Now is the Time to Streamline Your Education Workflows
Academic institutions rely on many different moving parts to deliver quality education to the student body. The amount of administrative overhead exacerbates the problem simply due to the number of documents and records that require timely processing and approval. During the regular school year, many hours are spent thinking about better ways of doing things, but there’s never a better time than now to implement new educational workflows.
The summer break is perfect for assessing the efficiency and productivity of the current technology and processes used at the institution. It’s also the best time to conduct preventative maintenance on the printers, copiers, and scanners or other digital equipment installed at the facility. Now would also be the best time to adopt new productivity solutions that include automation of regulatory compliance tasks, upgrading infrastructure, or digitizing the bulk of the document footprint.
Get Your Software and Hardware in Good Working Order Before School Starts
Printers require servicing in order to continue working reliably and IT staff should clean desktop PCs by removing dust from the electronic parts. As far as software goes, the faculty should reassess the implemented applications and make the necessary process improvements or software upgrades where possible. It’s also a good time to verify that staff implemented adequate regulatory compliance and IT security frameworks and update them according to the latest requirements and any new legislation that may apply.
Although IT staff are under pressure during most of the school year, the summer break allows them to regain some control over the equipment and systems used. Similarly, faculty need to investigate opportunities to improve the overall efficiency of the entire administration process. There are solutions provided that cater specifically to higher education and academic institutions. By adopting a digital transformation strategy, administrators can streamline the information processing, routing, storage, and capture for all of the facility’s associated data.
Xerox Academic Solutions that Improve Administrative Efficiency
Xerox delivers the best office productivity tools in the industry and the brand is synonymous with digital information processing. With a variety of tools that support every aspect of the educational workflow, institutions have the ability to reduce the administrative burdens and therefore provide better quality instruction and support to all their students.
Xerox Workflow Automation Solutions
An electronic workflow greatly reduces the processing time for any task. With the Xerox Workflow Automation Solution for Admissions Processing, faculty and student-facing departments can speed up the capture of key admission documents, find candidates quickly, respond to queries or questions effectively, and it integrates with your current Student Information System (SIS).
It also automatically indexes information and reduces the need for manual data entry. As the solution captures all the key information during each step of the admission process, the institution gains better transparency while making the decisions regarding enrollment quickly.
Additional Xerox Workflow Solutions include:
- Capturing transcripts and evaluations.
- Processing financial aid requests.
- Billing students and managing class registrations.
There are many other different options available from Xerox to improve the educational systems used at schools or academies. However, none of these would work unless the faculty opts to adopt a digital-first strategy when it comes to the document management strategy.
Making Use of Managed Service Providers
Working with external service providers adds another dimension to the educational workflow. This model enables institutions to leverage outside expertise and lease modern equipment that helps them achieve greater efficiency, as well as providing access to expert technical resources that know all the latest document management best practices.
Managed Service Providers (MSP) can assist with reducing the physical footprint of documents, improving the information security, provide data backups, as well as license the software that drives the entire process. With Managed Print Services, copiers and printers operate reliably, supplies arrive regularly, and devices remain protected from misuse with access and authentication controls.
Make Notes About What to Improve for Next Year
Engaging with a service provider now may be beneficial for the next summer break. By keeping track of the issues experienced during the busy enrollment periods, and regularly reaching out for advice on what solutions can solve the pain points, will ensure a digital transformation strategy is implementable in the near future.
Solutions available from MSPs include:
- Enterprise content management and comprehensive document management software.
- Workflow configuration and management.
- IT Infrastructure monitoring and remote support including backup and recovery.
- Managed print services and device management solutions that improve security and compliance.
Optimize Hardware and Workflow Systems with Virginia Business Systems
Virginia Business Solutions provide a complete set of office productivity solutions, including the hardware and software, as well as hosted services to reduce the total digital overhead for educational institutions. Operating since 1954, the company has an unparalleled reputation in working with customers to find optimized and innovative solutions for any kind of business problem.
To start streamlining your educational institution’s digital transformation, contact one of Virginia Business System’s experts today.