Download USE - Computer Science & Engineering

The University Student/Employer (U.S.E.) Network
Bryan Sullivan , Steve Martens , Rob Davis , Dan Gallaher , Dr. Sergiu Dascalu and Dr. Ara Nefian
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Department of Computer Science, University of Nevada, Reno
2Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, CA
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The User Interface
Abstract:
The University Student/Employer (U.S.E.) Network is an
interactive, web-based application which serves to assist
university students and employers in making that all important
first connection. It is an exclusive, web environment in which a
university student can post a resume and portfolio, or search for a
job. An employer can post job listings or search student resumes
for possible employees. Currently, there are many web
applications that provide similar services. However, our system
differs in that it is tailored toward what a university student has to
offer to the job market.
Figure 1: U.S.E. Net Home Page
Figure 2: U.S.E. Net Login Page
Figure 3: Student/My Info Page
Figure 4: U.S.E. Portfolio Page
General Description:
The U.S.E. network has two major web environments: student
and employer. The student environment allows the user to edit
their personal information, post a plain-text resume and search
the job postings. It also provides a U.S.E. Portfolio, which allows
the user to upload files to a file container, in order to highlight the
student’s academic achievements. The student user can also add
class listings and descriptions to the database to better convey
their specific areas of study to possible employers. The employer
environment provides a medium for posting job descriptions and
editing personal or company information. Employers can also
search the student database for employees, using a number of
different criteria, including keywords, student major/minor,
college, and so forth. Both these environments are protected with
a login name and password for each user that registers into the
system.
Main Specifications:
•The U.S.E. network uses PHP (server-side scripting language) for
database interaction, SQL (Structured Query Language) for queries to our
relational database, JavaScript (client-side scripting language) to aid in
some aspects of web development and HTML for the underlying structure
of our pages.
•The U.S.E. network runs on an Apache Web server.
•The U.S.E. network has the ability to be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week.
•The U.S.E. network allows for the creation of unique user accounts in
two different categories: student and employer.
•The U.S.E. network requires that common contact and certain
demographic information be entered upon initial user registration. Users
choose their own login name and password.
•The U.S.E. network acknowledges successfully created accounts with a
screen displaying confirmation information.
•The U.S.E. network allows registered users in the “student” category to
add plain-text resumes as well as highlight courses they believe might
make them stand out in their field of study. Additionally, registration
information can be updated as needed.
•The U.S.E. network permits registered users in the “employer” category
to add plain-text job postings as well as highlight specific aspects of a job
they deem vital. All initial registration information can be updated as
needed.
•The U.S.E. network allows students to search through registered
employer’s job postings and their associated demographic information.
Students may perform keyword-based searches or searches on
predetermined criteria such as company/job location, field, majors sought,
or a combination of these.
•The U.S.E. network allows employers to search though registered
student’s resumes and their related demographic information. Employers
may choose to perform keyword-based searches or searches by major,
minor, G.P.A., etc., or a combination of these.
Figure 5: Student/Resume Page
Goals:
The major goal of this project is to provide university students
with a better means of getting a job. A student’s resume lacks
work experience. Current career oriented sites focus on resumes,
causing the less experienced students to miss job opportunities.
By making use of features such as the U.S.E. portfolio and class
highlighting the students can more easily convey their academic
achievements and describe more precisely their areas of study.
This type of environment can also aid employers in finding
highly specialized, less expensive student employees. The site is
intended to act as a full-time job fair for students and employers.
Special Features:
The U.S.E. Portfolio: This file container allows students to digitally display their
academic pursuits and achievements. The U.S.E. portfolio makes simple work of
uploading pictures, programs, papers, and articles. Searching employers have
access to these containers, and can even save them on their own computers
(Figure 4).
Class Highlighting: The addition of this feature helps to illustrate a student’s
specific academic pursuits. Most employers do not know exactly what a student
has learned by looking at his or her degree. This feature breaks down this
information barrier by providing class descriptions and comments to searching
employers.
This project was developed as part of the Senior Projects course CS426, Instructor Dr. Sergiu Dascalu, Spring 2003
High-Level Design:
User
Student/Employer
Database
Browser
(HTML, JavaScript)
Web Server running
Apache