The process for requesting school records seems to be labor intensive from both sides. Many schools require requests to be made by mail or fax, both of which sound archaic compared to the fast-moving online world we’re all now used to.
Although students and graduates feel inconvenienced by this, they’re not the only ones who are. Records management is surprisingly manual at many schools, and often the process is just as complicated for the people that receive school records requests. In a lot of cases, responding requires staff to spend time searching through paper documents or microfilm to find the correct student file, then prepare the response and mail it. If it involves microfilm, more steps are added for scanning and printing. In an age where everything is digital, the process is conspicuously lacking technology.
A lot of this delay can be solved by scanning those records and storing them electronically. Not only does it take up less space, but employees can run searches for the requested records straight from their computer, accomplishing in seconds what would otherwise take a significant amount of time. Within minutes, student records can be located, printed, and be ready to mail out. Without the need to perform the extra work, staff can allocate their extra time to more weighty tasks, and as student records requests increase, efficiency will grow in importance.
Records management software takes this efficiency a step further by indexing records, making them keyword searchable and automating actions necessary for retention requirements. It combines organization and ease of use with process automation to take the strain off time consuming tasks and smooth out multiple departmental processes.
School records management shouldn’t be a burden on records managers or past and current students. There are many ways to simplify and speed up records request processes, and making those records electronic is just the first step to improving operations. For more information, download our free case study below and find out how Seminole Electric Co-op implemented records management.
