Attendance is a fundamental obligation which shows students’ desire and will to learn and their respect to teachers. Because of its importance, attendance is one of the major evaluation standard in majority of classes. An electronic automatic attendance-absence recording system has been installed in POSTECH in 2005. Electronic attendance-absence recording system was introduced after POSTECH made a contract with Woori Bank to use Woori Smart Card as the student ID card.
Both advantages and disadvantages of the electronic attendance system were figured out since it was introduced. With the electronic attendance system, lecture time does not get wasted because of time spent to check attendance of students. Also, there are no controversies over ambiguous attendance rules because computer regulates the attendance according to the rule as it was programmed. The electronic system only detects student ID card from 10 minutes before lecture starts to 10 minutes after lecture starts as attendance.
However, the electronic attendance system got less popular to both professors and students because of its disadvantage. Card reader is easily broken, and students can’t check their attendance record right away. The biggest problem of the electronic attendance system is that the program can’t identify whether a student is actually in the classroom taking a class. Even if a student contacts their student ID card to the reader and leaves the class, the electronic attendance system can’t notice it. Also, students often lend their student ID card to their classmate and attend as a substitute if the class is using the electronic attendance system.
In order to solve these problems, mobile electronic attendance recording system is running from this semester as a part of Woori Bank Smart Campus Project. The new mobile system is available in 63 classrooms, four auditoriums, two seminar rooms in library, and conference room in POSCO International Center. Students can use the mobile system by downloading an application named “POSTECH Electronic Attendance” from Apple App Store or Google Market. Students should turn on Bluetooth in their smartphones. Students can use either their student ID card or mobile application to record their attendance.
Also, the card reader was properly fixed allover and new wireless communication device, Beacon, was installed. Beacon can check whether a student leaved the class by detecting the position of student through smartphones. Students can check their attendance record through the application immediately, and they can request correction of the attendance record to their professor through the application if there are wrong records. Students can attach documentary evidence or reason for the request.
Still, professors are avoiding using the electronic attendance system with classes with not many students, because they don’t feel it is necessary to put up with the risk of proxy attendance and other various cheating related to attendance. However, the mobile attendance system has improved, and negative perceptions would change in future.