Colleges operate completely differently from schools and universities. Generally, there are several colleges under one college. The complexity of multi-tiered management with multiple universities in the same organization calls for enterprise-level solutions implemented as university / School management software. There are many providers on the ERP software market that offer university management system solutions at prices ranging from thousands of dollars to over million dollars.
There are many options available on the market now, but how do you know which ERP solution is best for your organization? Below, I’ve highlighted a few things to get around this confusion. Let’s take a look at what to consider before choosing the right university management system.
Choosing the Right University Management System
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Choosing the right software for your university can take months or years as the selection process is usually a long and detailed process. These upfront efforts will enable you to select and implement software that will provide value to your university for the next 5 to 10 years.
For schools and universities, data export tools can be used to easily replace existing management systems with new software. For universities, the replacement process takes some time with new implementations due to the complexity of the data and the required pre-customization.
Recommended Reading: Key Trends in Higher Education
What are the steps to follow?
Build a team for software selection and implementation. This team may include teachers, managers, executives, and parents. Team A must contain a maximum of 6 or 8 members. It is advisable to choose a parent from an IT or software background. You can also include graduates. Team A can take full responsibility for the finalist list, purchase and implementation of the software. Leadership and management must provide full support to the team.
Then a team can start the process by researching the software used in other universities. While using this software, this is an important step as you get to know the different software available on the market and the challenges and benefits that other universities face. Choose a new university management system for your university and document all observations you will refer to while purchasing.
Have a five-year total cost of ownership (TCO) plan. The TCO may include all possible costs expected to purchase and maintain the software for the next 5 or 10 years. This should include all types of costs such as hardware costs, maintenance costs, dedicated/part-time resource salaries, custom costs, etc. Check with your supplier for more details on the TCO and make sure the supplier agrees with it.
You can then run demos from other vendors and accept quotes and quotes for software and implementation. You can choose which college management system to purchase based on the points awarded to the software and vendor and the available budget.
Features to consider
Admission Management
Admission to college is a complex process that involves several steps on both the student and college side. Applications for different courses vary and can be configured online for application collection. In most cases, reference checks and due diligence are also included when placing applications for finalists. All of this can be automated using the university management system.
Attendance management
College student attendance recording and management is a major function of the university management system. This is achieved through the integration of devices such as RFID, biometrics, IoT, etc. Attendance is a major component of college student grades, and only college management systems can automate the connection between attendance and gradebook, while at the same time complaining of students and parents.
Online exam
UMS allows universities to computerize their entire exam work. Take descriptive or MCQ type questions such as entrance exams, staff recruitment exams, surprise classroom exams, topic or subject wise exams, and more. After the test evaluation, the teacher can post the results and a notification is sent to the student/parent immediately.
Online learning management
To simplify online learning and education, now integrates with a variety of video conferencing systems such as Zoom and Big Blue Button. (It will integrate with Google Meets and Microsoft Teams). This allows universities to seamlessly provide quality education to students without interruption.
Human resource management
The Human Resources module inside UMS helps universities manage their teachers and faculty by handling leave management, payroll generation, pay stub generation, certificate archiving, and more.
Fee management
Even if the state applies, the university must manage the collection of student fees. For private universities, this is one of the main requirements. Collect fees online and offline and record transactions in a single system for future audits.
Batch management
Career placement for all students is a preferred goal for all universities. This can be automated through UMS’ batch module. The placement module makes it easy for coordinators to organize and conduct placements, and students can register online for placement events and check their status.
Explore more features
The future of the university management system
Many new technologies are emerging, such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and more. These technologies will play an important role in how to digitize university operations in the future. University campuses are responsive and smart. The workload of teachers and managers can be reduced in a number of ways, helping you achieve your academic goals faster and save money.
