PSHIN’KO, Olexandr, BODNAR, Boris, RASPOPOV, Olexandr, KOSOLAPOV, Anatoly & KHUDENKO, Valery
2 Akademika Lazaryana St., Dniepropetrovsk, 320010, Ukraine
Dniepropetrovsk State Technical University of Railway Transport
(DIIT)
evm@diit.dp.ua, http://www.diit.dp.ua
Abstract: A strategy of operative control and management of training process of high-qualified engineers for industrial and transport enterprises has been formed in the Dniepropetrovsk State Technical University of Railway Transport (DIIT).
In present conditions the increase of flexibility and inter-disciplinary integration of educational process, its filling by multimedia information and implementation of new forms of distance learning, raising the demands to quality of training the engineers and to the problem orientation of education taking into account the market situation require the development of currently used management system by a technical university on the basis of accumulated experience and new avenues opened up by network information technologies in the context of managing the organising and educational activities at a technical university.
To solve the stated problem, the Project “DIIT-2000” dealt with a construction of automated information system for university management (AISUM) on the basis of network INTERNET technologies has been developed and now it is under realisation.
The paper is devoted to the technology of integrated control and management of the process of training the engineers in every speciality during all the period of their study: from a stage of entrance to higher education institution to a stage of distribution of trained specialists as well as contacts with employing enterprises.
The above-mentioned technology verified by a long-term practice has been adopted as a base for the development of AISUM of a new generation. The basic principles of such system construction and its functional composition are presented in the paper. The system technical structure is an hierarchy of local computer networks and automated workplaces of administration&managerial staff with a number of UNIX servers controlling the information flows within the university network with a possibility of communications through INTERNET for a distant access of remote university branches and students to the AISUM resources.
Keyword: management, university, concepts, design, application
The Dniepropetrovsk State Technical University of Railway Transport is one of very old higher education institutions for transport in Ukraine. It is well-known under the name of DIIT on the domestic railways, in the CIS countries and abroad. In 2000 it will celebrate its 70-year jubilee. Being situated in such industrial centre of Ukraine as Dniepropetrovsk, DIIT has become a large technical university which trains the engineers in mechanics, electricity, construction, computer hardware&software, mathematics, economics, management, ecology and other specialities necessary for operation of transport and industry in new economic conditions.
Despite the difficulties in training and employing the engineers arising due to re-structuring of economy, re-profiling of many enterprises, introducing of new market relations, DIIT has kept the demand for its specialists. Last year the number of transport enterprises applications for specialists exceeds the quantity of our graduates. This fact confirms the high level of training and proper specialisation of the engineers. It has been achieved owing to our scientific and pedagogical potential as well as the efficiency of the university management system which has been created during 70-80ies at our institution.
It is the generally recognised fact that in any complex production process the quality of output is determined to a considerable degree by the system of managing the production technology. In our case the University production is engineering staff we prepare. Thus, it is possible to paraphrase the old proverb: “Tell me what is the management system by your university, then I shall tell you what specialist you are”.
In DIIT the management system by training the engineers was being formed during decades in the spirit of best traditions of accuracy, punctuality, discipline and responsibility characteristic of railway personnel. Since the late 60ies till the early 90ies DIIT has one of very powerful and advanced computing centres (CC) in the Pridnieprovsky Region. These factors have contributed to the development of information&methodical base and realisation of the first in this country automated management system by a higher educational institution (AMS-HEI). The System has passed the manifold and long-standing checking in the process of preparing thousands engineers. The AMS-HEI was modernised along with the progress of computer facilities and software.
The information&methodical base of the System covers the full period of training the specialists: from entrance application and examination procedure to employing the engineers and their arrivals to enterprises. Now the given complex includes the following subsystems: "Applicant", "Entrance Exams Package", "Testing", "Student", "Staff Account", "Salary", and "Scholarship".
The Subsystem "Applicant" automates all the processes connected with the entrance campaign realisation. The Subsystem forms a bank of personal files of applicants, provides the check and analysis of quantitative and qualitative applicants composition, automates a process of forming the examination groups, distribution of question cards and assigning for each person a place of his/her examination procedure. The software checks the examination works and generates the marks according to the prescribed criteria. Then the Subsystem publishes all the exams materials including the lists sorted by rating for enrolment on a competitive base. At the final stage it prints enrolment orders and forms the academic groups for first-year students. Then all the relevant data regarding enrolled persons are sent to the databank for other subsystems, namely "Student" and "Scholarship".
