Introduction
In a world increasingly dependent on technology, software is everywhere. Even in the educational industry, education management systems or software play a major role in integrating and simplifying several management processes. Nowadays, educational institutions cannot function effectively without an information system that integrates all aspects of their management and operational structures. Unlike previous generations, where there was a large amount of paperwork needed to keep the documents and the operational structures intact, computers and software have made it simple for institutions and bookkeepers to keep track of all the said paperwork.
Managing and running an educational institution can be a mammoth task. This is especially true if you consider the amount of paperwork needed to maintain a range of operations from fee management to examinations. Given the sophistication of modern online educational systems, maintaining a digital information system to manage your online or traditional educational institution is a critical task for both owners and employees. In this article, we will discuss the importance of educational management information systems. We will discuss the key functional areas of these systems.
What is an Educational Management System?
An Education Management System or software is a single system that has access to all the vital operations and databases of the institution. Popular Learner Management Systems(LMS) which are mostly learner-oriented rather than institution-oriented are also a part of these software solutions. It keeps all the documents necessary on a digital platform so that the institution can access and manage all its operations easily and efficiently without the need for complex paperwork. This system negates the need for different software solutions for different aspects of the management of these institutions. Relying solely on spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel and Word, as well as similar tools, can make your institution's operations a bit slower and less productive. On the other hand, having Education Management Software can help institutions make quicker decisions and provide systematic and efficient work in conjunction with automation.
Before we move on, let us discuss the major benefits of having education management software instead of relying on tools and software like MS Word and Excel. Here are some of the main factors that might help you comprehend why your school, college, or institution will benefit from an education management system:
7 Advantages of using an Education Management System
1. Admission and inquiry management
An educational institution relies on the strength of students for its operations and business model. If it is a popular educational institution, it gets hundreds to thousands of inquiries about its courses and applications for admission. These many students apply to or inquire about programs each academic session. Complexity increases if the educational institution has more than one program, which is often the case with online educational institutions and universities. In this case, keeping track of the inquiry and admission process can be a complex process. In the age of online education, it is especially important to keep track of inquiries, admissions, and the admission progress of students at a specific educational institution.
Institutions rely on the strength of their students and the retention of current students, so they must have a proper and strong admissions and inquiry management system. Relying on old tools or paperwork can slow down the process. This in turn will slow down operations and may affect students' decision-making process who expect a fast and efficient admission process. An education management software helps these institutions keep track of all the inquiries and admissions processes. It integrates all the admission-related activities on a single platform and helps institutions keep track of the progress of each student. It will create a smooth path to solving all inquiries, sending relevant email replies, focusing on real-time student admission progress, and keeping track of retraining current students.
Keeping the admission process integrated in real-time and giving the learners a smooth academic admission experience can boost their confidence in the institution. It also helps students save huge amounts of time. In contrast with offline admission, online admission software can negate the time spent waiting in long lines. As a result, educational institutions can become highly competitive and attract new generations of learners.
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2. Student management
Students are the most important asset of an educational institution. In any case, an educational institution will have hundreds of students in every academic session. This is why student management is an important and complex bookkeeping task. To become a successful educational destination, an institution must be student-centred and help its learners to better engage with interesting content throughout their program's duration. While this can be done through textbooks, having an online alternative syllabus that can be accessed from anywhere is increasing in importance in the digital era. Furthermore, student Management Software keeps all the information about a student in a database. This includes basic information about the student, such as their learning progress, examination scores, academic progress, details, etc.
Having such a system on a digital platform will help educational institutions support students' academic growth. It even makes administrative operations simple, flexible, and systematic. Having a mobile application or online portal through which students and their parents can track their academic progress will make their learning better. Having access to assignment submission forms, checking examination timetables, and checking their results - all these processes can be integrated into the student management category of the education management software. All these can save immense time and help your learners focus on their studies and personal growth instead of waiting in lines or visiting billboards for information.
3. Library management
A library is a very important segment of an educational institution; any student who needs an important book when they need it goes to the library and borrows it. It is especially helpful when there is a shortage of textbooks or when a learner doesn't want to buy textbooks. However, keeping track of the borrowed books can be challenging at times for librarians; manually managing the records of a library is a time-consuming process even for experienced librarians. Moreover, educational institutions have little control over the books that might be stolen, damaged while borrowed, or simply not returned by a student. Because of the difficulty, it can become a very hectic process to keep track of each book and ask the student who borrowed it to return it on time. The best way to make this process easy for both students and library staff is by integrating a library management system into your education management system.
