As admissions and enrollment season approaches, your school might be searching for ways to boost efficiency and organization. Your administrative team and families may benefit from an online process. Keep reading to learn about virtual admissions and what they can offer your private K-12.
What Is Virtual Admissions?
Private school virtual admissions move the regular application and decision-making process online. Families can fill out and submit forms, essays, and other essential information schools need, while administrative teams assess applications and determine whether students are a good fit. The process itself is the same as physical admissions but occurs entirely online.
Digital admissions processes also provide unique features, such as:
- Reminders: Virtual admissions software can track applicant progress and automatically send reminders to complete forms and steps. Families can better remember what they need to do and meet deadlines with reminders that apply to their progress.
- Auto-fill: Families must fill out many forms and documents for various school departments and clearances. Virtual options offer auto-fill for information already submitted, simplifying the application process.
- Integrated payment platforms: Virtual admissions solutions can provide a secure, one-stop shop where families can submit fees and payments with their applications. Integration capabilities let you pair it with other solutions for increased functionality.
Virtual admissions are a unique feature that can set your school apart from your competition and better serve your potential students and families. When you want to build positive relationships with your student body, start with one of their first interactions.
Why Are Schools Shifting to Virtual Admissions?
The higher functionality is one of the many reasons private schools are switching to virtual admissions over physical ones. You can get more done with fewer tools. Virtual admissions software solutions have a centralized configuration, where everything is in one place, and users can access everything through that portal. This system helps schools and families stay organized, reducing the risk of lost data or forms that can slow down the application process.
Virtual solutions are becoming more commonplace because of their increased efficiency and simplicity. People have become accustomed to immediacy, from overnight delivery to one-click payments. Quicker actions help them receive results sooner, so people can make faster decisions. Online admissions can help increase completion speed, with auto-fill entering information quickly and automatic submissions completing processes immediately. Your interested families and students can spend less time on applications without increasing function complexity.
As digital solutions become more standard, schools need them to stay relevant. With the best technology, you can better maintain the interest and patience of families and students. When technology advances, you will be able to adapt better to changes and new solutions.
5 Benefits of Utilizing Virtual Admissions Software
When considering switching to a virtual admissions process, understanding the benefits can help you decide if this system suits your school. These five advantages outline what you and your families can receive when using virtual admissions software.
1. Increases Submission Flexibility
Virtual admissions software solutions are cloud-based platforms, allowing all involved parties to access portals and applications anytime and anywhere they have internet access. Your families can complete forms and submit applications on their schedules and from any location, helping families moving from other areas or frequent travelers.
Your staff can also benefit from increased flexibility. Rolling submissions mean you can work as you receive documents. You can customize your staffing arrangement to meet your needs, enabling more remote and hybrid possibilities as team members can access information from home.
2. Boosts Communication
The reminders that come with digital admissions solutions help increase communication efforts with families. Instead of sending out general reminders to everyone completing an application, the system will only pass along relevant information triggered by the user’s progress. As intelligent software, it also tracks activity, urging them to continue progress after long periods logged out. Families can adjust alert settings and modify how and how often they receive messages.
Additionally, your administrative team receives notifications every time your families submit something, from individual forms to entire applications. These alerts allow you to react sooner to submitted information for quicker judgments. You can proactively point out missing data based on your alerts, preventing disputes and frustration with families. It can help your team understand family progress for better insight into admissions.
3. Reduces Office Waste
Your admissions team can become completely paperless when using virtual admissions software. Paperless approaches offer several benefits. You can boost office organization by eliminating the need for filing systems and cabinets. Instead, the system stores and organizes everything for you in its centralized platform. Everything will always be where it needs to be as the platform reduces the chance of manual filing errors.
Virtual admissions solutions help your school improve its sustainability efforts. You’ll waste less paper, helping contribute to your carbon footprint. This system works great for schools trying to reduce their environmental impact or those who want to reach families that value sustainability from organizations. You can assure students and families that you are doing your part to support our planet.
4. Integrates School Branding
Your school works hard to maintain its image and branding standards. You cultivated a specific brand with your logo, font, and school colors, hoping to relay your values to interested students and families. During the admissions process, you can use branded content to encourage them to join your school community.
Virtual admissions software lets you customize interfaces and documents with your branding standards. You can add the visual markers that set you apart from other schools. These personalized touches show families and students your attention to detail, giving them an idea of what it will be like to learn and study with you.
5. Improves User Experience
Admissions and school applications can be very time consuming and frustrating for families and students. They have to enter large amounts of personal and academic information in hopes of joining your school community. Organizing forms and tracking documents can be challenging as families try to manage everything they need to do and meet deadlines.
Software developers design virtual admissions software to enhance user experience. Included features optimize efficiency and organization, making them easier to use and manage than physical processes. Auto-fill is an excellent example of how these digital solutions help reduce the strain and effort on families completing applications. They can also help manage multiple student applications, increasing organization and clarity for families. Many integrate with other software, including tuition and payment solutions, for increased simplicity and understanding.
When you implement software that is easy to use and efficient, your families can develop a positive relationship with your school. Your admissions process is one of their earliest interactions with your school and gives them an idea of what working and learning with you will be like. A solution that works for its users will assure them you are the right choice and leave them looking forward to starting the school year with you.
Streamline Your Virtual Admissions Process With TADS
When looking for private school admissions software, the right provider can make all the difference. TADS designs school management software for private K-12s like yours, so we understand your needs and goals. Our admissions and enrollment solution helps increase efficiency and organization for you and your students for a smoother admissions process.
Request a demo from TADS today and discover how a virtual admissions solution can transform your private school.