How to save time and make life easier for students and staff by digitizing the student record management process
Every fall brings a sense of renewal and excitement to a school campus, but along with the joy of welcoming new students comes a barrage of new paperwork. Making sure that all student records are captured and processed correctly is a daunting task in and of itself, made even more difficult if done by hand. An effective student management system solution can win you and your staff some time away from the copier, which you can use to help students acclimate to campus on their first day, answer questions or simply take a break because the first few days of a new school year are stressful for everyone.
Read our guide to business information management systems to find the practices, tools, and software you need to keep your business’ essential info accessible.
What is a student record management system?
A student record management system is a software platform that allows school administrators to create, store, update, and securely share student records, including:
- Student profiles (name, preferred pronouns, student ID number, address, grade)
- Parent/guardian contact information
- Attendance records
- Grades and teacher notes/recommendations
- Disciplinary issues
- Medical and immunization records (including known allergies and instructions for intervention)
- School-wide or district-wide data (how many students are incoming/graduating, student demographics and location within the district, number of students in a free lunch program, etc.)
In addition to document creation within the platform, student record management software should also accept scanned copies of paper documents, which helps with organization and makes it easier to keep all relevant documents about a student in one place.
Benefits of student management systems
If you work in a smaller district, it may be tempting to dismiss adding yet another expense to your academic year budget, but even smaller schools can benefit from a well-organized online student record management system. Some advantages include:
- More organized student profiles: Creating digital student profiles, where all relevant data is kept in the same place, makes it easy to access in times of emergency. For example, instead of digging in a folder for a student’s emergency contact card, you can get on the phone with a parent or a guardian in a matter of a few clicks.
- Better attendance tracking: Your teachers don’t have to print out and turn in attendance sheets, which are a hassle and prone to human error. With online attendance records through a student management system, attendance and participation can be tracked easily and shared automatically with school administrators or parents.
- More detailed records and report cards: There’s only so much a teacher can fit into a paper report card. A digital record on the other hand allows teachers to provide detailed, nuanced reports for each student, which can be shared with parents and ultimately lead to better educational outcomes.
- Improved compliance with student privacy laws: Schools that receive public funding are required to protect the privacy of student records under FERPA regulations. Maintaining digital copies of all student records not only makes them easier to manage but also easier to secure from unauthorized staff via user permissions.
- Time and space savings: Processing and sorting paper records is a chore, and there are only so many filing cabinets one can fit into a registrar’s office. Digitizing student records eliminates much of the tedious administrative labor and keeps offices clear of clutter.
Did You Know?:Guthrie Schools in Oklahoma used to photocopy and file 6,000 paper documents at the beginning of every academic year until the school made the move to digital records. Read the customer story here.
Key features of student record management systems
Here are some features to consider when deciding on a records management system for your school or district:
Attendance management
Half the battle in student record management is figuring out whether or not kids are showing up to class in the first place. Look for platforms that are intuitive for teachers and sync automatically with the rest of the system so administrators can tell right away if a student is absent from class. Aside from academic and disciplinary considerations, this is also a crucial safety feature that can alert parents and authorities early on if a child is missing.
Parent/student portals
FERPA requires that schools provide access to school records for parents and students. But aside from compliance regulations, giving families the ability to view grades, attendance, teacher’s notes, and school updates is an effortless way to provide transparency into a child’s education. It’s also a convenient way to gather contact and medical records information, saving busy parents and guardians a trip to the campus office.
Report cards
Issuing report cards through a student academic records management system offers students immediate, private access to their grades and any notes their teachers choose to leave. Aside from saving time, schools can eliminate some paper waste and save on toner and ink by switching to digital report cards. If possible, request a demo from a potential provider to make sure the report card generator is user-friendly and is easy to access for both teachers and staff.
Did You Know?:Not all scanners need to take up a lot of desk space to be efficient. The fi-800R scanner has a compact design (11.6" x 4.1" x 3.2) and the ability to scan up to 40 pages per minute — perfect for a busy school office or small classrooms. Click here to learn more.
Student profiles
A student management system should let you create detailed student profiles that far exceed anything you could document and store in a manila folder. Details like home address, preferred pronouns, and health information like allergies or immunization records should all live in one place where they can be quickly updated by an authorized party.
Advanced security features
While paper records are fragile, take up space, and can be easily destroyed, they are also not accessible to cybercriminals thousands of miles away the way digital records are. Make sure that the provider you select is compliant with industry security standards such as SOC 2 and HIPAA, and encrypts data at rest and in transit. Your school district IT team should do a thorough audit of any potential vendors to ensure they meet stringent security requirements.
Our recommendation: fi-800R
Those in the market for a high-speed document scanner compatible with their student records management system have no shortage of options. We take great pride in having spent the last 50+ years researching, designing, and developing some of the most advanced and powerful electronics in the world, including our professional grade fi Series scanners.
Built to purpose for the most demanding document handling jobs, fi and SP scanners are capable of processing tens of thousands of pages per day at the highest levels of accuracy. Their intuitive integration capabilities with all existing work suites minimize time-to-value for businesses looking to invest in tools that will pay dividends for years to come.
The fi-800R is a versatile, compact scanner that comes with an automatic 20-page document feeder and a manual front feeder that can scan documents up to 5 mm thick (perfect for small booklets and ID cards). And best of all, it has automatic skew correction and separation which prevents frustrating paper jams and blurry, partial scans. Click here to learn more or shop the rest of our production scanner line.
Note: Information and external links are provided for your convenience and for educational purposes only, and shall not be construed, or relied upon, as legal advice. PFU America, Inc. makes no representations about the contents, features, or specifications on such third-party sites, software, and/or offerings (collectively “Third-Party Offerings”) and shall not be responsible for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of such Third-Party Offerings. Please consult with a licensed attorney regarding your specific situation as regulations may be subject to change.