The Subsystem "Entrance Exams Package" is aimed at automatic generation of question cards of any difficulty level for entrance exams in physics and mathematics. It stores a bank of problems including 25,000 tasks from 50 thematic sections and has a text processor for preparing the formulae and pictures. No restriction on the quantity of sections and tasks exists. For the comparison: the typical time expensed by the admission commission for preparation of question cards taking into account selecting the problems, printing the materials, manual formulae inscription etc. equals 3-4 months of hard high-qualified labour. The given software package provides to perform it during half an hour.
The Subsystem "Testing" provides for test multi-level checking the accomplishments in a majority of obligatory disciplines studied at the technical higher educational institution. The result of this testing is the student’s rating. The Subsystem does not require the applicant under testing to be preliminary trained as a computer user. The dialogue is organised through a graphical interface with extensive use of 2D and 3D images. This software package can be also used as a simulator for persons who plan to pass the entrance exams in physics and mathematics for higher educational institutions.
The Subsystem "Student" is designed for operative checking by the dean and the University administration on how the calendar plans of independent student’s work are being performed, what are the session examination results as well as how each student attends his/her lectures and practices. Such Subsystem allows to review an actual state of current tuition process at the University as a whole and partly on each faculty, chair, group, and student. Besides, at any time it is possible to get all the information on each student since the moment of its application (with entrance exams results) to the completion of a diploma paper. The Subsystem also allows to determine the integral indices of performing the calendar academic plans for any student group, faculty and the University as a whole.
We consider this Subsystem in somewhat more detail, because it is one of the main subsystems for the educational process management.
In our University the Educational Division together with deans and chairs forms a calendar plan of students’ work for the semester. On the base of these calendar plans and student lists INFORMATION STUDENT CARDS (ÍSC) are being formed.
Fulfilling the calendar plan is passing the check terms and completing the learning tasks during a week specified in the calendar plan. If the term week is over but a student did not pass the term, he/she is considered as having indebtedness on this term. (An exam indebtedness is both a bad mark and a non-admission to take an examination). The students who performed their tasks must hand in the corresponding ICS’s to an instructor checking the tasks. Then these cards are to be sent to CC where the information is being entered into the databank “STUDENT”. By means of comparison of the calendar plans and the data from ICS’s the Subsystem forms indications of performing the educational tasks.
Now let us consider some of the educational process indices in use.
The plan is a quantity of tasks (terms) which must be completed by a student by the given date. If a term is successfully passed it is generated a deviation index as regard to the scheduled date and an actual term passing. Here a "+" sign means that the term is passed after the scheduled date while a "-" sign means ahead completion of the planned term. A "0" symbol means that a term is passed at the first day of scheduled week. A coefficient of rhythmic pace of work by a student (SRC) shows a mean deviation of actual term passings from the planned ones. This is an integral index of independent students’ work. The zero or negative SRC means that the student fulfils the plan in due time or ahead while the positive index shows to what extent the student lags behind with his/her curriculum completion.
The academic group plan specifies the number of personal tasks to the current date.
A debt on a specific subject (or an instructor) means the quantity of students who did not pass their terms according to the calendar plan. A coefficient of rhythmic pace of work by students for the given instructor (IRC) shows how his/her students fulfil their calendar plans. The zero or negative IRC means that the students fulfil the instructor calendar plan in due time or ahead while the positive index demonstrates how far the students lag behind.
The data on every session are accumulated. They include all exam ratings (with repeated taking some exams), individual curricula etc. This information is fully available for review and analysis.
Attendance of studies is being checked in the calendar plan in the form of lecture, practice and laboratory work hours in every subject. The group monitors register the attendance in the relevant logs. These data are being weekly transferred into the Subsystem databank.
The Subsystems "Staff Account", "Salary" and "Scholarship" perform the personnel registration and calculation of staff salary, periodic or periodic-bonus ones for employees as well as grants for students, post-graduate students and doctorate fellows.
The System is under operation since 1994. It is developed with the FoxPro software and does not require powerful computing resources. An IBM PC-compatible device with a processor 486 or higher and 20 MB of disk memory are sufficient.
