UNICROSS explains delays in student results, cites migration to new digital system

By Ike Uchechukwu, Calabar

The management of the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS) has attributed delays in the release of students’ results to the ongoing migration of academic records from an old portal to a new digital system.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday at the Ernest Etim Bassey Press Centre in Calabar, the Director of Exams and Results, Dr. Anderson Etika, said the challenges were inherited by the current administration and compounded by technical and funding constraints.

Dr. Etika explained that the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Francisca Bassey, who assumed office on January 26, 2025, inherited the university in the midst of a difficult transition involving the movement of massive data from the old result portal to a new platform.

“We had a huge volume of data on the old portal which had to be transferred to the new portal. That became a major challenge, especially with funding constraints. Unfortunately, the old portal was eventually shut down, and retrieving data from it proved difficult,” he said.

He added that the university initially explored manually retrieving hard copies of results dating back to 2002, but after sustained efforts, part of the data stored in the old cloud system was recovered. “We have successfully migrated results from the 2017 academic session to the 2023 session within two months,” Dr. Etika said, noting that minor discrepancies were expected during the transfer between systems.

The director highlighted that the new portal ensures improved transparency and efficiency, allowing students to view results almost immediately after upload. “Once a result is uploaded now, it cannot be altered except with the approval of the Vice Chancellor. That has effectively put an end to the buying and selling of grades,” he added.

Reacting to student protests over delayed results, Dr. Etika alleged that resistance was coming from individuals who previously exploited loopholes in the old system. “Some lecturers and students who benefited from the old system can no longer do so. That is why there is pushback against the new system,” he said, adding that some students leading the protests had multiple carryover courses.

While acknowledging the frustration of affected students, particularly those awaiting graduation, Dr. Etika appealed for patience. “Results are sensitive documents. If we rush the process, we risk awarding incorrect degrees. We are making steady progress, and this challenge will soon be resolved,” he assured.

Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic, Prof. Stella Maris Okey, reiterated that the university management is fully on top of the situation and confident the issues would be resolved promptly.

The press briefing was attended by members of the university management team, including the Deputy Vice Chancellor Administration, Prof. Thomas Ojikpong, and Acting Registrar, Barrister Uno I. Ogban.

The post UNICROSS explains delays in student results, cites migration to new digital system appeared first on Vanguard News.