A Registrar Administration System Requirements Analysis and Product Recommendation for Marine Corps University, Quantico, VA

Marine Corps University (MCU) is a relatively young organization and continues to mature as it brings more academic functionality and oversight under centralized control, especially in the area of Information Technology (IT). Much of MCU’s IT control and responsibility still remains decentralized down to the school and college level. This research focuses on a specific IT capability, a Registrar Administration System (RAS). An RAS may also be termed a Student Information System (SIS). This type of system performs many functions. Some of them typically include the ability to hold or access personal student and faculty information; correlate students to courses completed, grades received and when; provide faculty a portal to upload course grades; and provide the Registrar’s office access to generate transcripts. It may also include functionality for Registrar, course scheduling, or alumni needs. In this research, we conduct a requirements analysis (RA) to determine MCU’s needs for this type of system. After understanding MCU’s requirements, we conduct a market analysis to learn about systems that are being employed at institutions similar to MCU. Next, product characteristics, or factors, to be considered and Likert rating scales are defined in preparation for an evaluation of each system. We conduct a product comparison based on our system evaluations and conclude by recommending the best system for MCU.