The library management system can efficiently solve all the problems regarding the bookkeeping of a library. Moreover, going a step further, having a digital library will negate the need for traditional paperback books altogether. Having an online repository of textbooks can help students learn from anywhere or borrow from anywhere at any time. It even provides an easier management process for the librarian and helps them keep track of each book borrowed by each student. As a result, giving penalties to students who have not returned their books or have returned damaged books can be easier. Even for first-time borrowers, registering for the library is easy with an online portal. Finally, those who want to keep a book longer than its scheduled time can use the online portal to request additional time.
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4. Student-teacher collaboration and communication
Communication is a major part of any relationship. It includes student-teacher as well as teacher-parent relationships. As the pandemic has demonstrated, communicating effectively can be difficult at times. For online education institutions, this lack of collaboration and communication becomes a major problem. Having third-party apps like Zoom can also limit the operational capabilities of an institution. This is where the education management system comes in. It can provide an organised system with easy management for the academic and non-academic activities of each student. It gives parents a platform to communicate with the educational institutions' faculties and keep in touch with the progress of their children. It gives students an additional platform outside the classroom to communicate with their teacher in case they have any queries about their learning process. Moreover, it can be used as a feedback platform for everyone involved in educational institutions' operations.
5. Fee management
Collecting fees is a major challenge for many educational institutions. It can be a hectic, messy, and time-consuming process in the case of institutions with a large student base. Students will have to wait in line to pay their examination fees or admissions fees when there is a limited timeline. This can even get in the way of the academic progress of the learners because of the time lost in waiting in line. However, having an online fee management system can significantly reduce the time spent paying fees offline.
It automates both the fee collection process and the receipt generation process. It can also notify parents and students if their fees have reached a date. It can also negate the stress on the staff working at free counters in collecting fees from hundreds to thousands of students. As a result, integrating a management system into your education management system saves a ton of time for parents, students, teachers, and other faculty. In the case of online institutions, having an inbuilt fee management system can help learners and education institutions collect fees through their online platforms, instead of relying on other banking alternatives.
6. Examination management
For online institutions, examination time is one of the most important and busiest times. Planning and scheduling examinations and conducting them strictly and effectively can become a major headache for online institutions. Even for traditional brick-and-mortar educational institutions, integrating examination duties for administrators, and teachers, managing examination centres, allotting them to managers, and seat allotment can be a time-consuming process. The education management system, on the other hand, provides a better and easier alternative. It is capable of automating all processes from scheduling online exams to publishing results online. Having an examination management system will help institutions to conduct online quizzes, tests, and other major examinations. This helps learners to appear for exams even from different continents. Such flexibility attracts busy learners who have family and full-time jobs. Through its integration with technology, it can help everyone involved in the examination process.
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7. Staff management
An Educational institution will have different employees for different aspects of its operations. From teaching staff and administration to accountants, librarians, and other staff, the institutions must manage employees and several aspects of their day jobs. Having staff management software integrated into your education management software will help you streamline the process of staff management. For example, you can easily integrate the process of payroll into the education management system. It will remind you when the salary dates of your employees draw near. It can also help employees to plan their vacations and keep track of their working hours. The staff management system also gives insight and tracks the progress of their work.
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Conclusion
As you can see, having an education management system can help every educational institution, regardless of its mode of operation. It can help traditional brick-and-mortar educational institutions, universities, training centres, and online institutions such as the most prestigious business schools and universities. It automates the majority of the time-consuming and stressful processes involved in educational institutions. It will help with the student admission process and manage inquiries; it can also help to keep track of the academic process for a large student base at an educational institution. Furthermore, it will help librarians keep track of their libraries, books, and the students enrolled in the library.
It will make the operations and management easier to follow for all parties involved, including the administrative staff, teachers, and students. An education management software will provide an effective communication platform for learners, education managers, and teachers. Finally, it will help in managing the examination process, which is often the busiest and most important time of the year for the institution. All in all, education management software will automate most of the processes and negate the need for complex paperwork. It will save a ton of time for everyone involved with the educational institution. Finally, having an online platform to pay fees and read about the latest information can be an effective tool to attract learners.
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Citations:
Dixit, Vedika. “Importance of Education Management Information System.” Academia ERP, 17 Sept. 2021, www.academiaerp.com/blog/importance-of-education-management-information-system.