student is given the opportunity to change his address, telephone number, or password, and view his current GPA and list of courses taken. There is also an option to withdraw the student completely from Easy U. If this latter option is chosen, the student must enter his password to confirm. His record is then sent to the administrator for processing.

We believe that this design will make the system simple to use, even for novice computer users. Similar functions, such as Adding a course and Changing a course, present the user with similar user interfaces. (See Figures 1 and 2.) The system gives immediate feedback to user actions, such as adding a course, and immediately traps user errors, such as course conflicts. It presents the student with a friendly, colourful interface, and requires little or no previous training. The interface enhances usability greatly by putting the student at ease.

Main User Interface

Screen Shot 1

Screen Shot 2

Time Table

Programme sample screen shot

GLOSSARY
Amount Paid - The amount paid by the student to date.
Capacity - The maximum number of students in the section.
Course Description - A detailed description of course contents.
Course Discipline Code - A four letter word representing the course name.
Course Name - The name of the course offered at the university.
Course Number - A three digit number indicating type and level of course.
Course Section - A two digit number indicating which section of a course is offered.
Course Weight - The credit value of the course.
DBMS - Acronym standing for Database Management System.
Department - The type of study or field the instructor works in.
Duration - The number of minutes in a lecture of a course.
Explorer - Name of a web browser.
GUI - Acronym standing for Graphical User Interface.
Hours - The length of a course represented in hours.
HTML - Acronym standing for Hyper-Text Markup Language.
Instructor - A person who teaches at the university.
Instructor Name - The given name of the instructor.
Instructor Id - An identification number used by instructor to access SRS.
LAN - Acronym standing for Local Area Network.
Lecture Number - A two digit number indicating which lecture sections are offered.
Location - The location of a course section being held at.
Netscape - Name of a web browser.
On-line Help - Help information about functionalities of the SRS during execution.
Password - A secret code required to access SRS.
Start Time - The start time of a course section.
Section Info - General information of a course.
Section Number - A number differentiating between the sections being offered.
Section Type - Describes the type of sections offered by the course(LAB, TUT, LEC).
Semester - The semester in which a course is offered (WIN, FALL, SUM, SPR).
SRS - Acronym standing for Student Registration System.
Student - An individual who enrolled at the university.
Student Id Number - A six digit number representing a student.
Student Major - A student's main field of study(CPSC, POLI, ...).
Student Name - The student's full name.
WWW - Acronym standing for World Wide Web.

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