Serving Students in a Paperless Environment

Diana Bazzi

Senior Business Consultant

Logos s.a.r.l.

Arab ACRAO 29th Conference 2009Beirut – Lebanon

Plan

Objective Synonyms Paper vs. Paperless Advantages Admissions Office Registrar’s Office Student Survey Challenges Conclusion Recommendation

Objective

Show the attitude of students and administration in universities in the middle east towards paperless environment

Synonyms

Virtual Campus

Paperless Campus

Document-Free Campus

Go Green Campus

Document-Free

Go Green Campus

Virtual Campus Paperless Campus

Paper traffic

Dorms

Accounting

Library

Book Store

StudentActivities

Alumni

DegreeAudit

Instructors

Registrar

AcademicDepts.

Placement & EE

Admissions

Student ServiceOffice

Paper vs. PaperlessFactors Paper

basedPaperless(on the

web)

Manpower involvement high low

Storage space Large small

Lost and misfiled documents high low

Delays caused by errors and physical availability high low

Communication with student mailbox on-line

Data entry mistakes and their consequences high low

Up-to-date information low on-line

Ability to retrieve feedback while students are away not easy on-line

Security risks with exposure of applicants files to many employees

high very low

Hardware cost and maintenance low low

Software cost and maintenance low low

Buying papers, printer cartridges high low

Disaster recovery complex simple

Environmental Impact

World consumption of paper has grown four hundred percent in the last 40 years. Now nearly 4 billion trees or 35% of the total trees cut around the world are used in paper industries on every continent .

The paper making process is not a clean one. According to the U.S. Toxic Release Inventory report published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), pulp and paper mills are among the worst polluters to air, water and land of any industry in the country..

(http://ecology.com/features)

Advantages

Cost Savings Faster Delivery Increased Accuracy Improved Efficiency High Productivity Eco-friendly

Paperless Admissions Office

Having on-line application, on-line follow up, automatic decision & letters generator will:

Minimize sorting and filing of documents

Minimize data entry Minimize printing and

distribution Have up to date data Fast movement within process

of decision making

Interviews interpretations

• Studying hardcopies of applicants’ files is more handy and practical

• Original documents and/or sealed letters are required

• No trust in scanned documents

• Storage space is a real problem

• Optical solution for managing documents is a must

• Being electronically connected with ministry of higher education makes paperless admissions feasible

Paperless Registrar’s Office

Having on-line: Course catalogue, Course offering, Advising &Registration, Plan of studies, Final exam schedule Grade entry by instructor

Interviews interpretations

Eliminate printing of many reports and minimize others

On-line statistics Replace the mailbox with the email The course catalogue should remain in print,

yet its distribution should be controlled Announcements are published on-line Fast publishing of grade

Instructors

On-line grade entry No more posting of grades on bulletin boards Communication via email and on the web On-line course syllabus, regulations, assignments and

notes On-line exams and on-line correction Student-Instructor evaluation (Students are forced to

evaluate their instructors on-line)

Paperless Students’ Services

Change of Major; Under load/overload registration; Late payment; Clearance; Transfer of courses; Reactivation; Late registration; Incomplete grade, Postpone of graduation, Thesis proposal, Exemption, Equivalence,…

A flow example:

Student ► Advisor ►Instructor ► Chairperson ► Committee ► Dean ► Registrar

Queues;office hours; chaos; missing classes;entry errors; meetings,…

Petition Engine

On-line submission of petition from a terminal On-line validation Automatic flow within approvers: Parallel & Sequential Approvers take on-line decision, make recommendation in

light of other approvers’ decisions and student academic information

Attaching document Authentication and digital signature Send notification to student On-line voting of committee members To-do tasks management :snooze, transfer of tasks &

replacement

On-line petition from administration perspective

Accepted as long as the student can be interviewed Minimize paper collection and paper distribution No need for the student to move from an office to

another Student can apply from anywhere at any time Shorten the agenda of committee meetings Enforce the proper cycle flow among approvers Students should abide by petition dates/periods

Student survey interpretation

Unfamiliar with the term paperless(48%no idea,41% little) Feel more at ease with reading form hardcopy text book Prefer on-paper tests (78%) Online request for a transcript vs. fill in paper request(50-

50) The mailbox is still being opened but not as before Check the email at least 1-2 times a day View on-line reports Prefer in hand petition submission(66%) Do not use the on-line renewal and reservation of a library

book Throw the unwanted paper in the Garbage(62%)

Do You Prefer Paperless Services?

Students tend towards paper-based services when there is a place for human interaction and security doubts, while they are towards paperless-based services when there is no need for personal contact Influenced by: computerized services in the country; automation systems available at campus; student majors and classes; prevailing manners and habits; student awareness

Challenges

Employees advanced in age are reluctant to embrace the new technology

Preconditioned human behavior works against a truly paperless office.

Papers are much easier for manipulation and transportation to meetings and classes

Computers should be readily available. Hacking and privacy issues. Internet services are sometimes slow

Conclusion

Automated systems available

Positive attitude of the administration towards the paperless

Students are still not familiar with the idea of paperless services; however they are ready for it.

Certain processes should remain paper-based for legislation

Conclusion (Cont’d)

Registrar operations show the best results where paperless processes can be applied using advanced automated system.

Youth awareness towards saving environmental resources is disappointing.

The “go green” approach brings revenue to the whole society

Recommendation for a go green campus

Having state-of-the-art web-enabled software Holding awareness and training campaigns

for both administration and students Imposing fees on students for paper request

when an online alternative is available Putting limits on using paper for printing Encourage more online textbooks or book

sharing Offer more on line courses Adopt sms services

And finally

Install containers for recycling everywhere in the campus; recycling companies will then purchase the used papers