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Reason for changing the MKU Portal

 Over the last two weeks, students of Mount Kenya University have, thus, been rather confused when it comes to the students' portal. The upgrade was necessary; nonetheless, it opened up a Pandora's box of several disruptions in the form of missed CATs and a backtrack to the physical CATs." The article expounds why the portal was changed, why CAT marks are not visible yet, and the students' associated challenges with physical CATs.


1. Reason for changing the MKU Portal

The recent changes in the MKU portal were driven by several factors deemed necessary to improve the overall academic experience and operational efficiency of the university and its students.


  • Old Technology and System Upgrade

Indeed, though the former MKU portal used to function well, it suffered from a slowness attributable to peak hours, during which large numbers of students attempted simultaneous entry to the portal. It was already certain that students would have problems performing basic tasks such as registering for courses or accessing their academic records, especially on their mobile devices.


In relation to those aforementioned issues, the university decided on a more robust technology system. This new portal will speed up load times, provide better integration with devices, and remain reliable. In order to remain with the times and meet modern academic processes, this change was thought to be vital to improve student access on the go.


  •  Enhanced User Experience; The new portal should also be more user-friendly. Registration, fee payment, and checking academic performance should become less cumbersome and frustrating for students. Indeed, the old system was seen as torturous and frustrating by the students. The university acknowledged the need for a more fluid and intuitive platform, which would minimize the level of complication for students during their administrative tasks.

 With increasing cyberattack attempts and data breaches targeting educational institutions globally, MKU put URL in priority to secure its student data.Worthy of note is that the new portal has more encryption kilometers and fists tightened on the gated gates for a higher form of secure and sensitive data thus ensuring safety for personal data, marks, and financial records.


 Speeding up the operations; Another major transformation is that all trailing systems will be centralized in the new portal. The new portal speedily processes student information, saving delays when it comes to operations, tuition applications, payment of tuition fees, and academic tracking. Automated and integrated processes then allow the university to devote all energies to improving service delivery and operational efficiency.


Why CAT results are not showing on the new portal

One of the biggest concerns raised now by MKU students is that CAT results are not available on the new portal. While students rely on these results to gauge their academic performance, there are a few factors that warrant the status quo.


  • Still Exploiting Transfer of Data The main reason for CAM not reflecting results is the ongoing migration of data from the two-portals old and the new. For the actual change of data from one system to another, one requires a careful application that is laden with complex procedures, especially for an institution housing thousands of students. This is where, since a university cannot guarantee safe migrations to either database, customer worries arise- 'could a customer on either database lose data, or how many would it take to verify this database?' While this migration continues, some of the data, such as CAT results, may not have been uploaded on the new system entirely. 
  •  Technical Glitches Technological Innovations cause an initial problem concerning the introduction of the new digital platform, and MKU's portal was not an exception. The IT team is busy fixing the bugs and glitches towards a seamless operation of the system. The problems are temporary, so perhaps when the glitches are fixed; students should expect the CAT results online with further delays, in which this case is zero now.


  •  Phased Feature Rollout These delays in the provision of CAT results could also be as a result of the features of the new portal, being rolled out in phases by the university. The university probably has a priority thrust and first focuses on essential tasks such as course registration and fee payments, with direct integration of academic records such as CAT results at a later stage. This phased rollout helps the university prevent overload on its system while ensuring that other critical work functions are correctly operational before addressing other features.

3. Challenges Posed by the Shift to Physical CATs

While CATs are disallowed in the portal, MKU students have now reverted to CATs being a temporary solution. While this will address the situation in which the student gets an assessment, it has left a wound of yet another problem to deal with.


  • Logistical Problems The physical CATs require students to travel to their respective departments or instructors to check or collect their results. The process is not only inconvenient but also time-consuming. Most of those students are worried about going back and forth among departments, leading to quite long waiting periods or unwanted delays. 
  •  Increased Risk of Human Error: One of the greatest advantages of a digital system minimizes the probability of errors arising. However, since their implementation in the administration of CATs, physical assessments heighten risks of error. Papers could go missing, mistakes could occur while grading, and confusion between teachers and students is readily possible. These circumstances can lead to disputes over grades and further exasperate students who are already negotiating a formidable academic marketplace.
  •  Lack of Transparency: Digital systems do allow students to monitor their academic performance during the entire academic year in real-time. This gives them real-time feedback on their grades. However, this feature is not available with physical CATs. Students usually walk from one class to another without knowing how well they performed in the previous class, which stresses them, as they have to ascertain their standing for that period.
  •  Delay in Feedback: Delay in giving feedback is one major shortcoming of physical CATs. Online systems allow teachers to update marks pretty fast, giving students instant access to their performance data. Physical CATs, however, slow down the whole process as teachers must first grade the papers by hand and later distribute results. The delays associated with feedback could easily put students unprepared for their next round of exams or assessments.

Conclusion

Though changes in the MKU student portal seem very necessary for the long-term improvement of the university's academic and administrative systems, they have caused temporary disruptions in a variety of aspects, including, but not limited to, missing CAT results and going back to physical assessments. The university, though symptomatic of any frustration, is looking into these annoyances. Students can expect a far more smooth-flowing and user-friendly setup in that year as migration of data comes to its close and technical problems are straightened out. 

In the interim, the students of MKU should remain patient and communicate with their instructors and Departments so that they can receive a timely feedback about their academic progress. Although transition is a challenge, the long-term benefits are bound to be reflected in bringing about a more secure, efficient, and accessible system in the academic experience at MKU.