Engineering Honors Program Database Optimization

Abstract

The University of Michigan College of Engineering Honors Program was established in 2012 for high-achieving engineering students to develop their academic rigor while enhancing their leadership skills. Working closely with faculty and peers, students complete a capstone project, elect a minor, develop skills through Honors seminars, and partake in community service projects. Beginning with around 100 students, the Honors program has flourished in recent years, and now hosts around 250 students. As the Honors program grows, consequently its student and program data increases. Honors staff and faculty are struggling to find a way to mediate changes and additions to student data while maintaining organization and consistency. Data is stored in a variety of locations, making it difficult to work timely and to keep updates of changes to students' academic plans consistent. This is a time burden for staff, and it results in confusion or missed messages for students. Due to their data storage problems, the Honors staff requested us to investigate their data storage and propose new data organization plans that would provide optimized efficiency and consistency in the ways they store student data. Through our data analysis, we have recommended two different solutions for the staff to test: a SQL database or list of rules and regulations for the staff members to follow. With these recommendations, the Honors Program staff members will be able to combat their data organization problems for easy record keeping and updating, saving time, stress, and effort.