student management system

Top 6 benefits of student management system

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The first significant advantage of a student management system is that as a school you are able to keep proper track of data related to students. This includes areas such as fees being paid by students, examination records of the students, transport facilities being provided by the school and availed by the students, and usage of libraries and other school facilities by the students. As a school, you can access all this data and more by using a unique identification number that you have provided to a student. In fact, apart from management people like you, students can use these systems in order to keep track of their dues as well as class schedules.

With the help of this system no longer would your admin guys need to type in all the data of the students as well as others in the school on excel sheets for long hours! It can all now be organized in a format that happens to be simple and accessible to one and all. This also means that you would be able to access data within a few seconds, something that would not have been possible without such a system in place.

Better performance by the students

When you have a good student information system in the school it helps the students perform to their fullest potential. You may be wondering how! Well, the answer is simple. Such a system lets the students focus solely on their primary responsibility in life – studying. No longer do they need to come to you – the management or the administration of the school – for their records or any other thing that may bother them. This means they have all the time that they need in order to work on areas where work needs to be done.

This, in turn, helps them achieve them a lot more than what would have happened otherwise.

Simplifying and streamlining all the tasks

In most of the cases, a student tracking system comes equipped with dashboards, which makes it easier for you to track what work has already been done and by whom, and what work needs to be done and by whom. The best part of all this is that you get all the necessary information on a single screen, which helps you get the best possible view.

These systems also work in such an intuitive way that all your important work is properly highlighted. This improves your productivity much better than what you could have imagined. This also means that you are able to grow as an organization with very little effort.

Better communication

It is unrealistic to assume that every student would have the similar interaction level in a classroom. No matter how friendly the atmosphere in your school is there would always be some students who would hold back for some reason or the other. This is where a student online system can come in so handy by helping up the doors of communication between one and all.

There are so many reasons as to why a student might feel hesitant to ask those questions in a class. One of them could be because there is not enough time in the class. They may also be apprehensive because they fear that their classmates may make fun of them. The beauty of the school management systems these days is that you have discussion panels built into the software itself. It is on platforms such as these that the students can ask as many questions as they want to and clear all the doubts that they have.

Quite often these systems have alumni tabs as well, where the students can stay in touch with their seniors who have left the school and get valuable help from them in educational matters. These people are ones who have already been there and done that, and as such their experience – both of the school as well as of the world outside – can prove to be of major help for these students.

Easy access to all

One of the major benefits of the school management systems these days is that they can be accessed by one and all and that too with a great degree of convenience!

Apart from students and members of the management these systems can also be accessed by people such as teachers and parents. In fact, all the members of staff in your school can access these systems as well. With the help of these systems, teachers will be able to manage their classes a lot better than what they may have done otherwise. They will also be able to track the attendance of the students as well as the assignments they have provided to them. In fact, they can keep track of any other task that they may have allotted to the students as well.

These systems are beneficial for the parents as well as they are able to keep track of all that their children are doing in the school. Once again, this is possible because these systems provide all the critical information on a single platform. The bottom line is that with the help of these systems you would be in a far better position to organize the goings on in your school and at the same time you would also be able to pay attention to where it is due.

Managing the timetables

As has been said already, with the help of a school management system you are in a much better position when it comes to operational aspects of your existence as an educational institution. One of them is managing the timetables of your school. Normally, if you asked your admin team it would tell you for sure that this is one job that takes up a lot of its time that could have been better devoted to other more fruitful activities. When you have the timetable management feature of this software you are able to schedule classes and other work automatically, without any problem whatsoever.

The entire work can be done in an interactive way and this is the best thing about it all. It would not even matter if a few of your employees happen to be absent because these systems are capable of coping with such issues even on an emergency basis. Such a system can make managing substitutions a lot easier than what would have happened without it.

Complete tracking of the students

One of the major benefits of these systems is that you are able to track each and everything being done by your students. This includes performance in areas such as sports and other extracurricular activities. In this day and age, where there is such great emphasis on helping students realize their true potential in life instead of toting out clones, this is a great feature to have.

Advantages with related to operations

When you have high quality and updated software such as these it is easier as a school to reduce your expenses and increase your efficiency at the same time. There are so many benefits of being able to maintain various services at really low cost, reducing the number of people employed to manage the school, automating the entire operation of the school, etc. This means that as an educational institution you get a lot of freedom.

