In this project we will look at developing a sms based system aimed at mounting essential student services on mobiles; in particular the student registration system. We choose an sms based over a mobile web application due to its popularity, ease of use and that is readily available in basic phones which happens to be the most common type of handsets in use. In this proposed system students will be allowed to register for their preferred course(s) by sending sms. The format of the sms will be designed in such a way so that proper authentication, delivery and execution of the sms can be done without any problems. The system will also facilitate notification of enrolled, dropped and on hold courses.

The current process of course registrations can only be done either manually at the campuses; or online using the SOLS online registration system. Though these systems are working well, it still requires students to be present in person at the campus or have access to a computer having decent internet connection. Based on the assumption that mobile access covers a greater area; this projects aims to maximise this medium for the purpose of course registration.

The goal of this project is to present existing and potential USP students a way to register for their preferred courses by sending an SMS. This will be a two way messaging system mainly comprising of a request for registration and a response/confirmation.

Due to the rapid explosion of mobile technology, smartphones which cost hundreds of dollars a couple of years ago have seen a remarkable reduction in prices nowadays. This is also attributed to the introduction of newer manufacturers of mobiles phones in the mobile market, hence pushing prices down. One feature of smartphones that is widely used is their ability to browse the internet.

However the current cost of browsing the internet is still not cheap in Fiji and in other USP member countries. Keeping this in mind, this project will look at the possibility of allowing internet browsing on smartphones by connecting to the current USP ISP instead of using the bandwidth of the mobile service providers. This means that students connecting to the internet will use up their USP internet quota. They will have the same access privileges to sites as governed by the current USP Internet Usage Policy.

Increasing use of smart phones means people are accessing ever more content on their mobile phones. For content to be delivered and viewed on compatible browsers on mobile phones, the website contents need to be re-designed into WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) content.

The goal of this project is to identify essential and mandated student related services and develop WAP enabled content so that they can be assessable on smartphones or 3G enabled mobile devices.

For a start, this project will target some key areas of Moodle to be accessible from mobile phones, in particular the Moodle Home Page, Discussion Forums, Grade book and profiles. Other possibilities include the SOLS such as course registrations and finance menu.