Setting up document management for a school or district

Increasingly, school districts and individual schools are leaning toward adopting comprehensive document management solutions to help them run more efficiently behind the scenes. However, proper implementation of those platforms takes some work to get just right, and maximize the value they provide.

When setting up such a system, any organization may want to look for options that will allow them to store and access many different types of files, with the ability to search for keywords included, according to Business News Daily. That effort should also include the ability to create permissions about who can and cannot access important documents, and tools to monitor who is looking at or editing these files, as well as what changes they're making.

A critical choice
At the same time, these organizations should be examining whether they want on-premises document storage – to rely entirely on saving information in the cloud – or a combination of the two, the report said. Cloud storage may be key for giving users access to critical documents from anywhere, but it can also complicate security for sensitive student, teacher or administrator data.

And after a choice is made, it's vital that everyone who will be able to access at least some part of it, from students and parents to principals and superintendents, are educated on the best practices for using the platforms safely and effectively, the report said.

Everyone on the same page
Along similar lines, it's vital for stakeholders to know how to keep their document management systems adequately organized, according to The Balance. If some users are saving files with one type of naming convention, and others are using a different type, that can create confusion and lead to inefficiency. Furthermore, specificity in everything from file names to the information stored in those files is key to ensuring everyone knows what each file contains.

There may not be any one-size-fits-all answer to what document management platform will be best for any given school or system, but looking at a wide variety of options and finding the features that make the most sense for both need and price is absolutely critical to getting the search right, especially when trying to digitize records that could stretch back decades.