The results we have got exceeded our expectations. The System has become a tool for operative check of performing the educational process at the University, on faculties, years of study, groups, and every student. It made possible to reveal negative tendencies in order to avoid them in good time by correcting the intensity of studies, tuition techniques of separate subjects, and activities of the University subdivisions involved in the educational process. Today every student realises the role of AMS-HEI and ISC: these are the attendance check, the estimate of attitude to study, the scholarship granting, and other social and material aspects of student’s life. It may be said that we have realised a system for controlling the quality of training the engineering personnel at the University. The AMS-HEI information&methodical base is being continuously developed taking account of both modern trends in education and progress in information technologies.
A main feature of any technical university is, in our opinion, its close integration with enterprises of industry and transport in a region and a country. For DIIT it reveals itself in orientation of training the engineering personnel to the decision of concrete practical problems of railway transport in Ukraine. At the same time our University also takes part in the State Educational Programmes. For instance, this year the Concept of National Programme of Informatisation has been adopted in Ukraine and the Concept of Informatisation of Railway Transport of Ukraine has been developed. These documents assign to universities the great role in preparing the trained human resources to solve the stated problems.
In addition, our University participates in realisation of the National Programme "Education" ("Ukraine in XXI Century") where our University is planned to prepare during 2000-2005 the scientific&methodical, software and technical provisions for creation of information&tuition multimedia systems.
Involvement of Ukraine into realisation of European programmes, development of our University international relations and its integration into the global scientific and educational community require to develop a new infrastructure of University management with using the network information technologies and INTERNET world-wide resources and capabilities. This is forced by the need in development of a distance learning system at our University on the base of using the network and multimedia technologies. It is due to the fact that DIIT prepares the engineers for wide-area distributed regions and parts of Ukraine in accordance with geographic location of transport enterprises and railway network topology. Besides the Ukrainian Railways have their own Branch Information Network with a sufficient potential for using in realisation of the staff distance learning, training and upgrading qualification.
Except the above listed prerequisites for the development of a new integrated University Management System it is also worthy to note the need of improvement of information&methodical base for managing the University. In particular, it should be realised the implementation of a module rating checking, the creation of an electronic library using the INTERNET resources. The latter is one of the most urgent tasks in conditions of lack of sufficient quantity of modern educational and scientific literature, etc.
The basic principles of construction and development of the promising automated information system at the University (IUMS) are based on current generally recognised ideas of designing the open information systems and networks as well as on the experience accumulated in the INTERNET resources concerning the creation and operation of similar systems at leading universities world-wide. IUMS should be based on the following set of principles.
Principle of system unity. IUMS should unite all the computing facilities and pool all the electronic information resources of an educational institution for their efficient use, service and development in conditions of limited financial support and staff reduction.
Principle of hierarchical structure. Main trend of formation and development of advanced information systems is using the network-centred hierarchical model of IUMS which kernel is a large computer of mainframe class connected to wide-area-distributed LANs and separate PC’s of the System users (Automated Working Places – AWP). Such a mainframe should have the sufficient technical characteristics ensuring the required performance, memory capacity, reliability and safety of the university-level data storage. Besides, its computing power enables to perform complex research simulation and design of promising transport systems. The basic computing facilities should be united in the hierarchy of networks built in dependence on the organisation structure of enterprise or educational institution.
Principle of openness. Open information systems (IS) have features of portability, interoperability and scalability.
Portability means an IS characteristic which with the least overhead expenses allows to realise the transfer of its software and data from one application platform to another.
interoperability is a feature of joint using of software and information resources by any component of distributed system.
scalability enables a system to be efficiently operable in a wide range of parameters which is governed by its proper technical features, i.e. a number of processors, a quantity of network nodes, a maximum number of users, and transaction performance.
Principle of network-centring, or Intranet principle. Open network-centred model of IUMS is based on the open INTERNET standards. Within the IUMS framework all LANs and remote users should communicate with the university network servers due to the "client-server" scheme and on the base of TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol).
In order to provide for using the "multimedia" information, within IUMS all the documents should be prepared in HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) format.
To allow exchanging the HTML documents, it must be used HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol).
Files should be transmitted using FTP (File Transfer Protocol).
SMÒP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) and POP3 (Post Office Protocol) are means for e-mail service realisation within the network.
