Campus Bulletin Board Web App

A comprehensive notice board application for educational institutions with role-based access control (Admin, Staff, and Students).

Features

🔐 Authentication & Authorization

• Single Login Page: Users select their role and sign in
• Student Registration: Students can create accounts
• Predefined Accounts: Staff and admin accounts are created by administrators
• JWT-based Authentication: Secure token-based authentication

👥 Role-Based Access Control

• Admin: Full system access - manage notices, approve/reject submissions, manage staff accounts
• Staff: Create and edit notices, submit for approval
• Students: View approved notices, search and filter, download attachments

📢 Notice Management

• Create & Edit: Staff can create and edit notices
• Approval Workflow: All staff submissions require admin approval
• File Attachments: Support for PDF and other file types via Cloudinary
• Categories: Organized notice categories (Academic, Events, Sports, etc.)
• Search & Filter: Advanced search and filtering capabilities

Tech Stack

Backend

• Node.js with Express.js
• MongoDB with Mongoose ODM
• JWT for authentication
• Cloudinary for file storage
• Multer for file uploads
• bcrypt for password hashing

Frontend

• Next.js 14 with TypeScript
• Tailwind CSS for styling
• Axios for API calls
• React Context for state management

Database Schema

Users Collection

{
  name: String (required),
  email: String (required, unique),
  password: String (required, hashed),
  studentId: String (optional, unique),
  department: String (optional),
  roles: [String] (enum: ['admin', 'staff', 'student']),
  timestamps: true
}

Notices Collection

{
  title: String (required),
  description: String (required),
  category: String (enum: predefined categories),
  fileUrl: String (Cloudinary URL),
  filePublicId: String (Cloudinary public ID),
  status: String (enum: ['draft', 'pending_approval', 'published', 'rejected']),
  createdBy: ObjectId (ref: User),
  approvedBy: ObjectId (ref: User, optional),
  approvedAt: Date (optional),
  rejectionReason: String (optional),
  timestamps: true
}

Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16 or higher)
• MongoDB (local or Atlas)
• Cloudinary account

1. Clone the Repository

git clone <repository-url>
cd campusBulletin

2. Backend Setup

cd backend

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Create .env file
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your configuration

# Start the server
npm run dev

3. Frontend Setup

cd frontend

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Create .env.local file
echo "NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:5000/api" > .env.local

# Start the development server
npm run dev

4. Database Setup

cd backend

# Seed initial users (admin, staff, test student)
npm run seed

Environment Variables

Backend (.env)

MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/campusBulletin
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_key_here
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your_cloud_name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_api_key
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_api_secret
PORT=5000
NODE_ENV=development

Frontend (.env.local)

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:5000/api

Default Login Credentials

After running the seed script, you can use these test accounts:

• Admin: admin@campus.edu / admin123
• Staff: staff@campus.edu / staff123
• Student: student@campus.edu / student123

API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/auth/admin/login - Admin login
• POST /api/auth/staff/login - Staff login
• POST /api/auth/student/login - Student login
• POST /api/auth/student/register - Student registration
• GET /api/auth/me - Get current user profile

Notices

• GET /api/notices - Get notices (with role-based filtering)
• GET /api/notices/:id - Get specific notice
• POST /api/notices - Create notice (Staff/Admin only)
• PUT /api/notices/:id - Update notice (Staff own/Admin)
• DELETE /api/notices/:id - Delete notice (Admin only)
• PATCH /api/notices/:id/submit - Submit for approval (Staff)
• PATCH /api/notices/:id/approve - Approve notice (Admin)
• PATCH /api/notices/:id/reject - Reject notice (Admin)

Workflow

1. Staff creates notice → Status: DRAFT
2. Staff submits for approval → Status: PENDING_APPROVAL
3. Admin reviews → Status: PUBLISHED or REJECTED
4. Students view → Only PUBLISHED notices are visible

File Structure

campusBulletin/
├── backend/
│   ├── auth/           # Role definitions and permissions
│   ├── config/         # Database and Cloudinary config
│   ├── controllers/    # Business logic
│   ├── middleware/     # Auth and role middleware
│   ├── models/         # MongoDB schemas
│   ├── routes/         # API endpoints
│   ├── scripts/        # Database seeding
│   └── server.js       # Main server file
├── frontend/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── app/        # Next.js app router
│   │   ├── components/ # Reusable components
│   │   ├── contexts/   # React contexts
│   │   ├── lib/        # Utilities and API
│   │   └── types/      # TypeScript types
│   └── package.json
└── README.md

Development

Running in Development Mode

# Backend (Terminal 1)
cd backend
npm run dev

# Frontend (Terminal 2)
cd frontend
npm run dev

Database Seeding

cd backend
npm run seed

Security Features

• Password Hashing: bcrypt with salt rounds
• JWT Tokens: Secure authentication
• Role-Based Access: Granular permissions
• Input Validation: Server-side validation
• File Upload Security: Type and size restrictions

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Support

For support and questions, please open an issue in the repository.