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July 1, 2002
Top 10 Administrative Software Needs Of Private Schools
By Lauren Hunter
For years, private schools have had to make due with management products unfit to meet their needs. Because of a lack of clear demand and viable market support, many organizations are forced to use products that were not built for them and don't perform the tasks necessary to help private schools function efficiently. Often many smaller independent schools merely modify generic software programs to meet their administrative software needs. Some still use paper ledger and grade books as they did in the dark ages! For most administrators, it's tough to find time remaining after all the parent-teacher conferences, staff meetings, planning sessions, and office duties to sit and carefully weigh the benefits of an administrative software program that might help run their school more efficiently. This becomes a sacrifice that most administrators later regret as their organization grows and becomes increasingly complicated.
Private schools have specific needs that must be carefully weighed and met. But sometimes, administrators (especially those unfamiliar with software) don't even know for what to look. Hopefully, this list will help equip an administrator with the tools needed to screen software products on the market and make a wise choice to handle his or her school's functions.
Flexibility
Any good administrative software program will offer a selection of modular applications, that is, a-la-carte solutions that can be modified as needed. Typically, some smaller institutions will start out with one or two basic applications and add others as their needs become more complicated. A good software company will always offer stand-alone software modules that can be easily integrated with other modules, but that can also function independently for maximum administrative control. Software flexibility ensures that the company has thought ahead to prepare for the special needs of the organizations it hopes to serve.
Administrative Functions
The first and foremost module should be an administrative tool with the capacity to handle all data typically used by private schools. Displaying student, teacher, parent, and class information should be one of the most important features. A good administrative module should make it easy to look up a student, then view their parental records, then look at class enrollment. And all this information should correlate to a specific record and be easy-to-use.
Financial Functions
The second most important module for most private schools is the financial software module. A good financial program should include a general ledger function as well as accounts receivable, since private schools require a detailed and organized way to accept student tuition. Many of these programs are based on the needs of most nonprofit organizations, but schools should check to make sure the financial program can handle its specific concerns. Additionally, all financial software programs should be compliant with FASB and FAS 117 standards (Financial Accounting Standards Board).
Classroom Functions
The third most important module is the classroom management module. Classroom software functions can supply teachers with an invaluable tool for developing lesson plans, posting grades, recording attendance, and corresponding with parents. Some programs even offer a way for grades and homework to be posted online, thus allowing students too ill to attend school and/or parents to view this information from home.
Customization
One software package never entirely meets the needs of every organization. One of the most valuable features that software manufacturers can build into their systems is the ability to be customized in order to work with many different types of users, including independent schools. With a customizable program, schools will have the ability to organize their proprietary information and provide better services to the families it serves. Each module should have a large number of user-defined fields so that organizations can specify the data to be entered therein. This feature truly separates the wheat from the chaff. If a software company has unlimited user-defined fields, even better. These are especially helpful in managing both financial data and student information. For example, there can be fields named: Donation Record, Payment Plan, Blood Type, Clothing Size, Locker Combination, etc.
Usability
Not all software programs are created equal when it comes to usability. A good software company will offer a free modified version of the software so that organizations can manipulate the program and get a feel for how easy it is to use. It is important to take advantage of this because it can greatly help with the overall decision-making process. The first thing to note is compatibility - does the program run on Windows or whichever operating system you use? Does the program function like other programs with which your staff is familiar? The program should make logical sense and have an easy-to-understand format that doesn't leave you baffled by the simplest of tasks. Also, some programs offer the ability to export data to work with other software programs. This may not be the number one item on your list, but it can come in handy in many situations.
Scalability
Some schools start out small with merely a handful of students and grow steadily over a period of years; other schools grow very rapidly within a relatively short amount of time. Either way, a school's software program needs to be able to scale up, or down, according to the school's individual growth. Choosing a program that will work with a small number of students and expand in function to store and manage data for a school with a thousand or more students is invaluable. The last thing an organization should do is implement one program that meets their needs today, then in several years, have to switch programs because the first one wasn't capable of expanding as the school expanded. Even if a school thinks in a million years they will never have over 1,000 students, prepare for the growth now - just in case.
Client Support
Many administrators soon become very friendly with the client support hotline at the software company they've chosen. Check this aspect out before you make any final decisions! Talk to other clients and ask them how the client service measures up. Find out the hours of availability-is there a 24/7 hotline? See if there is a client support representative in your area that can provide onsite training to staff members. Does the software company offer annual training conferences on their software? Do they offer updates to fix bugs in the program? And how does client support handle issues such as this? Ask lots of questions and weigh the answers carefully before making any decision. Remember, a school isn't just buying the software, it is purchasing the client support services too!
Security
Currently, security is one of the biggest issues that face schools today. Most administrative software programs offer several important security features to ensure that your valuable school data is protected, and that the students are protected from any potential harm. First is the issue of securing access to the database containing student, teacher, and parent information. The lead administrator should be able to designate passwords or access codes for appropriate staff and restrict access as needed. The software should also help protect students by providing easily accessible fields for student information. Office staff must be able to easily learn who is authorized to pick a child up from school and what days of the week what family member or caregiver is to pick them up. This can substantially help schools monitor security issues with every child.
Cost
Lastly, the financial aspects should be weighed but only after carefully measuring all other features of a software package. Many of the administrative software packages are priced competitively, so price should not be the main objective. Over the long run, making sure the software a school has selected meets all its needs is much more valuable that saving a few dollars a year. The benefits of purchasing a product that you are truly happy with and that helps an organization reach its goals is the most important factor of all.
Email: Lauren Hunter, HeadMaster
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