The guide : a decision support system for academic course selection

Abstract

Making choices is something that everyone passes through in all stages of life. When people are young, they are helped in their decisions by mature persons, like say, their parents or legal guardians. However, as one becomes older, the task of choosing between different options in life becomes something very personal and difficult. And it is common fact that as one becomes older, the choices that he has to make tend to have more outcome. Making the right decisions is even more difficult indeed. There is no formula that can be applied to decision making in everyday life. This is because we deal with abstract thought processes that are very difficult to express in rigorous, scientific ways. The thoughts that pass through one's mind when he is going to buy an artefact can be diverse. Price may be a deciding factor for instance as much as aesthetic beauty. Decisions are sometimes made in an ad hoe way or in the heat of the moment. Even though each decision that is made by any single individual relates to a unique setting, many times one can relate to another individual's experiences. This is especially true if the said individual, for example, is of the same age or is culturally related, that is, from the same country. Many times someone else has passed through the same problems. This information may not be easy to obtain, but in cases where it is readily available, it can be used, without having to re-invent the wheel. This is exactly what the Guide tries to achieve. The information in this context is the past decisions of students regarding the choice of subjects during their permanence in University. Such data is readily available, and can be used to help new students in this important time of their life. Others before them did not have someone to really help in the choice of subjects. This will hopefully change with this system.