Schools going paperless, relying on document management in time for registration

While it's currently only mid-July, many schools are already thinking about the next academic year that's just six weeks away – or less. To that end, a large number of districts across the country are now implementing user-friendly paperless registration systems that rely on underlying document management platforms to expedite the process of getting kids signed up for classes and sports.

One such system, put into place by Blount County Schools in Tennessee, has already processed registrations for some 500 new students entering the school system this year, according to the Maryville Daily Times. Moreover, the system will also automatically email all parents of current students for whom it has pertinent contact information to ask if they need to update any information since the start of the last school year.

Getting it right
The registration system used by BCS is accessible via just about any connected device and will also be made available for in-person registration as necessary, the report said. The system is further useful for school administrators who used to have to manually enter new student registration information into their previous document management platform, which could take as much as a half hour per child. Now, all the information is entered automatically and takes just five minutes to review in many cases.

A similar approach
Meanwhile, in Upstate New York, the Brewster Central School District recently launched an electronic registration program for the local athletic department as a means of getting as much information about students' identifying and medical data as possible, according to Dean Berardo, director of physical education, health and athletics for the school system. While there will also be options for paper registration for the fall, the school's hope is that it will be fully automated by the time registration for the spring athletics season rolls around.

When schools are considering taking this step – which can improve efficiency behind the scenes as well as ease of use for parents and administrators alike – there are a number of steps that must be taken to ensure everyone knows how to use them properly, and that workflows are set up to ensure everyone has access to the data they need on an ongoing basis.