Best Admissions Software

Many of us remember school and college admissions to be a chaotic affair. Campuses would get flooded with applicants who queued up to collect or submit forms and make payments or inquiries. Typically, educational institutions would set up a team to take care of all distribution and collection of the paperwork.

Popular, manual admission management processes have several fallacies and are cumbersome for both institutions and students/parents. Not only do they require huge manpower, paperwork, and planning, but manual admission management leaves several gaps in security, accuracy, storage, payment processing, and marketing efforts. Such institutions were in dire need of a solution that made the admission process smooth, swift, and streamlined. This led to the inception of digital admission management solutions.

Admission management solutions are used in institutions all over the world today, and their market is expected to record a CAGR of around 10.15% during 2021 - 2026. With the application and admission processes becoming more complex every day and the looming pandemic, both students and authorities now prefer an integrated and efficient digital admission experience. There are several reasons why more and more institutes are using admission management software, some of which have been described below.

Advantages of Admission Software

The use of admission management solutions helps schools, colleges, and institutions improve several aspects of the admission process and provides the following advantages:

1. Uniform & Centralized Admissions:

Most educational institutions nowadays have branches or campuses at multiple locations, which means that applications need to be collated, reviewed, and shortlisted manually if not for such software. Admission management tools act as centralized platforms that students and authorities can access instantly from anywhere.

This makes data retrieval and submissions across multiple branches easy. Moreover, such platforms help manage everything related to the admission process, such as documentation, payments, storage, validation, and information sharing. Many admission management software also comes with multilingual capabilities to effectively handle language barriers across multiple locations.

2. Accurate & Error-free Admission Process:

Another significant advantage of using admission software is its accuracy. The process of manual admission management is prone to errors simply due to the cornucopia of applications that need to be processed at the beginning of each session.

Additionally, there are only a limited number of personnel with a huge workload and imminent deadlines. The effect of one such error could be potentially life-altering for a student. Admission management solutions eliminate such errors and also reduces the effort and manpower needed to manage admissions.

3. Secure Data Management & Storage:

Besides going paperless and making the earth greener, specialized software to oversee admissions also reduces the space needed. Moreover, there is a lot of confidential information regarding rankings, student details, and payments stored securely in such systems. Digital safekeeping also helps in retrieving data faster and prevents misplacement.

Forms are easier to fill out online, and documents can also be uploaded instantly, saving time and making the process much simpler for all students and admission administrators. Digital records also facilitate better reporting and analysis, which improves their decision-making output.

4. Easier Payments, Billing & Invoicing:

Most modern admission management software integrates with payment gateways for quick and easy payment acceptance and invoice generation using billing software.

Such software allows payments from different modes and sends the raised invoices directly to applicants with personalized emails. They are also capable of sending reminders, follow-ups, and other notifications.

5. Better Experience For Students & Parents:

As mentioned above, the process of manual admission management is time-consuming, chaotic, and error-prone. It also involves a lot of 'legwork' from students and parents as they have to frequently visit the campus, get information, submit attested documents, and check student lists.

With admission management software accepting applications online, students can do it all from their homes without breaking a sweat. Students are also updated frequently on the latest happenings in the admission process through notifications and real-time notice boards. Thus students neither need to call nor visit the campus for admissions.

6. Personalized Instant Updates:

Many education institutes are bombarded frequently with calls, emails, and personal visits for inquiries. Admission management software help such institutions send regular and personalized updates to students via emails, app notifications, live chat, text messages, and even WhatsApp. Such software may also have templates that can be downloaded and personalized before sending to students.

7. Improved Marketing Efforts:

Educational institutions also have a business to run and need to attract students through various marketing efforts constantly. Admission management tools can help such organizations create a database of potential candidates and inform them about the latest campus drives, seminars, new courses, lectures, and other events.

They help pique students' interest in the institution and bring them on board through rapport-building, promotions, and offers.

8. Automated & Paperless Admission Process:

Several pain areas in the admission process are streamlined through the use of the software. Right from the issuance of notices to the filling up of forms and induction of students, admission management tools help take care of it all.

While applicants can submit information, upload credentials, apply for scholarships and make payments through such systems, institutions can filter out ineligible candidates and inaccurate applications using such tools. Admission management software can also be used to provide students with the necessary support through tutorial videos, chatbots, and FAQs.

How Can an Admission Management Software Help?

