Schools generate a lot of documents. Everything from student records to transcripts to student applications, students’ admissions, and teachers’ records are all examples of what needs to be stored efficiently and accessed quickly. These paper-based documents take up a lot of storage space that could otherwise be put to some productive use. With document scanning, schools can organize these records and store them more safely and easily access them when needed. This process will not only reduce the amount of space required to store the records but the documents can be retrieved faster and more efficiently. Also, it eliminates the risk of documents being misplaced or damaged by pests. Many schools are now partnering with document scanning companies to convert all their records into digital format.
Most educational institutions have a room stuffed with shelves, filing cabinets, and boxes filled with legacy district and student documents, student records, transcripts, report cards, and other paper documents. These can’t be legally disposed of due to state record retention regulations. The space required to store such physical data is overwhelming for larger and older school districts. Since most school districts lack qualified archivists on their staff, organizing, accessing or retrieving records can be difficult.
Schooling has changed drastically in recent months due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Each school functions in its own way, many students are working from home, some use hybrid solutions, and so on. This may result in more coursework being brought home and remaining at home. One of the dangers of having too many papers is that you can lose track of key documents or turn in the wrong assignment. Furthermore, papers are easily misplaced and divided. It might be tough to organize and handle papers without an appropriate desk or storage location.
Handling, managing, and organizing paper records is very challenging. Document scanning, on the other hand, provides unique solutions and benefits for student records. Scanning converts paper documents into digital files that you can access anytime you need them. Scanned records can be quickly located and retrieved. Scanning also helps to keep the home tidy and clean, allowing more time to be spent with the family rather than on searching for papers. While it is easy to obtain the scanned records, this does not imply that they are not secure. Security features, such as encryption and password protection, can be included in digital documents. This keeps the documents safe and available just when you need them.
How to Scan and Organize School records
- Pick the right scanner: To get good quality scans, it is important to choose the right scanner. There are many specialized scanners now available in the market. If you have large documents, then use large scanner, these scanners produce high-quality digital images at high speed. If you have more microfilms to digitize, then go for microfilm scanners to read, scan, and save images from roll microfilm, microfiche, aperture cards, or similar film-based materials. Instead of buying different types of scanners, it is best to outsource to a document scanning service than can scan all records within the required turnaround time and ensure high quality output.
- Prep your documents: Document preparation for scanning is a time-consuming process. For the best results, streamline this procedure. Follow these guidelines to ensure that your documents are appropriately prepared:
- All paper clips, staples, and binder clips should be removed.
- Sticky notes should be removed.
- Check the corners of the paper for crumpled edges and straighten them up.
- If any of the documents have a rip or tear, fix them with transparent sticky tape.
- Undersized documents should be mounted on a separate sheet of paper.
If the text on some documents is too light, photocopy it first and then change the contrast to get a more legible copy.
- Process your scanned images: After scanning a document, you must extract the content, convert it to the appropriate file type, and archive the original paper document. To scan files properly, follow these guidelines:
- Examine the output quality of the scanner. Conduct a page-by-page manual examination to confirm that the final digital files are legible and that no information is lost during the conversion process. Any files that are difficult to read should be sent for a rescan.
- Use the picture enhancing tools provided by the scanning software. To increase the quality of the final photographs, crop, rotate, de-skew, and de-speckle them.
- Convert your files to the appropriate format. Determine whatever format is best for your needs and use it.
- When necessary, use optical character recognition (OCR) software to transform photos into electronic text. To ensure correct conversion, use a sophisticated OCR engine.
- Check to see if your digital documents are correctly indexed and searchable.
All of these issues can be easily resolved by converting the paper records into a digital format so that it is easy to access and retrieve them. It also helps to save storage space and keep all data safe. Scanning of documents with the help of document scanning companies allows educational institutions to save all of their records in a single, secure, cloud-based system. Faculty can quickly access materials using a few keystrokes rather than rummaging through filing cabinets. Updated files can be obtained and saved in a matter of seconds.
