Student Information System or Student Information Management System or a Student Management System is software that is designed to manage all data related to students right from the day they join until they graduate. It unites every aspect of the Student Lifecycle in a single place under a single, easy-to-use configurable platform. Highly performing Student Information Systems today come with AI, mobile, and self-service capabilities in order to deliver a unique and tailored student experience.
How does the Student Information System work?
The student information software includes Student Management System (SMS), Student Information Management System (SIMS), and Student Records System (SRS). All of these allow digital entry of student data that can be accessible to the authorized staff.
The software also allows the integration of student data into one easy-to-access platform. It is capable of standardizing data formats to create a unified and clear database that saves time and provides concise analytics. All the data is automatically organized and stored in such a way that it is accessible remotely.
Student Information System, a cloud-based software, is easily reconfigurable and reliable enough to store sensitive and confidential information due to added security. It also integrates various departments to share the data in a safe and secure place. In addition, it enables open communication across an institution.
Student Information System platform also enables parents and students to perform payments for the school. The school authorities can easily generate bills and invoices and control the payment schedule and other related activities from a single place.
Features of the student information system:
1) Cloud-Based ERP with enhanced security
There are a variety of academic institutions that can benefit from the cloud-based education ERP due to its customizability. All installation and database are generally with the ERP provider so there is no hardware installation stuff to worry about. making it maintenance-free and cost-effective. A centralized database is used to store and manage student information. Because it provides a complete information management solution, the objective of this intelligent student information management system is to address various issues relating to students as well as administrators and teachers.
2)Features of Students Information System:
Admissions: This feature guides the applicant through the recruitment process like sorting with merits, General Knowledge Interview, and Entrance Exams, from being a prospect to being accepted.
Student Management: The Student Information Systems feature provides a 360-degree view of the student in any best school system. This includes attendance, assessments, library, activities, fees, performance, and alert data, all in one screen.
Financial record management: Students’ information systems allow parents to pay their children’s tuition fees from a distance, while fee administrators can keep track of the transactions and manage all fees-related activities, such as deposits, receipts, refunds, invoices, and scholarships.
Communication: Student management software ensures smooth communication between stakeholders and parents with its numerous features such as real-time alerts in form of SMS and pushes notifications, circulars, feedback, and many more
Gradebooks: Some of the attractive grade books are published in the application with the help of student management systems, teacher’s work gets reduced to a greater extent, and parents and also check their kids results at their fingertips
Virtual Classroom: Teachers can conduct live lectures, share study materials, take online tests, have fun activities and group discussions with the students, and generate attendance, and assignment reports using the Student Information Systems (Student Information System).
E-Exams: Education institutions can conduct objective and subjective exams according to their schedule, students can take the exams and review their answers, and teachers can get instant results from the exams.
3)Parental Involvement
For students to thrive, there must be a healthy balance between teachers and parents. When they receive unwavering support from both their teachers and parents, they are able to reach their full potential. Because of this, it is vital that parents stay in touch with what their children are learning at school. To help their children perform better, parents should be able to communicate with their children’s teachers. Teachers can make sure that students can complete their schoolwork at home with the help of their parents. As a result of the student information management system, parents as well as teachers are better connected and can provide a healthy learning environment for students.
4)Automatic Updates and Multiple Backups:
Student management ERP is deployed, maintained, and performed by a third-party provider who updates some of the exciting features in their monthly version release which helps schools streamline their campus. The database backups are also taken care of by the ERP provider, so that’s fantastic.
5)Analytics using dashboards and reports:
In addition to an attractive customized dashboard for the school’s administration, the student information system also has a customized dashboard for teachers and parents to keep an eye on students’ performance and academic progress. Furthermore, it has a good number of reports for different users, such as Fees Clerks and Teachers as well as librarians and custodians.
