QR Attendance is an easy to use attendance record system, that only needs the user to scan a QR code to register their attendance. QR Attendance is an alternative to high cost solutions, both in Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and Operating Expenditure (OPEX), such as smart cards or biometric.

Attendance records, for staff and students of UNIMAS, are required both for course evaluation (student) and work performance (staff).  Students are required to attend 80% of their classes in order to qualify to sit for the exam. For staff, attendance is a key indicator considered for promotion and work performance.

Attendance records must be accurate, credible and consistent.

Before the implementation of QR Attendance, UNIMAS used a smart card solution to record staff attendance and for every other activity, including student attendance, attendance was recorded manually. Attendance taking was tedious and took too long with long queues and faulty equipment. Management of these records was done manually, with dedicated staff members required to tabulate the necessary records leading to records being disorganized, inconsistent and not accurate.

From January 2018, the QR Attendance System was implemented in UNIMAS to record staff office attendance, student class attendance and attendance to all university activities such as meetings, workshops and training programmes organised by UNIMAS.

The three (3) main components that support the QR Attendance System are:

1. CloQin – the mobile app both Android and iOS; which is installed onto the user’s smart device,
2. QR Console – the dynamic QR code generator,
3. Attendance Nexus – the central management system that processes the QR code scans and records the attendance.

UNIMAS uses a single-ID solution for all their IT systems and this is extended to CloQin. CloQin is restricted to one (1) ID for one (1) smart device only.

Data encryption is use for all transmitted data and the QR Code is automatically generated every five (5) seconds. The central management system – Attendance Nexus; ensures that records are organised, verifiable and consistent. Tabulation of attendance data is done by the Attendance Nexus and the results are passed to the relevant student management systems and HR systems.

The QR code can be projected onto a screen, viewed on a pc monitor or smart device allowing for simultaneous attendance recording speeding up the attendance taking process. Significant cost savings was evident since there was no need for purchasing, replacing or maintaining equipment such as smart card readers or biometric readers.

Attendance reporting is now easier and transparent; with personal attendance results available for viewing through the user’s mobile app (CloQin) or with access to the Attendance Nexus desktop.

With integration with the Student Management System; students are fully aware of their attendance performance and to the Human Resource Management System; staff attendance to office and university activities can be tabulated towards their appraisal.

QR Attendance is scalable – able to handle both small and large volumes of data at any given time. To date since January 2018 till to date (July 2019); the system has handled 2,330,155 instances or clock-ins for classroom attendance.

QR Attendance is ready for commercialisation. Being a web-based system, we are able to offer services via the university’s cloud-services using a subscription model. A subscription model is easier to manage in terms of development and maintenance.

QR Attendance approaches a complicated issue with simplicity using innovative solutions on currently available technology that up-lifts the quality of life for its’ users. Users stand to gain from using QR Attendance knowing that their attendance records are accurate, credible and consistent.

Biodata :

Maclean's son Patrick Sibat is the Deputy Head of the Resource and Commercial Management Division at the Center for Information Technology Development and Services (CITDS), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). In addition, he also holds the position of Head of Commercial and Promotion Unit. A native of Sarawak, he has served in UNIMAS for 19 years. He holds a Diploma in Applied Sciences from UiTM and holds a degree in Information Technology from UNIMAS. He has expertise in web development and Online Learning System Development. As Head of Commercial and Promotional Unit, he is responsible for the commercialization of IT Products for the Center for IT Development and Services, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).

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Date of Input: 22/08/2019 | Updated: 30/08/2019 | nazlina