Principle of structuring of intranet links. Intrasystem links should be universal and have a minimum cost. In our conditions the first approach should be using the "thin" Ethernet for LANs and the switchible and separate telephone lines with UNIX routers for combining LANs into wide-area network and connecting the remote users.
Principle of structuring of extranet links and IUMS safety provision. The System should have the following list of extranet links:
1. access to the INTERNET global network,
2. connection to the data transmission network of “UKRZALIZNYTSYA” (Ukrainian Railways Administration, Ministry of Transport of Ukraine),
3. link with the information network of universities of the Pridneprovsky Region.
The INTERNET connection should be realised through one university server. It will ensure the IUMS information safety and its protection from infecting by computer viruses.
Principle of full functionality. Composition of automated IUMS functions should be based on mastered tasks of the System under operation (AMS-HEI) provided their re-structuring and developing with taking account of new functions and the stated principles of the System building.
The IUMS functional macrostructure should consist of the following subsystems:
1. administrative university management,
2. educational process planning,
3. educational process checking,
4. applicant,
5. dean’s office,
6. chair,
7. students,
8. R&D activity,
9. library,
10. staff,
11. financial&accounting subsystem,
12. subsystem on economic activity,
13. subsystem of post-diploma education,
14. learning computing centre,
15. centre of multimedia intelligent learning systems, professional orientation, selection and re-training of staff,
16. learning R&D centre for network information technologies and distance learning,
17. centre of the IUMS software systems and databases,
18. service centre for the IUMS checking, diagnostics and maintenance.
The IUMS functional structure should be enhanced and re-structured in accordance with extension of problems the University will have to solve.
Principle of information compatibility. The System should maximally utilise the information resources of the AMS-HEI that already exists. However the use of above-described information&methodical base of AMS-HEI requires an essential revision and improvement in order to take into consideration new principles of IUMS construction and new technologies of distance learning, and application of advanced electronic learning&methodical materials. The IUMS dataware should comprise separate application databases.
The library subsystem dataware should meet the modern international standards (MARC, GRS, Z39.50) for connecting the University to the international network of electronic libraries to provide the academic staff, scientists and students with the electronic educational and methodical materials.
Principle of unified technology policy. It is the development forecasting and planned renovation of computer and communication facilities in accordance with urgent needs of a university and the formulated principles of IUMS construction. A general technical structure of the integrated information&computing System is presented in Fig. 1.
The IUMS technical structure should be built stage by stage.
Some features of the technical structure are as follows.
It has a three-level network-centred structure. Its kernel is the COMPAREX mainframe. Such type computers are being implemented at computing centres of the Ukrainian Railways. Information functions of access to INTERNET resources provides a set of special-purpose servers on PC’s of Pentium/Pentium Pro class. They are included into the learning R&D centre for network information technologies and distance learning. Access to the Branch Network X.25 is realised through the COMPAREX unit or special-purpose CISCO router.
Principle of unified architecture of System software. In order to realise IUMS, the System software should have unified or compatible operating environment. Such operating systems as UNIX (network servers and routers), Windows NT (LAN servers), Windows 9x (client PC’s) would be preferable. The client software should be unified for all PC end users and based on browser software (e.g., Netscape Communicator) that will enable the users to work with multimedia information and to use the basic IUMS network functions.
The automated management system by higher educational institution (AMS-HEI) has been formed and is being successfully operated for many years at the Dniepropetrovsk State Technical University of Railway Transport (DIIT) which is one of the oldest transport universities in Ukraine and the CIS countries. The information&methodical base built into the System, as well as the scientific and pedagogical potential of the University and its close relationships with industrial and transport enterprises guarantee a high level of preparing the engineering staff. This fact is recognised throughout the country and abroad.
The current stage of University development in conditions of society democratisation and extension of market relations, growth of amount of international educational and academic contacts, implementation of advanced network information technologies and distance learning requires the construction of integrated university management system. We consider that such System development should be realised by joint efforts of universities from Europe and other countries. This would enable to utilise to a maximum extent the positive practice of activities of various universities, to create the unified (for a number of countries) system of indices and requirements regarding the quality of engineers training, to save money in conditions of insufficient financial support of education in some countries. The proposed principles of the IUMS construction, the technical and software approaches will make DIIT able to transit stage by stage to a new level of university management according to standards of coming millennium.