Benefits of Student Information System
Increases Staff Productivity
Student Information System is a cloud-based platform that enables teaching and non-teaching faculty to enter all student-related information just once, as opposed to the offline student management process, where staff is required to write student details every time they fill out a form.
With the Student Information System, all they need is to enter a registration or student number, and all the details are accessible in one click. This reduces the paperwork for staff, so they can utilise their time towards other crucial tasks.
Improves Student Performance Analysis
Student Information System acts as a great platform to store all performance details of students. It allows teachers to manage, organize and analyze student performance based on exam grades, homework completion rates, attendance, etc.
The Student Information System has an integrated dashboard analytics feature that generates automated reports for each student based on the data uploaded by the staff. These reports are either in text or graph forms and are potent tools for teachers to track a student’s performance. Better insight into student performance helps teachers improve the areas where students are lagging.
Promotes a healthy parent-teacher relationship
Student performance not only requires teacher involvement but also needs parental overview. With the Student Information System, teachers and parents connect seamlessly and can use the platform to analyze and discuss ways to improve the performance of their wards.
It promotes a healthy learning environment for students as they receive the attention of their parents and teachers alike.
Data Security
Student Information System allows institutions to store data securely with the power of cloud security. It also enables secure remote access for authorized personnel. It reduces the misuse of data, which miscreants would easily access if stored in hard copies.
The cloud-based centralized storage creates a high-security layer around the sensitive standard data.
Improved Student safety
Student Information System allows student tracking during school hours. In case there are any deviations from the schedule, like a student staying back at school for extra classes, the parents get notified.
This ensures the student’s safety from the prying eyes of criminal minds, as parents and teachers can easily trace their location.
Better Reports for management to review
Management can acquire various institutional reports for the purpose of analysis, and extract information from other branches for comparison of performance, through specific metrics in the Student Information System Platform.
How to choose the best Student Information Software?
With an aim to improve the quality of education and keep expenses to the minimum, Schools are keen on implementing a solution that aligns with their operational efficiency. But with the fleet of Student Information System offerings available in the market, how to select the best one? Here are some best-of-the-breed features that you should look into before making your decision.
Data conversion: Implementing a successful Student Information System is expected to maintain your prevalent institutional data and business rules. There can be no compromise on that. Prepopulating data can be entrusted to a proven provider and should be done thoroughly.
The integrity of data: This will be the second important factor to look into if you aim to maximize your institution’s efficiency. Any data concerning the institution should be relevant, universal, and lastly secure. Check for the Student Information System’s built-in database technology that provides access to information, storage, and protection of all your critical data and applications.
Integration across campus: A Student Information System that promotes functional integration between departments works best. Such an Student Information System should allow cross-departmental communication, allowing sharing of data and student records seamlessly.
Training: Training is inevitable as the implementation itself. With adequate training received, you should be able to use the application to its fullest, reaping its full benefits.
Pricing: Pricing matters as much as the other factors of concern. The Student Information System service provider whom you choose should be responsive to your needs. Payment should be flexible including budget constraints and choice of delivery options.
Reporting: A Student Information System should come with reporting and analysis tools when it comes to measuring institutional effectiveness.
Data security: The security of the database can never be compromised. The Student Information System provider you choose should be sensitive to the institution’s data concerning students and staff.
Usability: The Student Information System should own an interface that influences how best you use it. Of the many, it should be configurable, and efficient enough to share data between departments, and manage and store institutional data in a centralized single location.
Implementation: A perfect plan in place by the project management team stating the complete implementation plan matters. In cases of pre-populating data, the data conversion should be done smoothly.
Conclusion
Generally, schools manage admissions in another tool, timetables in another tool, exams in another tool, a different one for classroom management, and a few more for other key aspects. However, the student information system accomplishes all student-related activities in a single platform that really is highly secure and access is granted based on roles and rights. As a result of the Student Management System, faculty members no longer need to spend a lot of time compiling student data. Ensures faculty members are focused on the students and their performance improvement.
