Do you still run your school admissions process using hard copy admission forms? If so, then you might be doing it the wrong way. With a student admissions software solution, you leave behind all these admission-related bottlenecks and hurdles that cause delays and burden both your personnel and your applicants.
Devoting more time and energy than actually required to prepare and run the admissions cycle in your school, translates into misuse — or, at least, sub-optimal use — of your core resources. That is to say, regardless of the size of your school or educational academy, making the most out of available tools to register and enroll students at an easier pace, is unquestionable. Without the proper tools, the admissions cycle becomes a time-consuming and laborious matter.
If you’ve been running the admissions cycle without the help of some student admissions software, you’ve probably found yourself stuck in issues such as the ones we describe below. Read on!
Running the admissions cycle without student admissions software
First, let’s go through the way the student admissions process flows without a student admission software solution in place:
Creating and printing admission forms, is a struggle
You’ve got to work on your forms, creating and printing multiple versions, if need be.
Putting the extra work on creating additional versions, whenever a varied need emerges is, in some cases, unavoidable. Alternatively, compromising, you may have to use a single, generic application form prototype, year in and year out.
Then comes the printing. At this point you need to make sure you’ve got all the necessary stationery, readily at hand; another burden for your school budget. To elaborate, you’ll be producing as many hard copies as needed to support the number of applicants you’ll finally enroll; while you make sure you add a few or spare copies, to use in case of mistakes. It’s an error-prone process.
Collecting Applications the hard way
Make sure you have already made the pertinent announcements, so that parents and/or guardians turn up to fill in the printed copies of admission forms you’ll hand them. The admissions period should be scheduled in a way that helps you distribute your applicants into different time slots, so that the volume is manageable. Students may also need your help, as they fill in their applications; and your personnel should be on their toes, ready to help.
Assessing and record-keeping
Alternatively, you may choose to directly register students with the help of your administrators or your personnel. They’re the ones who will be doing all the required work, filling in entries in Excel Spreadsheets or an obsolete school system you may be using, with the help of parents or students. Note here that the same workload is also required in case it is within your school’s policy to file student records in both paper copies and Excel Spreadsheets.
You’ve probably already come across difficulties, such as the ones we mention above, every time you need to register new students or re-enroll your existing ones. If you can relate, keep reading. We’ll show you how a student admissions software solution helps you get past all these blocks and make the admissions process a breeze.
Student admissions software features
A student information software solution usually comes with the following core functionality:
- Forms management: Create modifiable and sharable digital admission application forms
- Communications management: Get notifications on application submissions
- Applications management: Manage applications at different stages
These features are also available in our own student admissions software; DreamClass. As a matter of fact, the admissions management feature unfolds into functionality that gives you the benefits described below:
Making admissions management a breeze, with DreamClass
- Easily shape admission application forms. With only a few clicks, you’ve got a digital application form that looks exactly the way you want it.
- Only collect the information that is necessary, each time. Make admission application forms as complicated or as simple as you need them to be; adding, removing or adjusting information fields.
- No need to print and distribute your admission application forms; everything is digitized, and incorporated into your school management system. This way, you go green and you reduce your stationery expenses. That’s two birds with one stone!
- Note that, apart from student admissions software, DreamClass also serves as an all-in-one student information system and offers all the functionality you need to run your educational organization; as described here.
Run the admissions process easily on admission days
- No need to employ extra school staff or burden your teaching personnel to support the admissions process. With a student admissions software solution in place, admission days may run in parallel with the rest of the educational duties your personnel is tasked with, throughout the year; or whenever it’s needed. Admin personnel may only need to assist families with no access to your online admission forms.
- Run your admissions process and target either parents or students; based on your school’s needs.
- Repeat or rerun the admissions process as many times as you need, throughout the school year. Take, for example, the case of multiple school terms or the case where you need to promote your summer school programs etc, in advance. You can easily create multiple admission application forms and run such processes in parallel, as needed.
Use student admissions software for enrollment purposes
- You may choose between creating and sharing public admission application forms — using the respective shareable links — with your audience or using private forms for past students. No matter your type of need, we’ve got you covered.
- Make the most out of private admission application forms. How? Run admission processes within your school community and give your students the chance to express their intention to enroll in your new program. In short, you’ll gradually manage to automate the whole enrollment process.
Assess applications and register students
- As you assess the application forms you may use different labels per step to mark the status of a submitted form accordingly. This way you and the rest of the personnel in charge will be aware of the progress you’ve made so far with each one of them.
- Finally, you’ll manage to not only process applications easily; you’ll also register your new students creating the respective profiles with a single click. Then, all you need to do is make the necessary modifications if/when needed.
Getting ready for the next admissions season? Get students on board with DreamClass!
If you have not yet incorporated any automation in your admissions process and you run the admissions cycle manually, using hard copies, it’s about time you made an upgrade! With the help of a student admissions software solution, you’ll manage to digitize, automate and replicate processes you’ve been, so far, tackling inefficiently — ineffectively, even.
Try DreamClass for FREE and get to know how digital admissions management may prove helpful for your school!
