As a leading maritime college, Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) actively pursues new ways to strengthen efficiency, compliance, and student success. Facing processes spread across multiple systems and limited visibility, the Academy launched an initiative to build a modern, digital-first foundation for its campus.
With Softdocs, MMA consolidated scattered processes into a single, secure platform. The Academy replaced legacy systems, eliminated paper files, and streamlined duplicative workflows with automated, centralized solutions that faculty, staff, and students can use with ease.
This transformation has increased efficiency, reduced costs, ensured compliance, and created a strong foundation for a fully digital, paperless campus that improves the student experience.
Challenges: Siloed Systems and Paper Bottlenecks
Before adopting Softdocs, Massachusetts Maritime Academy struggled with inefficiencies across many corners of campus:
- Paper-heavy operations filled 40+ cabinets, housing more than 100,000 documents.
- Multiple form platforms (Google Forms, DocuSign, Google Drive) created silos and ownership risks.
- Workflow delays left forms stuck with no visibility into bottlenecks.
- Taxonomy chaos in the legacy system made records unsearchable.
- Student frustration arose from processes like passport collection, which required students to submit the same information six or seven times.
Why Softdocs: Built for Higher Education, Ready for Scale
When evaluating solutions, MMA sought a platform that could meet the unique needs of higher education. From compliance to scalability, Softdocs checked all the boxes.
- Built for Higher Education: Softdocs offers user-friendly workflows, compliance-ready retention policies, and integrations with systems like Colleague and Entrinsik Informer 5.
- System Consolidation: By replacing legacy systems and other tools, such as Google Forms and Google Drive storage, MMA created a single standard for the entire campus.
- Scalability: With over 100 forms digitized in just two years, MMA has demonstrated the rapid scalability of the Softdocs Platform across departments. From Career Services and Athletics to the Registrar and HR, the Academy continues to expand into new workflows.
- Compliance Strength: Automated retention policies align with Massachusetts state law, while centralized records support rigorous Coast Guard audits.
The Implementation Journey
The Academy phased adoption strategically, beginning with departments ready for change:
- Career Services digitized travel waivers for students going to sea.
- Athletics moved disclosures and compliance forms online.
- Registrar’s Office converted 19 forms at the start of the semester, avoiding mid-term disruptions. Pre-populated forms drastically reduced routing errors.
- Human Resources is next, with faculty contracts and hiring requests in line for digitization.
To accelerate digitization, MMA utilized staff dedicated to scanning and tagging backlog files. In under two years, they retired 40 cabinets of paper, reclaiming valuable campus space.
Compliance and Risk Management
With automated retention rules, the Academy now confidently manages documents in full alignment with Massachusetts state requirements.
Beyond compliance, Softdocs reinforced MMA’s security posture and gave them the ability to manage permissions with precision.
By digitizing paper files, Massachusetts Maritime Academy also eliminated the risk of records being lost to flooding — a genuine concern given its canal-side location.
System Consolidation: One Standard for the Campus
Consolidation has been one of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy’s clearest wins.
- Google Forms replaced, ending ownership risks when staff leave.
- Docusign was eliminated, saving thousands of dollars per semester on envelope fees.
- Legacy DMS retired, removing taxonomy chaos.
- Google Drive imports are now centralized for consistency.
For IT, the clarity has been transformative.
Results: ROI, Cost Savings, Operational Efficiency
Softdocs has delivered measurable benefits at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, from the Registrar’s Office to student-facing processes that once required thousands of duplicate submissions.
The efficiencies achieved with Softdocs have been substantial:
- 50% time savings in the Registrar’s Office once workflows stabilized.
- 600+ students per semester no longer required to submit duplicate passport information.
- Thousands of dollars saved each semester by eliminating Docusign and envelope fees.
- 40+ filing cabinets eliminated, freeing up space for meetings and collaboration.
- 100+ forms digitized in just two years.
Some of the most significant wins have been on the student side, where pre-populated forms and consolidated processes save time, reduce errors, and eliminate the frustration of submitting the same information multiple times.
User Adoption and IT Satisfaction
At Massachusetts Maritime Academy, adoption has been one of the strongest measures of success with Softdocs. Faculty and staff quickly adopted the platform. The ease of use, combined with real-time reporting, has led to a cultural shift in how processes are managed.
Working with the Softdocs Team
MMA credits Softdocs’ partnership model as a critical factor in its success. The Academy not only benefited from strong training and implementation support but also from ongoing services that helped IT extend its capabilities.
Training and implementation were led by Aaron Dellorco, who “was wonderful at getting people up to speed.” Data migration was handled by Whitfield Parham, who seamlessly moved content from Google Drive and MMA’s legacy system.
Some of the most impactful support came through managed services for advanced API projects.
This ability to tap into specialized expertise ensured MMA could keep moving forward without delay, saving both time and internal resources. It also exemplified the customer-first approach that set Softdocs apart from other vendors.
Looking Ahead: What's Next for MMA
With 100+ forms already digitized, MMA is preparing to extend the Softdocs Platform into Human Resources. Faculty contracts, part-time hiring requests, and HR workflows will soon join the platform.
The Academy is also expanding automation and integrations to further support compliance, efficiency, and student success.
Massachusetts Maritime Academy has already achieved significant results, but its paperless transformation is far from complete. With Softdocs as a partner, the Academy is continuing to build a digital-first foundation for long-term success.