You can use such freedom to focus on the tasks that are a lot more important for your growth and continued existence in the days ahead. In fact, these systems are ideal for schools that have several campuses. It allows them to manage the different campuses at a fraction of the cost of what they would have had to pay otherwise. With the help of these systems, students are also able to keep track of things such as attendance of teachers as well as other employees of the school. The thing with these systems is that they can generate history on a monthly basis.

Thanks to such a helpful feature it becomes easier for one and all to figure out how many leaves they have taken in a certain period. So such a system would benefit you as well. The best part of these systems is that you would be able to access them from the school’s intranet as well as any other publicly used internet. These systems can also help with other important work such as online registration, following up on various tasks, and admission. Apart from that, you can customize them according to your needs or preferences as well.

 

school ERP software

Do You Need School ERP Software?

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The Definitive Advantages & Disadvantages of School ERP Software

We live in a world where technology is now omnipresent – it has entirely changed the way we live, for the better. The field of education is no exception. We see new ways of using technology every day to deliver education in increasingly personalized ways. Those who were in classrooms not too long ago will be befuddled to see the technologies and platforms young scholars and their educators are increasingly familiar with today.

But it isn’t just students and teachers who have had their experiences changed by education technology, but also the non-education staff. The management of educational institutions has been made possible by different types of school ERP software, like Fedena, hitting the market. The
implementation of this school ERP software has been revolutionizing institutional management in a variety of ways, helping institutions improve operations which has a trickle-down effect to easing the imparting of education to young minds.

ERP software is not a new concept. ERPs were being used extensively in major corporations across some of the biggest industries to ease management processes. With the development of technology and widespread demand for computing concepts, the use for technological
solutions has increased for tedious, time-consuming or labor-intensive processed – it is no different for the field of education. It is to answer this demand that the school ERP software was created.

ERPs over traditional system of management

But what gives school ERP software the edge over traditional methods of management? At the very outset, better time management and increased efficiency place the software ahead of most traditional methods. For instance, managing funds in an institution and tracking them into a report when done manually is time and labor intensive and prone to error. With school ERP software like Fedena, however, specialists can help you set up a personalized system that will suit your school’s individual requirements, while also performing masterfully at scale.
Fedena can also manage other school ERP software functions like inventory, HR, finance and other services that are complex in nature. Implementation of the right school ERP software can ensure an institution function at its maximum potential.

School ERP software – The Fedena Advantage

School ERP software has a lot to offer. Here are some of the benefits you could experience when you begin your free 15-day trial of Fedena:

Cost effective:

Perhaps the most prominent advantage of using school ERP software in
education is the financial factor. Basic campus management requires a lot of manpower to manage things like fee collection, the grueling admission process, etc. When this management is done online, a lot is saved on the finance sector which can be used for other useful purposes. Saving on man hours literally means saving on costs!

Better organization of data:

School ERP software enables you to organize your data the way you want. School ERP software gives you a lot of ways to organize your institution’s
data and let you manage it more effectively. Data is managed well and available with a single click of a mouse with Fedena.

Data is secured:

Data or information stored on web servers are far more secure than that stored physically on shelves. The data stored in your school ERP software is backed up on servers, and your information is preserved. This is the distinct Fedena advantage over dusty shelves and piles of folders handed down from generation to generation.

More automated administration:

Before school ERP software came into play, the administration was implemented only by using immense manpower, with all its possible shortcomings. From human error to a lack of accountability, this outmoded way of managing processes was a burden on educational institutions. With school ERP software, however, these flaws disappear. Fedena makes managing important administration processes like fee collection, library books, admission list a breeze, largely unaffected by unreliable manpower.

A quicker management process:

Education school ERP software quickens the entire process of institutional management to a great extent. All you need to do is wait for the implementation of the school ERP software and you are set for a management experience like never before. Be it the admission process of an entirely new batch of students or generating customized reports on a particular batch – school ERP software like Fedena gets it done in minutes.

More focus on education:

Teachers whose time was dominated by tedious attendance calls in class or filling up the mark sheet after every exam can now focus on the task
they are truly here for – teaching!