Most of us have grown up being exposed to a manual admission process where a school or a college would set up a team to handle the entire admissions process. The campus would suddenly become unrecognizable with multiple counters, serpentine queues, and irritable admission officers sitting with huge mounds of paper frantically distributing and collecting admission forms, fees, etc. Students and parents looking lost, making inquiries, running from pillar to post, trying to stay on top of it all.

Many institutions use the manual admission process even today. However, more and more academies are beginning to manage admissions online with the help of admission management software. This software is transforming the chaotic manual admission process into a quick, seamless, and efficient process for both applicants and academic institutes alike.

1. An Automated and Paperless Admission Process

Admission forms can be distributed online. They can even be submitted online along with the relevant documents. Date and time windows for distribution and submissions can be set. Not just that, students may also apply for scholarships and grants using the system itself. With mobile and cloud-based capabilities, admission management software can handle all of this in a quick and paperless fashion. Not just that, these systems also allow institutions to set up screening layers that automatically eliminate ineligible or inaccurate entries. Most systems even come with self-service capabilities that give applicants access to tutorial videos, forums, and FAQs so that they can navigate through the entire process more confidently.

2. Personalized and Automatic Status Updates

When it comes to their academic future, it is natural for students as well as their parents to be anxious about the status of their application. Institutions are typically bombarded with phone calls, emails, and even personal visits by students and parents inquiring about the same. Admission management systems can automatically send emails and phone messages to keep candidates apprised of the status of their applications. They can also share updates on tests, and interviews and even send reminders. These messages and emails can also be personalized to include student names. Some systems are also equipped with live chat features to handle such queries.

3. Enhanced Marketing Efforts

To remain profitable in the face of stiff competition, most institutions today carry out various marketing activities to attract more students. Admission management software can also help institutions create a database of potential applicants. All students that may have expressed an interest in studying at the institution could be sent targeted emails and messages about upcoming events that may interest them such as new courses, guest lectures, campus tours, student mixers, and any other such marketing information. Admission management software allows institutions to reach out to prospective students in a proactive manner in order to bring them on board.

4. A Uniform and Centralised Admission Experience

Even the oldest and most prestigious schools and colleges today have branched out and now have multiple campuses across various locations. Admission management software functions as a centralized platform that offers candidates a consistent experience irrespective of the branch or the location. The offices handling admissions across the various branches and locations of an institute can use a single platform to manage the entire admissions process. They also have multilingual capabilities that overcome any language barriers that may arise in certain locations.

5. Accurate and Error-Free Admission Management

The manual admission process requires a substantial workforce and therefore this system is very vulnerable to human error. As we discussed earlier, the admission season is a stressful time not just for applicants but even those managing the entire process. Managing thousands and even lakhs of applications, deadlines and a huge amount of data entry naturally exposes the process to errors and inaccuracies. Admission management software automates most of the manual processes and eliminates much of the human effort from admission management, thereby significantly containing the scope for such errors.

6. A Secure Online Data Management and Storage System

Manual admission processes involve a huge amount of paperwork. The paperwork may include sensitive information such as the personal details of the candidates, their contact information, and even bank details. It can be very difficult to keep track of who is accessing these papers. Once all the data-entry work is completed, it also becomes important to store the paperwork carefully, so that it remains safe and secure. Care must also be taken to ensure that the paperwork can be accessed easily. This entire process involves not just an immense amount of time, space, and effort, but also an increased risk of security breaches and also potential physical damage.

Admission management software collects and stores this information on a secure online platform. They ensure that only authorized individuals can access information. The entire process of storing data and managing it becomes much easier.

Most admission management software also comes with excellent reporting and analytics features. They can organize and present data on a real-time basis, within a few minutes, to help institutions make better decisions about their admission policies and processes.

7. Easier Payments, Billing, and Invoicing

With admission management software, the entire process of payment collection and invoice generation becomes automatic. These systems are usually compatible with all the major payment gateways making it easy for students to make fast and secure payments using the payment mode of their choice. They can raise invoices and automatically send them in the form of personalized emails. They can also send payment reminders and can even follow up on pending payments.

8. A Better Experience for Students and Parents

Admission management software solutions automate most of the admissions-related processes. They reduce the scope of human error and save truckloads of time. They make the admission process swift and efficient. Using their computers, students and parents can send in their applications from the comfort of their homes or offices. Some admission management systems even provide users with a mobile app. Applicants are constantly kept updated on developments regarding their application status. They do not have to rely on admission officers to resolve their queries.