Don’t allow admissions practices to break student confidentiality – or your budget

In recent years, the ease and efficiency of the admissions process has made great strides, thanks in large part to widespread adoption of key technologies and platforms.

That streamlining has coincided with – and, in large part, fostered – a time where higher education institutions are receiving applications in greater numbers than ever before. While these technological advancements have made managing and processing these large volumes of applications easier for colleges, is enough being done to secure them? And is adoption of secure, streamlined processes sufficiently widespread on campuses across the country?

A recent survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Ricoh found that Americans are considering what technology a university utilizes when making application decisions. In the Poll, 93% of Americans said they expect colleges and universities to use the latest technologies in the administrative process. Added to this, 81% said that their opinion of a school improves when they know that it uses the latest technology.¹

These dual needs – for administrators to efficiently and effectively handle admissions documents, and for students to receive prompt answers and know their information is secure – are driving many institutions of higher education to pursue automation in admissions. This pursuit comes at a time when schools are projected to spend $6.6 billion on IT upgrades in a year, potentially presenting both the means and opportunity for many institutions to make the jump to automation.

In our latest trend report, we discuss how institutions can streamline and secure admissions and records management processes. Through improved efficiencies, universities can begin to realize savings, while also implementing information-securing best practices to help ensure student information is kept safe. This report includes, in addition to insights on key trends, proven best practices based on case studies where institutions chose to improve the technology and processes around admissions and saw positive results.