The Importance of Record Management & Processing in Higher Education

The fact is that most universities do not have the digital power to keep up with their students’ needs. Digital transformation is an imperative for higher educational institutions looking to better serve their students and keep up with their record retention demands. Digitization lets colleges and universities free their students, faculty, and staff from disorganized data management, cumbersome paper systems, and outdated recordkeeping practices.

Why Schools Have to Digitize

Record management and processing are critical to any educational institution’s ability to function. For a long time, these crucial operations have been performed with analog and hardcopy systems. However, for a college or university to function as smoothly and efficiently as it should, it’s imperative that the institution leaves its paper processes behind in favor of digital solutions.

Why are digital record management and processing so superior to older alternatives? If you review any common application of record management and document processing in a higher educational setting, it’s apparent that those tasks and procedures can be more successfully performed with digital tools in hand.

Student Records

Ultimately, any institution of higher education’s purpose is to serve its student body. As such, colleges and universities have an obligation to maintain student records. These can be transcripts, accommodations documentation, transfer paperwork, or even medical records. There’s so much information that schools have to have on hand about each of their thousands of students. Paper systems are clunky and can make accessing important information difficult. They can also easily become disorganized; it’s easy for records to go missing.

If a student approaches staff or administration at their school because they need something pertaining to their documentation, the expectation is that the school has it. If, however, any of those crucial records have been misplaced, the student has to wait for the assistance they need until the records have been located. If they’ve been lost, then the school is failing in its purpose to serve its students and, in fact, is doing an active disservice to the students.

Digital record management systems streamline university functions, simplify student onboarding, facilitate transfers, and ensure that records never go missing.

Processing Applications

Whether it’s an application for admission, employment, financial aid, employment, or medical leave, colleges and universities receive applications of all kinds in mass volumes. Processing these applications manually is a lengthy process that leaves a lot of room for human error. It’s a necessary undertaking, but one that, when conducted inefficiently, can be a drain on university resources.

Digitally processing applications takes less time, is more cost-effective, minimizes the risk of error, requires no physical space, and generally makes better use of university resources. This is a significant benefit of digital record management and processing for university staff who are then left with more time to devote to other important job duties.

Alumni Communications & Networking

Colleges and universities rely on their alumni networks. Alumni are frequently generous donors to their alma mater. They can also provide mentorship and professional connections to current students. For a variety of reasons, having an alumni office that’s focused on maintaining that network is a priority to virtually all higher education institutions.

However, maintaining that network requires up-to-date information on alumni jobs, addresses, contact information, and (in some cases) even if they’re still alive. Keeping track of all of that information manually is a guaranteed recipe for errors and lost details. Digital record management ensures that alumni newsletters, mentorship requests, and donor solicitations are reaching all of the appropriate people in a timely fashion.

The Imperative of Going Digital

Student records, alumni information, and application processing are only three examples of the relevance of record management and processing in higher education—and why digital record management is superior to paper systems. Digital records are also valuable for protecting student and faculty data privacy, managing university finances including payroll, information access, and so many other functions.

Digital transformation with Scan-Optics promises fast and accurate data processing, data analysis that yields valuable insights, a single centralized data storage location, increased independence from tech support services, and savings in both time and money.

If your university is ready to begin its digital transformation and implement digital record management systems, contact our team of experts to get started.