Development of a Mobile-Based Student Course Registration System for Federal University Dutse, Jigawa State

University course registration processes in many Nigerian institutions remain largely manual, resulting in long queues, data errors, and administrative bottlenecks. This study develops a mobile-based course registration system tailored for Federal University Dutse, Jigawa State, targeting students in the North West geopolitical zone. The system is built using React Native for cross-platform compatibility and a Node.js backend with a MySQL database. The research adopts the agile development methodology, enabling iterative testing and feedback from students and academic staff. A prototype was developed and evaluated using usability metrics including task completion rate, error rate, and user satisfaction scores drawn from a survey of 120 undergraduate respondents. Findings reveal that the mobile system reduced average registration time by 68 percent compared to the manual process, and user satisfaction scores averaged 4.3 out of 5. The study identifies poor internet connectivity as a recurring challenge in northern Nigerian campuses and proposes an offline-first architecture as a mitigation strategy. The research contributes a replicable software solution that can be adapted by other federal universities in underserved geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Recommendations include phased deployment, staff training, and integration with the university's existing student information portal for seamless data synchronisation. Keywords: mobile application, course registration, agile methodology, usability, Nigerian university