Academic Management System Backend

A comprehensive backend API for managing academic institutions, including students, lecturers, heads of departments, and administrators.

Features

User Roles

• Students: Course registration, assignment submission, notifications
• Lecturers: Assignment creation, grading, course management, document sharing
• Head of Department (HoD): Course oversight, lecturer management, student administration
• Admin: System administration, user management, bulk operations

Core Functionality

• Authentication & Authorization: JWT-based authentication with role-based access control
• File Management: GridFS integration for document storage and retrieval
• Course Management: Complete course lifecycle management
• Assignment System: Assignment creation, submission, and grading
• Notification System: Real-time notifications for all users
• Document Sharing: Secure file upload and download with folder organization

Technology Stack

• Runtime: Node.js with Express.js
• Database: MongoDB with Mongoose ODM
• File Storage: GridFS for MongoDB
• Authentication: JWT tokens with bcrypt password hashing
• Validation: Express-validator for input validation
• Security: Helmet, CORS, rate limiting
• File Upload: Multer with GridFS storage

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd "application backend"

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Environment Setup

   cp .env.example .env

   Edit the .env file with your configuration:

   PORT=5000
   MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/academic_management_system
   JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_here
   JWT_REFRESH_SECRET=your_refresh_secret_here
   FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3000

4. Start MongoDB Make sure MongoDB is running on your system.

5. Run the application

   # Development mode
   npm run dev
   
   # Production mode
   npm start

API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/auth/register - User registration
• POST /api/auth/login - User login
• GET /api/auth/profile - Get user profile
• PUT /api/auth/profile - Update user profile
• PUT /api/auth/change-password - Change password

Student Routes (/api/student)

• GET /courses - Get enrolled courses
• POST /courses/:id/register - Register for a course
• GET /assignments - Get assignments
• POST /assignments/:id/submit - Submit assignment
• GET /notifications - Get notifications

Lecturer Routes (/api/lecturer)

• GET /courses - Get assigned courses
• POST /assignments - Create assignment
• GET /assignments/:id/submissions - Get assignment submissions
• PUT /submissions/:id/grade - Grade submission
• POST /documents - Upload document

HoD Routes (/api/hod)

• POST /courses - Create course
• POST /lecturers/:id/courses - Assign course to lecturer
• POST /students/:id/register - Register student to course
• GET /department/overview - Get department overview
• POST /notifications/send - Send notifications

Admin Routes (/api/admin)

• POST /folders - Create folder
• POST /documents - Upload document
• GET /users/search - Search users
• POST /notifications - Send notification
• POST /notifications/bulk - Send bulk notification
• GET /stats - Get system statistics

File Management (/api/files)

• GET /download/:id - Download file
• GET /stream/:id - Stream file (for videos/audio)

Project Structure

src/
├── app.js                 # Main application file
├── config/
│   ├── db.js             # Database configuration
│   └── env.js            # Environment configuration
├── controllers/
│   ├── admin/            # Admin controllers
│   ├── hod/              # HoD controllers
│   ├── lecturer/         # Lecturer controllers
│   ├── student/          # Student controllers
│   ├── authController.js # Authentication controller
│   └── fileController.js # File management controller
├── middleware/
│   ├── auth.js           # Authentication middleware
│   ├── fileUpload.js     # File upload middleware
│   ├── validation.js     # Validation middleware
│   └── errorHandler.js   # Global error handler
├── models/
│   ├── core/             # Core models (User, Department)
│   ├── academic/         # Academic models (Course, Assignment, etc.)
│   ├── content/          # Content models (Document, Folder)
│   └── communication/    # Communication models (Notification)
└── routes/
    ├── admin/            # Admin routes
    ├── hod/              # HoD routes
    ├── lecturer/         # Lecturer routes
    ├── student/          # Student routes
    ├── authRoutes.js     # Authentication routes
    ├── fileRoutes.js     # File management routes
    └── index.js          # Main routes file

Database Models

Core Models

• User: Base user model with role-based differentiation
• Department: Academic departments

Academic Models

• Course: Course information and management
• Assignment: Assignment details and requirements
• Submission: Student assignment submissions
• Grade: Grading system
• Enrollment: Course enrollment tracking

Content Models

• Document: File metadata and storage information
• Folder: Hierarchical folder organization

Communication Models

• Notification: System notifications

Development

Running in Development Mode

npm run dev

Code Structure Guidelines

• Use ES6 modules and async/await
• Implement proper error handling
• Follow RESTful API conventions
• Use middleware for cross-cutting concerns
• Validate all inputs
• Implement proper authentication and authorization

Testing

Health check endpoint: GET /health

Security Features

• JWT Authentication: Secure token-based authentication
• Password Hashing: bcrypt for password security
• Rate Limiting: Prevent API abuse
• CORS: Cross-origin resource sharing configuration
• Input Validation: Comprehensive input validation
• Role-based Access Control: Fine-grained permissions

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Submit a pull request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.