According to the Institute of Education Sciences, 70 percent of schools use technology for classroom activities. As digital transformation aims to improve the teacher and student experiences, administrators are likewise adopting school management systems to improve school impact.
Today, student information systems and learning management systems combine to streamline an array of front office processes across admissions, enrollment, tuition management, and staffing.
Benefits of Technology Integration and Transformation
By using technology for administrative duties, staff can keep tabs on various processes with newfound precision and attentiveness.
Understand the importance of digital transformation, as it improves these areas:
- Student Data: Through technology, staff members can track various types of student data, including enrollment status, grades, attendance, and extracurricular activities. This student data allows administrative staff to ensure all students are progressing through school properly. Any issues with student progress will be easy to spot thanks to the integrated school management system, and faculty can communicate with students and parents to continue growth.
- Operations: A school can quickly streamline its operations with technology that integrates with complimentary solutions. These combinations further several opportunities for automation and better organization. Schools can simplify the administrative red tape that comes with contracting and other situations, especially when they integrate with one company.
- Student Support: When administrative staff has so much data at their fingertips, they can easily share it with teachers to ensure they have the information they need to best support their students.
There’s no denying that managing a school – whether it has 100 or 1,000 students – involves constant attention from administrative staff and teachers. On any given day, employees have dozens of tasks to handle.
The Importance of a School Management System
That’s where school software comes in. With the benefits of a school management system, schools can do the following:
- Leave Paper Behind: A significant benefit of school software is that it nearly eliminates the need for paper — storing paper files in filing cabinets becomes a thing of the past. Through a centralized school platform, staff can quickly access every file they need in a single place, reducing waste and time spent searching for specific documents.
- Boost Communication and Collaboration: When staff members can collaborate on tasks in one platform, it immediately becomes easier for them to work together and address data issues before they escalate. On the student-facing side, automating emails, newsletters, and other points of communication is a breeze with the right software.
- Make Better Use of Resources: Because private and independent schools are funded via tuition and donations, it’s essential for them to make the best use of their finances. A school management system helps staff optimize what resources are available. Staff can track and analyze how different faculty and departments are using the school’s budget, ensuring they’re investing it in ways that benefit student growth.
- Assist Students: In many ways, the student experience becomes simpler thanks to software. Comprehensive school software allows students to easily submit enrollment applications, inquire about financial aid, and complete other registration tasks.
The Value of Integration
Many schools have separate methods for enrolling students, managing tuition, awarding financial aid, and performing other necessary processes. In these cases, they may use both analog and digital systems or rely on analog systems alone. Unfortunately, a decentralized, offline system leads to more errors, creates inefficiencies, and decreases student, parent, and teacher satisfaction.
When staff can accomplish several processes at once, they solve the above issues. No longer do they have to dig through filing cabinets for last year’s report cards or click through endless computer files to locate a student’s college admissions essay. With a comprehensive school management system that tackles everything from admission to payments, staff members take charge of workflows.
What to Keep in Mind During Your Digital Transition
The most important point to keep in mind during your school’s software integration is that results take time to bring staff up to speed. While prioritizing training from the beginning will help minimize errors, choosing the right software from the beginning is the best way to ensure your school benefits as much as possible from the change.
A few secondary points to remember include setting up proper infrastructure, organizing data and file transitions, and providing adequate staff support. Be sure that your staff has the resources they need to succeed from the start.
Unlock Comprehensive Integrations with Ravenna and VenturEd Solutions
Ravenna’s software for private and independent K-12 schools includes capabilities for admissions, student management, and financial aid. With just one software solution, staff can perform numerous administrative responsibilities. If they want to track prospective students or view financial aid applications, staff can do so through the Ravenna platform alone, negating the need for paper files. For tasks requiring additional software, Ravenna easily integrates with dozens of the most-used brands in education, allowing your team to complete complex tasks and free data from silos.
Ravenna schools can handle on average 10-25% more applications in their first year by simplifying often-complex admission processes through automation and integrations to complimentary software. Plus, with an intuitive, centralized platform, schools can facilitate greater engagement and build more meaningful relationships with families to drive long-term success.
Ravenna’s parent company, VenturEd Solutions, offers many other software capabilities that school staff can use to complement Ravenna. For example, School and Student Services (SSS) is a comprehensive financial aid platform that makes it easy to evaluate expected household contributions and suggest financial aid awards. This data integrates with Ravenna’s admissions functionality to give administrators a full picture of applicant families.
Ready to harness the power of integrating a school management system into your operations?
