ICS2002-05-01: The design, implementation, and evaluation of INCA: anautomated system for approval code allocation - J. Miglani

The ICS department of the University of Hawaii has faced problems surrounding approval code distribution as its enrollment has increased. The manual system for approval code allocation was time-consuming, ineffective and inefficient. INCA is designed to automate the task of approval code allocation, improve the quality of course approval decisions, and decrease the administrative overhead involved in those decisions. Based upon informal feedback from department administrators, it appears that INCA reduces their overhead and makes their life easier. What are the old problems that are solved by INCA? Does INCA introduce new kinds of problems for the administrator? What about the students? Are they completely satisfied with the system? In what ways does the system benefit the department as a whole? This thesis discusses the design, implementation and evaluation of INCA. It evaluates INCA from the viewpoint of the administrator, the students, and the department. An analysis of emails received at uhmics@hawaii.edu account indicates that INCA reduces administrative overhead. The results of the user survey show that three quarters of students believe INCA improved their course approval predictability and course requirements understandability. They prefer INCA to old method of requesting approval codes by email. INCA database analysis provided course demand information and student statistics useful for departments. This evaluation of INCA from three different perspectives provides useful insights for future improvement of INCA and for improving the student experience with academic systems in general.

ICS2002-05-01.pdf — PDF document, 567Kb