CM College Of Arts and Science, Mount Razi, Nadavayal, Wayanad

In this case study, we explore the technological transformation at CM College, where previously, computers were predominantly utilized for accounting and academic purposes, with manual processes dominating administrative tasks. The college's management initially resisted hiring additional staff for clerical duties, viewing it as an inefficient and costly approach. However, the introduction of EMBASE Pro Suite marked a pivotal shift, enabling the college staff to allocate less time to administrative responsibilities and more to student engagement.

At the heart of CM College's Administration department are just two staff members, highlighting the constraints they face in terms of resources. Principal Nasar Perambra articulates the challenge: "Our team can handle a breadth of tasks, but our generalist expertise limits our ability to excel in specific areas." The department, staffed with IT generalists, struggled to elevate the quality of their solutions amidst the increasing complexity and cost of their legacy on-premise tools. This case study delves into how the transition to EMBASE Pro Suit facilitated a significant improvement in the department's efficiency and effectiveness.

"We made the decision to segregate Administrative and Academic tasks, a concept that was initially unfamiliar to both our teaching and office staff. By delineating these areas, we've simplified the process, making subsequent steps more manageable and intuitive for everyone involved."

Nasar Perambra , Principal, CM College

Embracing Cloud Technology

Muhammed Uvaise TK from CM College shares their journey toward digital transformation: "We turned to EMBASE Pro Suit as our chosen platform, and it has consistently proven to be the optimal choice." Since 2009, the college utilised computers and applications like MS Excel for student fee collections and report generation, and MS Word for issuing certificates. The transition began with certificate automation.

Muhammed Uvaise TK, an office clerk, outlines the initiative: "Our objective was to upgrade our MS Word templates to automatically generate transfer certificates incorporating advanced features such as QR code identification, which displays student details and allows for direct printing from EMBASE Pro Suit." This shift demonstrated to the entire campus the practical benefits and feasibility of adopting cloud-based solutions.

The decision to continue with EMBASE Pro Suit was influenced by trust, user familiarity, and the platform's ease of use. Muhammed elaborates, "The migration process was seamless, especially since our prior experience with MS Excel enabled an efficient transition of student, teacher, and staff details to EMBASE Pro Suit. This also eased the process of assigning access as we deployed new cloud services."

The deployment strategy began with leveraging minimal modules and services, utilizing the existing infrastructure of computers and printers. EMBASE Pro Suit provided a complimentary domain, cmc.embase.in, featuring three distinct user login interfaces: one for students and parents, another for teachers, and a central control console for administrators.

Muhammed Uvaise Quthubi elaborates on the transition: "As we intensified our shift to the cloud and migrated additional user-oriented services, we focused on establishing a secure cloud environment, conducting necessary upgrades and migrations. This transition resulted in enhanced data availability and service performance, significantly improving the college's reputation among stakeholders. The services became more robust, reliable, and redundant once moved to the cloud—a level of efficiency we couldn't have attained with our previous on-premises setup."

Over time, the approach evolved. "We made a strategic decision to segregate Administrative and Academic tasks, which was a concept initially unfamiliar to both our teachers and office staff," he explains. "By dismantling each barrier one by one, we simplified the process, making subsequent steps more intuitive and manageable for everyone involved."

Mr. Uvaise reflects on the college's initial adoption of EMBASE v1.0 in 2017, noting that the tools were somewhat challenging to navigate due to limited documentation. Fast forward, and EMBASE Pro Suit 4.0 emerges as a game-changer—an application that stands leagues apart from its predecessor, not only matching but also competing on an international level. He highlights, "The transformation is remarkable; the tools have become much more user-friendly, with an impressive UI/UX design that enhances the user experience, and the speed improvements are significant compared to the previous version. Additionally, EMBASE Pro Suit v4.0 introduces an expanded suite of modules along with 24/7 customer support, significantly enhancing our operational efficiency and user satisfaction."

Facing Challenges with Innovative Solutions

CM College encountered significant obstacles when transitioning large commercial applications designed for data centers to the cloud. Muhammed Uvaise explains, "The applications often did not perform optimally 'out of the box' in a cloud environment due to their initial configurations not being cloud-optimized and the lack of comprehensive documentation."

However, these challenges paved the way for remarkable achievements. One of the college's most significant milestones occurred in July 2017 with the implementation of the 'Transfer Certificate module,' which later expanded to include fee collection and attendance modules.

Uvaise reflects on the deployment process: "Deploying new software was fraught with risks, and success was not guaranteed, partly due to the high turnover rate of IT professionals." To address this, the college collaborated with Mincetech, a team established within the college in 2017, which evolved into Emdot Mincetech Private Limited by 2019, led by Mr. Firoz K A, Assistant Professor in the Computer Science Department. This skilled team swiftly developed and implemented various modules, promptly addressing and rectifying any bugs.

The partnership with Mincetech was instrumental in enhancing user control settings, facilitating role-based access that tailored data availability and restrictions according to the organizational hierarchy. "With dedicated customer support, we achieved a robust system that provides high-availability of information at our fingertips, significantly enhancing our operational efficiency and data management," Uvaise concludes.

Now, the college boasts the capability to operate remotely, thanks to internet-connected devices. "Whether it's fee collection, certificate issuance, report generation, exam conduction, or sending notifications and messages, everything can be managed online," he elaborates. "What's more, during the Covid-19 lockdown, many of our staff members worked from home, particularly during the admission period, and EMBASE Pro Suit proved invaluable in providing the necessary services to facilitate these operations seamlessly."

Progress and Future Directions

Muhammed Uvaise TK has been instrumental in shifting CM College away from traditional methods towards more student-centric initiatives. "We've reached a new level of operation, with most of our tasks now facilitated through the EMBASE Pro Suit Cloud," he notes. This transition means the college has moved away from the burdens of maintaining physical servers to a more streamlined approach, focusing on system efficiency, which directly benefits teachers, students, and parents.

The advanced features that are now staples for the college community—like superior performance and data availability—were once deemed prohibitively expensive for an institution with limited resources like CM College. "With EMBASE Pro Suit, these premium features are accessible without significant expenses and are integral to the toolset we use," he explains. "What's more, the costs are substantially lower than what maintaining physical infrastructure would entail, and manageable with our current staff and technology."

Looking ahead, CM College is set to integrate additional modules from EMBASE Pro Suit, continually seeking more effective ways to serve its student body. Muhammed Uvaise Quthubi highlights the strategic shift towards improving admission and service processes through digital workflows and enhancing data understanding via analytics. Transforming IT roles to focus more on training users to leverage these new digital tools signifies a significant cultural shift within the college.

In conclusion, Muhammed Uvaise Quthubi emphasizes the impact of EMBASE Pro Suit: "It has provided us with the tools to address administrative and academic challenges efficiently, something we couldn't have achieved independently."

"EMBASE Pro Suit has provided us with a suite of software modules that have significantly streamlined our Administrative and Academic operations, offering solutions to challenges that were previously insurmountable on our own."

Muhammed Uvaise Quthubi , Administrator, CM College of arts and Science Nadavayal, Wayanad

Organization Profile

CM College of Arts and Science is an unaided college in Nadavayal, Wayanad district under the CM Centre Madavoor affiliated to University of Calicut. It was established in 2010. 

Departments

• PG Departments of Commerce
• PG Departments of Computer Science
• PG Departments of English
• Department of Mathematics
• Department of Mass Communication
• Departments of Management
• Department of Arabic
• Department of Malayalam
• Department of Physical Education
• Department of Economics

PRODUCTS USED

EMBASE Pro Suit Basic Plus