How to know if your school needs a system: 6 signs to look for
- Meassak
- Jun 2
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 3
Not every school requires a school management system. Schools operate uniquely and have varying needs. At certain stages, an Excel or Google spreadsheet can effectively manage a few campuses and may even provide more flexibility than an integrated system.
However, as your school expands, knowing when is the right moment to invest in a more comprehensive school system can ultimately save time and resources.
Let’s explore six indicators that may help you evaluate the direction your institution should take.
How to know if a school needs a system? 6 signs to look for (we include a diagnostic tool at the end).
1. High Administrative Workload
Is your staff overwhelmed with paperwork? If your team is spending excessive time collecting payment, managing schedules and tracking attendance manually, it is time to implement reforms. These processes can be streamlined with the appropriate standard operating procedures and tools.
One good way to find out is to do an "Operational Audit" simply by observing how much time and effort is spent on each process.
Enrollment: does your front desk team take longer than 10 mins to enroll a student and issue an invoice?
Payment Collection: how easy it is for your team to track and follow up customers on their unpaid or partial payment invoices? Is there any room to improve payment collection?
Attendance Record: how much time it take for teacher to record attendance everyday? How is it communicated to parents on a daily basis?
Assessment and Score Report: this is generally the most-time consuming one. A general guideline is that if teachers dedicate over 50% of their time to administrative and manual tasks, they will have less time to focus on enhancing students' learning outcomes. In other words, for every dollar spent on a teacher's salary, only 50 cents is allocated to actual teaching. This could adversely affect the school's performance over time.
This list does not cover all of the school's operational processes. The main point is that by examining how each process is carried out and the effort and resources it requires, you can gain valuable insights into your school's efficiency.
Growing Enrollment Without Scalability
If your school's enrollment is rising or your campuses are growing but your operational processes haven’t kept pace, it raises a major concern. An outdated system may limit your ability to scale effectively, affecting both student experiences and staff efficiency.
Our observation: we learned that a school can operate smoothly and efficiently when they have less than 200 students. Once the number is growing and 2 or 3 new campuses are added, efficiency and accuracy start to decline.
Difficulty in Tracking Student Progress
When teachers struggle to monitor student progress due to outdated tools, it's harder to provide personalized education. Manual tracking often leads to inconsistencies that negatively affect students’ academic journeys.
Limited Access to Real-Time and Accurate Data
Can you have real-time access to your school data such as enrollment, payment collection, student performance, attendance etc? Is the data reliable?
Data drives decision-making in the digital age. If your school struggles to access real-time information regarding student performance metrics and attendance trends, you are likely operating at a disadvantage especially if you run multiple campuses.
Mistakes happen, but if your school experiences a high number of errors—such as mismanaged student result, enrollment issues or even fraud—it is a critical sign for change.
Inefficient Communication Channels
Poor communication can lead to misunderstandings and delays. When staff, parents, and students struggle to reach each other or miss important announcements, it suggests that communication processes are ineffective.
Convenient over safety: All schools in Cambodian are now using social platforms like Telegram and Facebook Messenger not only for communication but also for sharing student and family's information such student/family profile, score report and even payments, which increases the risk of online fraud and hacking of personal and financial information.
6. Lack of Integrative Systems
If your school uses multiple disconnected tools for tasks like enrollment, payment, grading, and communication, you likely face challenges maintaining efficient operations. Juggling several systems can lead to frustration and wasted time.
Diagnostic Tool: A more scientific approach to evaluate your school's tech needs
Take An Assessment Test
Determining whether your school needs a management system is essential for effective operations, promoting communication, and meeting educational standards.
if you are unsure if your school needs a School Management System (SMS),
take our free, calculable School Technology Needs Assessment questionnaire to gain a clear understanding of your school's specific requirements.
Based on your responses, you'll receive a score-based evaluation of your school's needs and readiness, helping you make informed decisions about technology implementation.
Talk to our team at AtomX if you need more information on school tech integration @85577256025 (Telegram) or sovansrun@gmail.com
Comentários