As an educator, you’ve probably heard of student information systems or (student management systems) before. You might even use one in your school district. Many think of it as an all-in-one way to automate processes and improve workflows. But is it?
Here is everything you need to know about student information systems and workflows.
SIS – a Digital Student File
A student information system (or “SIS” for short) is an information management system frequently used by school districts and higher education institutions to store and manage student data.
This data can include student registration, attendance records, student addresses, emergency contacts, grades, and more. While the features offered vary based on the SIS, the overall idea is to centralize data, making it easier for your staff, parents, and students to access information.
Using an SIS, your school district can improve the workflow to some extent by automating processes like student registration and storing the information in the system. (Now you can say good-bye to that dusty file cabinet!) While this saves your school district both time and money, it doesn’t provide you with large-scale workflow management support.
Student Information Workflows
When it comes to improving workflows, SIS software falls short because that’s not what it was designed to do. It was designed to store the information, not be intuitive enough to do anything more than retrieve it. You can often customize the software, but it can be costly and it doesn’t provide the same functionality that other types of software do.
A Better Option for Workflow Improvement
Before you give up on improving your district’s workflows, there is another option. It’s cost effective, robust and simple to use: a workflow management system.
A workflow management system is a complementary software that can fill the gap between collecting and storing information and managing it. With this type of system, your school district can standardize and automate everyday tasks with ease. A simple school automation has the potential to save your school district upwards of $100,000 in just one year.
Take, for instance, field trip requests. This process would be difficult to automate and improve the workflow with just an SIS. A workflow management software, on the other hand, has the capacity to:
- Allow the teacher to create the event.
- Route the information to the administrator for approval.
- Capture administrative approval with the click of a button.
- Notify the teacher and parents of the now pending event.
- Capture electronic permission and collect payments from parents.
The administrator and teacher would easily be able to see which parents have completed the permission slip and made payment, and send a follow up request, if necessary. Can’t you already see the time and headaches saved?
With the right workflow management system, you can automate almost any process in your school district. From daily bus inspection reports to student incident reports, the opportunities for improvement are endless.
Simple Workflow Monitoring
Another important aspect of workflow management is workflow monitoring. A key feature that most SIS software offers is customizable reporting, which allows your district to make data-driven decisions and meet reporting requirements.
In SIS, your district can easily see enrollment data, student performance metrics, demographic statistics, and more. This type of reporting can save your staff time and help your district identify opportunities for improvement.
Efficiency and time savings in workflows means less administrative work for teachers and greater focus on the student educational experience. We are here for that!
Are you ready to improve your SIS workflows?
SIS software is designed to store information and get it to the right people when they need it. Workflow management software like LINQ uses that information to streamline your school district’s workflows and save you time and money.
Schedule a demo today to learn how LINQ can help your district improve your workflows.