In higher education, things are evolving at a much faster rate today than in recent years.
Institutions are increasingly turning to digital transformation, specifically process automation and document management, to stay competitive and meet the needs of modern students. Challenges such as declining enrollment, cybersecurity concerns, funding issues, and staffing problems drive this shift.
Digital Transformation and the Modern Student
There is no longer a defined, linear path from K-12 to higher education or employment. Modern students are expected to be constant learners, and institutions must nurture this desire while providing opportunities to develop necessary skills. Universities, colleges, and even high schools must help students grow from where they are to where they need to be.
Individualized attention is key. By 2025, schools must focus on helping all students graduate by understanding their needs and guiding them effectively. The pace of change in education is faster today than ever before, requiring continuous adaptation and the adoption of new technologies.
The Role of Document Management in Student Success
Strong business processes and digital records ensure information is easily accessible and informs decision-making. Instead of filing documents in network drives or filing cabinets, a document management platform provides top-to-bottom visibility of the complete student record. This record contains information from all departments, boosting service quality and aligning with modern students’ expectations for a mobile-friendly experience.
A comprehensive document management platform includes:
- Document Management: Organizes and manages information efficiently.
- Electronic Forms: Streamlines processes for collecting and storing data.
- Workflow Automation: Automates tasks and processes to improve efficiency.
- Centralized, Secure Storage: Ensures secure and easy access to student records.
With secure, convenient access to necessary information, advisors can advise, teachers can teach, and administrators can manage operations effectively. When processes become more efficient, resources are freed up to benefit students, parents, and employees.
Educational Institutions and the Cloud
We are seeing a strong trend towards cloud-based deployments. Mike Williamson, Vice President of Research and Development at Softdocs, recently commented on the driving factors behind the continued growth of the Softdocs product suite in the cloud.
“Higher education and K-12 institutions are now routinely seeing significant savings and improved performance by moving key applications to the cloud. Through our partnership with Microsoft Azure, and with our content management platform, we provide substantial improvements in security, disaster recovery, and compliance that are driving our customers to embrace this delivery model and recognize their expectations for a better experience.”
Enhancing Data Security
While cloud-based deployments come with cybersecurity considerations, they offer unique advantages in securing confidential information. Properly utilized, the cloud supports a layered cybersecurity defense by incorporating multifactor authentication, data encryption, and real-time vulnerability responses.
Institutions with cloud-based technology reinforce their security measures with those of their cloud service provider. For instance, Microsoft Azure offers full-time encryption, FERPA compliance, and geo-redundant storage to ensure business continuity and minimal data loss during catastrophes.
Increasing Agility
Continuous change is essential for software to keep up with today’s rapidly shifting content needs, accessibility expectations, and evolving cyber threats.
On-premises deployments often lag in updates, losing the full benefit of deployed solutions. Cloud-based deployments allow for more agility in adapting to these changes, as updates and patches can be easily implemented across all users simultaneously. This ensures that security measures are always up-to-date and effective in combating the latest cyber threats.
Additionally, cloud-based solutions often have built-in scalability, allowing institutions to easily expand their storage and computing capabilities as needed without the hassle of physical hardware upgrades.
This flexibility and scalability are crucial in today’s fast-paced digital landscape, where institutions need to quickly respond to changing demands and threats.
Supporting Student Success and Retention
Implementing a robust document management platform significantly impacts student retention and success. By providing a streamlined, efficient, and secure learning environment, institutions can better support student progress and improve graduation rates.
Improving Student Experience:
- Offering a seamless, mobile-friendly experience.
- Ensuring real-time access to essential information.
- Facilitating communication between students, faculty, and staff.
Enhancing Teaching and Learning:
- Utilizing education software to support innovative teaching methods.
- Providing tools for personalized learning and assessment.
- Enabling data-driven decision-making to improve educational outcomes.
The Value of Document Management and Process Automation
Document management and process automation play a vital role in modernizing campus operations. These technologies help institutions streamline administrative processes, reduce manual tasks, improve efficiency and accuracy, and free up staff time for more strategic initiatives. They also support student services by ensuring timely responses to student inquiries, providing better customer service, and enhancing overall student satisfaction.
Commitment to Modern Education
At Softdocs, we are committed to helping our customers embrace continuous change, stay competitive, and meet the needs of modern students. This commitment centers on the cloud and is upheld by the Softdocs product suite, along with our Professional Services and Managed Services teams. Through the cloud, our customers deploy Softdocs solutions more quickly and cost-effectively.
By leveraging Microsoft Azure, and with input from our customer development partners, we are responding to the needs of the education space and providing ECM solutions capable of scaling and integrating with every technology stack on higher education campuses nationwide.
Visit our product page to learn more about Softdocs and our cloud-based ECM solutions.