Seamless transitions make for happy students

When students make the jump from elementary school to middle school, or middle to high school, a paper trail a mile long can follow them – creating headaches for school administrators, teachers, and parents alike. Problems amplify if a student moves to a different region with different document standards. For schools, maintaining regional compliance requirements can be overwhelming; for parents, the uncertainty of keeping a child’s confidential records safe can be disconcerting.

Seamless transitions are, indeed, possible, but knowing the right document management solution is key. Some schools have taken a proactive approach by implementing case management solutions, which appear affordable upfront. Unfortunately, many seemingly low cost systems turn out to be a money pit, requiring ongoing maintenance fees and additional technical coding to fix systems not originally designed for the educational sector.

Ricoh Leads in Educational Technologies and Know-How

Ricoh currently does business with 40% of Canadian Higher Education organizations (hardware and services). With our state-of-the-art technology and in-depth knowledge of government regulations, we create digital solutions for schools in Canadian provinces and territories – ensuring compliance and parental ease of mind. Unlike other solutions providers, Ricoh has education-sector specialists on staff who are adept at integrating the right tools and security measures into a customized enterprise content management (ECM) solution – offering school boards the confidence of complying with region-specific regulations.

Take, for example, the Ontario Student Record (OSR) in Ontario. The OSR is required for each student enrolled in a school operated by a school board or the Ministry of Education. The OSR is a comprehensive student record containing valuable information about the student:

• Academic performance
• Biographical data
• List of schools attended
• Parent names
• A summary of student health conditions
• Additional information which is deemed to be helpful on how to instruct the student.

A lot of responsibility falls on the shoulders of the school board when it comes to keeping students’ records accurate, protecting their privacy, and remaining in compliance with government regulations. For example, school boards are responsible for ensuring compliance with OSR policies as well as developing policies on: 

• What types of additional information can be stored and which can be added to the office index card (see section 3.5 of the guideline)
• Further usage of the information in the OSR beyond those specified in the guidelines (see section 3.4 of the guideline)
• How to determine which records are no longer relevant and how to remove them (see section 9 of the guideline)
• At which irregular times report cards can be issued (other than those specified in section 3.2.3.1 of the guideline)

Additionally, boards are required to develop procedures which ensure:

• The security of the OSR, both while in use and when in storage
• That the OSR is regularly reviewed so that irrelevant information can be removed when necessary
• How the OSR is to be stored (see section 8 of the guideline)
• How information in the OSR is to be destroyed.

With Ricoh – Leave the Dusty Paper Trail Behind

With our digitized solutions, your school will be able to assist parents as their children transfer seamlessly from one school to another. Ricoh’s ECM solutions also provide schools with electronic communication tools, which allow parents to track their children’s progress, set up meetings with teachers, and sign forms electronically. Isn’t it time for your school to move into the 21st century and leave the hassles and costs of paper documentation behind? Call a Ricoh representative today to develop an enterprise content management solution that’s right for your school.