In the article, “How a Digital Filing Cabinet Can Replace K-12 Schools’ Paper Records“, we shared the pitfalls of student records being scattered between file cabinets and electronic systems—including reduced availability, increased costs, and compromised compliance.
With a document management system, you can unify files in a single, centralized repository.
Here’s your playbook for digitizing your school’s student records.
Demo Day: How Softdocs Digitizes Every Student’s Cumulative Folder
See exactly how this works in Softdocs in a quick, 30-minute on-demand webinar. You’ll experience a live walkthrough of how Softdocs digitizes cumulative folders, from document capture to secure archiving, and eliminates time-wasting tasks while giving staff instant access to the records they need.
Step 1: Understand Your Data Sources
Identify and map all sources of student data
- You need to know all the places where it’s currently stored. This can include an SIS, payment software for school fees, rostering and SPED applications, and state-run databases.
- Then, decide with your vendor the best way to transfer documentation from each source to your digital filing cabinet (see step 3).
- Identify which document types are your main pain points, such as parental permission or student registration forms. Start your digitization process with these.
- Align departments with data ownership. Determine which groups—like IT, counseling, or legal—are responsible for each kind of information you’ll be digitizing.
- Decide what needs your current systems meet and what gaps you want your document management system to fill.
- For example, it can provide an eForm that allows students to enroll after the regular registration period that’s managed in your SIS.
- Choose the fields that you want to map to your SIS. These can include students’ first and last names and ID numbers.
Step 2: Create a Secure, Centralized Repository
Set up a secure digital document management system
Figure out who needs to access each type of documentation and what they should be allowed to do with it. This will help you establish role-based, departmental, and document-level permissions.
- Consolidate paper and digital records into one central repository.
- Think of your document management system as the hub on a wheel, with spokes leading to every department and process in your school.
- Get mission-critical areas going first with digitizing their files, such as a home language survey for each new student.
Step 3: Convert Paper Files to Digital PDFs
Digitize all paper records into searchable PDFs
- You can use various input methods to capture student documents, including scanning, dragging/dropping, virtual printing, and email attachments.
Implement a consistent naming/tagging system.
- You’ll have the option to mimic your current filing structure or to create a new, optimized one. Ask key stakeholders what they like and dislike about your current approach and seize the opportunity to simplify data retrieval.
Step 4: Simplify State Compliance (e.g., TREx Submissions)
Standardize documents for state compliance
- Softdocs has achieved TX-RAMP Level 2 certification, helping Texas schools demonstrate sound data management, security, and governance.
- You can also customize output for different state and local programs.
Automate workflows for TREx and other state reporting.
- The document management system can export information into a database for easy upload to a state-run system.
- It also combines all documents required for TREx submission in a single PDF instead of staff doing it manually.
Step 5: Enhance Cross-Department Collaboration and Strengthen Data Security
Improve data access and sharing across departments.
- While a paper file is limited to one person, staff across the school and at the district office securely access a digital record simultaneously. This enhances collaboration and speeds process completion.
Ensure security and support compliance.
- Storing complete cumulative student records in a single repository makes it much easier to secure information than in spreadsheets, paper folders, and Google Docs.
- You can easily restrict access to sensitive information to support compliance with HIPAA, FERPA, and other standards.
Step 6: Improve Data Accuracy & Efficiency
Automate workflows to reduce errors and manual tasks
- Electronic processes can be tailored to one job function or automatically route a document to multiple roles simultaneously.
- For example, a student form could be sent to a homeroom teacher and guidance counselor.
- You can easily see each student’s documents’ status (e.g., pending or completed) in a convenient dashboard.
Increase operational efficiency by eliminating paper-based processes.
- You’ll no longer need to find physical files and walk them to colleagues’ desks or drive them to the district office. With student data no longer siloed in multiple systems, data entry mistakes are less likely.
Step 7: Monitor and Improve
Regularly update and audit the system
- With a cloud-based SaaS platform, updates are delivered continuously and automatically.
- You should also seek regular cross-department input to see which processes are working well or need improvement.
- This will also highlight which areas you can extend document management to next.
Collect feedback from departments for continuous improvement.
- The Softdocs platform allows you to quickly build and send out an eForm to collect comments from teachers, staff members, and parents and then visualize the results.
Use monitoring features built into the platform.
- You can easily view summary statistics for different document types and customize reports to see throughput.
Review audit trails to see who accessed each document, what they did with it, and when.
- Use this information to adjust processes and workloads as needed.
Seek out best practices from your vendor and peers.
- Educational webinars offer new document management use cases, while user conferences provide real-world case studies and the chance to brainstorm with other K-12 schools and districts.
Ready to digitize your student records?
Digitizing student cumulative files expedites workflows, eliminates paper-related delays, and makes it easier to meet compliance requirements. It also enables staff in different departments to collaborate and communicate more efficiently, improving student service. Set up a Softdocs demo now!
And learn how Katy ISD successfully implemented a document management system across 80 campuses here.