St. Lucie County Expedites Student Record Processes with an Electronic Document Management Solution from Advanced Processing & Imaging

Located in southeastern Florida, St. Lucie County Public Schools comprises 43 locations, including three charter schools. More than 41,000 students are instructed by 3,000 teachers. Among the district’s achievements, Superintendent Michael Lannon was honored as Superintendent of the Year in 2009 by the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations.

 

Challenge: Reducing time and effort to administer 100+ years of student records

Florida law requires that school districts permanently retain the records of students who have graduated, transferred or withdrawn. At St. Lucie County Public Schools, this complex task is handled by the District Student Records Center. A staff of three receives paper records—ranging from a few pages to hundreds—for filing. In the past, to save space and extend lifespan, paper was converted to microfilm after five years, and then to microfiche for ease of reproduction. Records dating back to 1906 were maintained; however, the bulk of the center’s work involved search and retrieval.

 

“We receive an average of 100 requests per day for copies of records,” said David Jasa, ITS Program Manager. “These come from colleges, the courts, government agencies and students themselves. Previously, when a request came in, we had to locate the right microfiche, search for the correct record, and then make a copy and mail it.” If a filing error occurred, the staff member was forced to pull microfilm reels and search through hundreds of records.

 

This painstaking, manual process—for which the center charges only a nominal fee—became even more demanding as enrollment in the district increased by 10 percent annually. Jasa said, “We had been discussing an electronic document management system for a while, but when our microfilm camera broke, we decided it was time to make the move.”

 

The center issued a request for proposal (RFP) for a complete storage, management, retrieval and archiving solution. Requirements included integration with the TERMS mainframe-based student management solution and other IT systems, including a SQL Server database. Other mandates were competitive pricing and an easy-to-use interface.

 

Solution: OptiView ECM for electronic document management

 

After narrowing the submissions and conducting an evaluation, Jasa and his team selected a document imaging solution from Advanced Processing & Imaging (API). The API solution included OptiView® ECM, scanners, implementation and training. The decision was based in part on positive feedback from other districts regarding OptiView’s excellent performance and proven integration with TERMS. Also, the API solution was more cost-effective than the others.

 

API provided extensive assistance throughout the implementation process. “We can’t say enough about how impressive API’s customer service is,” said Lisa Huff, District Records Specialist. Further, in 2009 when the district upgraded to Skyward, a Web-based student management suite, API took only days to confirm integration of this mission-critical application with the OptiView solution.

 

Benefits: Faster turnaround on record requests help students succeed

 

The center is in the first phase of its electronic document management initiative. When paper documents arrive at the center or are printed from microfiche, they are scanned and saved to OptiView. “Our goal is to provide all schools with scanners and access to OptiView so they can convert to electronic format earlier,” said Jasa.

 

OptiView and its integration with Skyward have provided many benefits, beginning with higher productivity. Processing a request for a record takes only minutes, thanks to OptiView’s simple and powerful search capability. With the recipient’s permission, records stored in OptiView or Skyward can be e-mailed, saving the time and cost of mailing.

 

“We can now multi-task from our desks,” said Allison Romero-Michel, a District Records Clerk. “Everything we need to do, including scanning, is available at the click of a button. Our hats are off to OptiView, because we really enjoy coming to work. It provides seamless retrieval of information on a daily basis.” Increased efficiency means existing staff can handle future growth in enrollment, helping the district conserve budget.

 

Even more important, OptiView has cut the time required to answer record requests. Compared to up to 10 days’ turnaround in the past, most records are sent out within three days. Also, with OptiView the center is better prepared to respond immediately to emergency requests.

 

Jasa concluded, “The school district’s mission is to produce productive citizens. As our students move ahead, they need their school records to qualify for advanced training and education. With OptiView, we can provide records quickly and efficiently, helping these young people succeed.”

 

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