Schools and universities deal with thousands of students and millions of files. It’s crucial that university record keeping is efficient because there are always times when student records need to be accessed. Most information is kept electronically, but still there are always paper files to deal with. Whether it be in the university administrative office or the professors, a document management software like Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System will be helpful. Especially Paper Tiger Online that can be accessed from any computer or device with an Internet connection.
If any of this information was to become lost or misplaced, that could cause a range of problems, some of which might affect the future of students needing essential information from their records.
Archaic systems really can’t cope with today’s modern education system. Universities offer such a wide variety of subjects that it’s impossible to keep up with them. If you have to locate a particular file in a storeroom full of dusty old files, it could take forever.
It’s vital that all schools, colleges and universities have an efficient document management system in place that is user-friendly and enables every file to be easily located. Qualifications are vital for certain jobs and information may need to be verified by potential employers before hiring someone.
Some students study at more than one university over the course of their life. Teachers may need to confirm information about the student such as grades, diplomas and degrees or other pertinent details with staff at a previous university staff. A modern, computer-based filing system will speed up this process enormously.
Records retention guideline policies must be followed. Proper record keeping practices ensure that all university records, whether they’re digital or paper based, are easy to locate, retrieve, and are credible. To achieve this, files must be maintained by the best possible document management system. These practices also apply to inactive records that must be retained for legal purposes.
Some records must be kept or archived for legal or financial reasons, for future administrative needs or because of historical significance. Retention periods for other records may be determined by university policies.
An efficient document management software is more crucial in today’s modern computer age, because a lot of the work students do is on a computer. Instead of having to turn every assignment into a paper-based document for grading, CDs, DVDs and other formats are now mediums that are permissible for assessment. Such documents can also be stored in this same format, which reduces the volume of paper wastage and the amount of room needed for such storage.
At the end of each year, files can be sorted, stored, archived or destroyed as required. The document management software that is used can track throughout the life-cycle of the files. How to archive is simple with Paper Tiger. You would have a Location named ‘Archives’ in Paper Tiger, then simply conduct a Transfer Move of the file or files being moved to the Archive Location within your database. Paper Tiger will assign a file number in your Archives file to move the file to in the physical location. For items needing to be destroyed, you would conduct a Toss of the item in the database to open the slot for another file to be inserted.
Because the management of any filing system is complex, universities generally have staff that are responsible for ensuring all filing is carried out correctly.
It would be a huge job when first converting to a more efficient document management system because details about all files would have to be entered into the computer and a standardized labeling system implemented to reduce duplication which can easily occur due to many teachers dealing with the same students.
Generally departments are responsible for their own filing and everything must be coordinated so it’s done the same way for the whole university, even if there is more than one campus.
Email is a necessary part of university life. A large proportion of a university’s operational communication is carried out via email. It’s widely used for: contact with students, advice of meeting arrangements, instructions, negotiations, authorizations, development of policies, employment matters, university announcements and circulation of reports and committee minutes.
Since most of these emails are deemed to be official records, it’s necessary to ensure they’re effectively and efficiently managed.
Email transmissions may also be requested as evidence in legal proceedings or criminal investigations. It’s vital that emails be filed properly and be easy to locate if urgently needed.
It’s crucial that university record keeping is efficient, because it helps meet legal and financial obligations, and saves time and money when filing, and especially, when in need of locating files.
That’s why we refer to Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System as the ‘Finding System.”
Tags: colleges, document management for schools, document management software, The Paper Tiger 'Finding' Filing System, universities
