Why Universities Need to Invest in Record Processing & Management

Why Record Processing & Management Matters to Students

Today’s traditional college students don’t remember the days of slide decks and projectors or dial-up internet. They grew up in the era of smartphones and are used to having on-demand access to whatever information they might need. The concept of the bursar’s office at their university still using paper filing systems is foreign to them. Many current college students wouldn’t be able to fathom why an information request from student records might take a few days to complete.

The fact is that, on a fundamental level, a college or university operates as a business with students as their customers. Despite this, most educational institutions have not sufficiently adapted to match students’ tech-savvy.

By failing to implement appropriate technological infrastructure, institutions of higher education are in turn failing to meet consumer demands. Universities must update their technology and systems in order to adequately serve their students’ needs. Failure to adapt would likely result in a major disconnect between students and their institutions that could threaten obsolescence.

Digitizing record processing and document management systems is one of the most critical technological updates that universities need to make. Record management and processing are crucial to any educational institution’s ability to function. For an institution to operate as efficiently as its students expect, it’s imperative that the institution leaves its paper processes behind in favor of the operational benefits offered by digital solutions.

The Benefits of Investing in Digital Record Management

For one thing, digital record management can result in up to a 70% reduction in processing times. Not only does this allow a university to serve its students with materially increased immediacy, but it saves university staff an incredible amount of time. Digital records allow school personnel to optimize their workflow’s efficiency, granting them the capacity to devote more time and energy to other job duties.

Digital records management also makes a huge difference for organization. For a large institution with many different departments like a college or university, having organized document management is of critical importance. Schools maintain records not only for current students, but for alumni as well as faculty, staff, and administrators. With digital record management, all of your paper documents are converted into digital files that can be easily located using the user-friendly search function in your new virtual database. Even existing digital files can be leveraged for improved organization; static digital documents can be indexed and made searchable. This allows educational institutions to better serve all relevant parties.

The benefits of digital record processing and document management solutions aren’t limited to speed and organization, either. When a university implements digital record management solutions, its members can enjoy a variety of benefits. For example, with digital records, suddenly all the space that was used for physical file storage is free and available for other uses. Universities that digitize their documents also stand to enjoy significant cost savings. This can be as much as a 35% cost reduction just by switching to digital records processing and management.

Working with Scan-Optics

From every angle, colleges and universities stand to benefit immensely from digitizing their records and employing a digital document management system. Scan-Optics offers custom-build digitization solutions that empower institutions to take full advantage of the digital age. Contact our team of digital transformation specialists to learn more about what we can do for your school.