Gone are the days of endless circulars and notices. Communication between university authorities and parents are now as fast as sending an SMS. Keeping pace with the tech-savvy Gen X, college authorities and parents alike are discovering the joys of SMSing. So bunking classes to watch the latest flick in town on the sly or hanging out with your friends in a coffee bar sipping the steaming hot cappuccino or riding one’s bike on the
broad streets of Chandigarh will not be so after all. At least not in Lovely Professional University. Students attending the University can forget skiving because their parents will be now receiving an SMS alert on their mobile phones if they fail to show up.
The university has evolved a unique SMS alert system called Relation Management System helps keep tabs on the students’ attendance records and their whereabouts. Parents will receive information about absentee students in real time, as opposed to the previous snail mail system which informed them two days after their children missed class.
These SMS alerts also keep parents abreast of how their wards are faring at the university ------- everything from the latest test marks, fees to be paid etc. The university authorities also send updates to parents about happenings in the college, unannounced holidays, special instructions and emergency notifications.
How it works? All that parents need to do is type the attendance registration number on a specific mobile number of the LPU to get the day’s attendance of their ward to get day-to-day updates or even cumulative attendance report.. Whether entry or exit of a student the attendance recorders immediately sends the status through an SMS to the mobile phone of parents. If a student skips the college, parents come to know the status of
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their child immediately as they receive the absent message of the student.
Explaining the rationale behind launching the SMS alert service, Mr Ashok Mittal, Chancellor Lovely Professional University says, “SMS is proving to be a convenient interface between parents and us. We have realized that SMS is an instant way of alerting parents that their child is not at the university the same day, or better still, the same morning. We do not have to take the trouble of checking the telephone register to inform parents when students are late or absent. Previously, we had to call parents by the first period. When it comes to keeping parents involved with their children, a text message has more immediacy than an email.”
Ever since the university adopted this biometric technology, the management reported major decline in truancy rates which is keeping the parents happy. While some students complain that technology is playing a spoil sport, others say its “uber cool” as an SMS keeps them updated on details such as the late date to submit exam fees which otherwise would be put up on obscure notice boards.
Says Neelima Kaur, B Tech (Mechanical Engineering) Third Year student, “SMS is the best way to reach out to parents and inform them about the progress of their wards. The system encourages students to be more responsible and provides a more uniform and effective solution for the college management in managing unexplained absences.”
