Student and parent self-service portal

1. Overview & Business Value#

This comprehensive operational guide details the architecture, business workflows, configuration parameters, and execution steps for Student and parent self-service portal within SmartERP.

SmartERP School Portal (smarterp_school_portal) extends student records and academic information to parents, guardians, and students via a secure, mobile-optimized web portal accessible from any smartphone or browser.

{screenshot:student-and-parent-portal-overview-dashboard}

2. Prerequisites & Security Access Groups#

• Required Modules: smarterp_school, smarterp_academic
• Security Groups:
  • Teacher / Instructor (Technical ID: smarterp_school.group_school_teacher)
  • Academic Registrar (Technical ID: smarterp_school.group_school_registrar)
  • Principal / Headmaster (Technical ID: smarterp_school.group_school_manager)
• Master Data Dependencies: Academic grade levels (Primary, Middle, Secondary), curriculum syllabus, examination schedules, fee structures, and guardian records.

3. Step-by-Step Configuration & Execution#

Step 1: Navigating to the Module Interface#

1. Log into your SmartERP instance at https://smarterp.et/odoo.
2. Open the main App Switcher (grid icon in the top-left corner).
3. Select the School Management app icon.
4. From the top navigation bar, open School Management → Students / Classes / Attendance / Gradebook.

{screenshot:student-and-parent-portal-app-switcher-navigation}

Step 2: Creating and Parameterizing Records#

1. Click the New button in the top-left control panel.
2. Complete the mandatory fields in the record form:
   • Student Full Name (Mandatory): Legal name matching Ministry of Education student census
   • Grade & Section (Mandatory): Assigned academic level and classroom division
   • Guardian Emergency Contact (Mandatory): Primary parent/guardian phone number and address
   • Academic Term / Year (Mandatory): Current academic operational calendar year
3. Configure optional operational parameters and localized tags as required:
   • Transportation Route (Optional): Designated school bus route and stop
   • Extracurricular Activities (Optional): Student sports, clubs, and academic societies
   • Medical Notes & Allergies (Optional): School nurse emergency health details
4. Click the Save icon in the control bar to commit the record.

{screenshot:student-and-parent-portal-record-creation-form}

Step 3: Validating and Processing Transactions#

• State Transitions: Execute operational state progression (Application → Enrolled → Active Student → Continuous Assessment → Final Assessment → Promoted / Graduated).
• Ledger & System Impact: Tuition fees create customer invoices in Accounts Receivable; fee receipts post to bank and cash clearing journals.
• Audit Verification: Automated recording of author ID, timestamp, and immutable revision history.

{screenshot:student-and-parent-portal-transaction-processing-state}

Portal security and guardian child isolation#

To protect student privacy and comply with child data protection standards:

• Server-Side Record Rules: Strict Odoo record rules ensure that an authenticated parent can only view data belonging to children where they are formally registered as an authorized guardian in smarterp_school_student.
• Multi-Child Switching: Guardians with multiple children in the school can seamlessly toggle between student profiles within the same portal session.

Core portal capabilities#

1. Academic Timetable & Schedule: Real-time weekly timetable showing subjects, start times, classrooms, and assigned teachers.
2. Live Grade Book: Continuous tracking of homework scores, quiz results, and official term report card downloads.
3. Attendance & Absence Logs: Instant visibility into daily attendance status, tardiness flags, and excused absence justifications.
4. Direct Teacher Messaging: Structured communication channel allowing parents to message homeroom teachers without sharing personal phone numbers.
5. Fee Ledger & 1-Click Payments: Full history of billed tuition fees, pending balances, printable receipts, and direct online payment links via Telebirr and CBE.

4. Advanced Configuration Points#

• Automated Actions & Scheduled Tasks (Crons):
  • School: Generate term grade report cards (smarterp_school.ir_cron_gradecards): Runs at the end of each term to compile student transcripts
  • School: Daily parent attendance notification via SMS (smarterp_school.ir_cron_attendance_sms): Runs daily at 09:30 to notify guardians of student absences
• Custom Print Templates & Reports:
  • Official Student Report Card & Academic Transcript
  • Classroom Daily Attendance Register
  • Term Tuition Billing & Fee Collection Ledger
• Multi-Company Rules: Record-level security isolation under Company 1 (Ashewa Technology Solutions S.C.), preventing cross-company ledger leakage across parent and subsidiary legal entities.

5. Comprehensive Troubleshooting Matrix#