Campus Management Systems for Institutions

The education sector is ever-evolving and needs to adapt to the various changes to accommodate societal needs. In the last few years, schools and colleges have taken major steps towards restructuring educational processes

That is where technological solutions have been instrumental in driving innovation by providing timely assistance. In fact, tools like the campus management system are central to automating administrative activities and driving institutional success.

But how? Why do institutes need a campus management system (CMS) when they already have teams of professionals and staff to execute major tasks? Let us find out:

1. Organized Admission Process

Institutes hire competent individuals with relevant skills to execute high-stake organizational activities. Nonetheless, procedural delays, document misplacement or manual errors are still prevalent issues that occur.

Why? Simply because despite years of expertise, manually intensive tasks can be prone to minor errors. On top of that, one cannot overlook exhaustion or burnout that overtakes staff, especially during the admission phase.

The new session or admission phase is particularly the busiest time for institutes, wherein the admission departments are up to their neck with work. Therefore, CMS is a perfect assistive tech tool that can streamline the admission process in the following way:

• Online registration and admission management systems automate the registration process.
• The system processes the students' applications, allowing the admin to generate the merit list as per the criteria.
• The college/university admin and staff can track the admission status of all applicants and respond to students’ queries in real time.

2. Student Management

A significant amount of institutional activities center around students and focus on improving their academic and overall performance. Hence, it is hardly surprising that teachers and admin handle extensive student-related data.

Now imagine the time and effort it takes to sort through admission, academic and co-curricular student data manually. Although basic computerized systems have been used as a way to accelerate the work, manual data entry is still necessary.

A suitable replacement for basic and traditional mechanisms is the campus management system software which facilitates student administration. The software stores and manages all student-related information in a single platform.

Consequently, the admin doesn’t need to sort through files if stakeholders want to check a particular student’s information. They can access student data with just a click of a mouse and obtain specified records.

Besides, the system stores student data, including attendance records, exam results, shared and submitted documents, etc in a centralized location.

3. Attendance Management

How many students per class are frequent absentees? Which courses have the least amount of present students? What is the student retention rate of the institute? Asking these questions is just as important as finding their answers.

Relying on the traditional paper-based attendance system may lead to teachers losing valuable time before even starting the class. Fortunately, institutes can automate the attendance-taking process, enabling teachers to record attendance quickly.

Moreover, a noteworthy advantage of the attendance management system is that it generates accurate attendance reports. Hence, teachers and admin can identify frequent absentees with the help of these reports and take appropriate actions.

For example, they can develop student retention plans by collaborating with parents and consulting face-to-face sessions with students.

4. Effortless Student Assessment

Conducting assessments is a high-priority task that entails weeks or even months of prep work by teachers and staff. All hard work goes to waste when a minor or major obstacle causes unprecedented complications.

What’s more, is that ever since online exams have become a crucial part of the examination system, more problems have emerged. The need to ensure the integrity of online assessments and secure questionnaires became prevalent.

As a result, the integration of CMS and online exam software is the ultimate solution that can lead to fair and authentic examinations. Also, teachers can develop different kinds of questions including, descriptive and qualitative.

Consequently, they can implement formative assessments and assess students' learning and knowledge levels effectively. Students can also take mock tests, helping them assess their preparation so far and identify their weaknesses.

5. Payroll Management

An institute is responsible for students’ development and it must focus on providing opportunities for growth for teachers as well. Also, the timely processing of salary with necessary deductions and bonuses is equally imperative.

That is exactly what the payroll management module of the CMS does; it computes monthly salaries of staff and faculty. Simultaneously, it generates various reports related to the payroll translations such as:

• Pay slips and salary certificates
• Annual salary reports
• MIS reports

Staff and admin can check the salary details by clicking into the staff portal of the system and retrieve the receipts accordingly. Besides, these receipts are useful and indispensable during the audit process.

6. Effortless Leave Management

The usual way for a leave application mandates employees to write an application and give it in person to the authorized person. But what if that person is unavailable and the employee requires a leave urgently?

The ‘’wait for approval” approach can become frustrating and the lack of a proper structure to maintain the leave can lead to the management’s discontent. The only way to avoid such mishaps and confusion is through an automated leave management system.

The system allows staff to record staff attendance through biometric integration, which also processes attendance data. On the other hand, employees can apply for leave through online mode, enabling concerned authorities to sanction it remotely.

Additionally, it calculates monthly leaves, transfers data to payroll management and processes salary accordingly.

7. MIS Reports

How many students have enrolled in particular courses and programs? What is the average attendance percentage per semester? Are students responding well to online exams? What is the overall outcome of the assessments?

Finding answers to the above questions provides information that institutes can use to detect the pain points. In fact, the campus management system generates MIS reports across various departments.

For instance, stakeholders can obtain reports and data on financial transactions, the admission process, faculty attendance, etc. Furthermore, the system helps to generate accurate reports as per specific days, dates and times. Consequently, it contributes to making data-driven decisions.

8. Library Management

The availability of online or e-learning materials has simplified the accessibility to learning resources. However, physical books still enjoy popularity among scholars and students alike; therefore, libraries must maintain a sustainable structure.

No student wants to spend an hour looking for a specific book and return disappointed because it has already been borrowed. The solution lies in the library management module that comes with campus management software.

The software automates the acquisition and cataloging process and provides a borrower records section. Also, it facilitates book search according to Title, Authors, Subject, Publisher, Class/ISBN Number, and Keywords.

9. Robust Communication Platform

Gone are the days when teachers had to wait for parent-teacher meetings to convey updates regarding students’ performance. The software provides a robust platform through which institutes can maintain a continuous connection with parents.

It allows institutes to send notifications to students and parents regarding upcoming exams and fee deadlines. Simultaneously, the communication platform allows students to connect with teachers and peers regarding projects, assignments, etc.