Any teacher will tell you that a solid foundation leads to superlative results. Things are no different when it comes to your school ERP software. Make sure to check off the 5 simple steps to successfully maximizing your use of the Fedena school ERP software.

The limitations of school ERP software

The primary reason we experience failure of school ERP software use due to an error in choice or set up. Robust yet user-friendly school ERP software like Fedena is hard to come by. Making an uninformed choice can result in poor experiences. What are the others?

  • One failure of school ERP software in education can be measured in terms of
    achievement of Return on Investment (ROI). When the school ERP software
    implementation doesn’t yield enough ROI, it can seen as a failure.
  • The cost of school ERP software, its planning, customization, configuration, and implementation might be overwhelming for financially challenged schools. While school ERP software is a long term investment, schools suffering from short term funding crunches might have to wait to capitalise on this technology.
  • Unlike user-friendly Fedena, most school ERP software is difficult to learn and use. With complicated user interface that requires thorough user training, it requires complete participation of users.

Let’s assume you have purchased the right school ERP software for you – but it’s still not working out. Do these experiences seem familiar to you? 

Ineffective use of school ERP software can be avoided! The time has come for all educational institutions to get smarter. Re-organize the management systems of your institutions to match the evolving technology in every aspect
of life.

school management software

Parents involvement in education using school management software

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Education begins at home. You can’t blame the school for not putting into your child what you don’t put into him. -Geoffrey Holder

Parents assistance in learning activities at home has always been the critical factor for a  child’s education. The proper and effective communication between parents and educational institution leads to improved learning outcomes from the student’s. Parents are considered as a  first teacher and mentor of their children. Research shows that consistent parent’s engagement in their child school life boosts their child performance, learning, achievement, behavior and much more.

As a result, children whose parents stay involved are more likely to have higher self-esteem, discipline and have more self-motivation and tend to achieve better grades, regardless of their ethnic, social or racial backgrounds.

It is anticipated that the  parental involvement in child’s education might lead to  

  • Achievement of Higher marks and grades.
  • Participation in non-academic programs which may help in student personality development.
  • Lower degree of drop-out rates
  • A better understanding of the purpose of learning and its relevance in future.
  • Achieving social and interpersonal skills
  • Stress-free learning.
  • Engaged personal competence and efficacy for learning
  • Greater engagement in creative programmes.

The continuous communication and involvement of parent with the educational institution will surely accelerate the pace of student educational development. Having understood the relevance of this, we have incorporated some of the important features in our school management software Fedena, where the parents can get duly engaged about the child’s performance in school.

Once the parent logs into school management software, they can have access to all the data mentioned below:

Student profile

  • View an academic report of the child.
  • View personal details of child
  • View his own personal details
  • View fee dues and refunds
  • View classes the child has for the day
  • View any remarks provided by the teacher
  • View registration documents

Academics

  • View academic timetable
  • View examination report
  • View attendance reports

Calendar

  • View library dues
  • View fees dues
  • View holidays and events
  • View  examinations

Communication

  • View institution news
  • Fill and provide feedback through form’s
  • Access apps that parent have access to.
  • View and reply the messages initiated by the institute.

Discipline

  • View any discipline matters the child may be involved in.

Yet again the mobile app of Fedena has made things even easier for the parents, by letting them have access to the information via a dedicated school app.

school management system

The Role of a School Management System in K-12 Education

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Every student benefits from the right school management system

Education has been imparted for generations now. From the time of Plato in ancient Greece passing down his teachings to a select group of scholars worthy of such knowledge to the more equitable access to education we aim for today, education continues to grow and change to be more inclusive in order to improve lives.

There have been many milestones in the growth of education. We have moved from an oral tradition to textbooks and from teaching being the privilege of certain communities to seeing it as a tool of social mobilization. But one of the key milestones in the history of education has been the introduction of modern technology to the field.

The introduction of technology has revolutionized education and that has given birth to new modes of education. One of these new methods is the way change in how education is imparted for students from kindergarten to 12th grade or standard. Commonly known as K-12 education, this is an educational concept that is widely gaining in popularity in countries like United States of America, Canada, and India as well, amongst other countries. This kind of educational system is different from the conventional method of teaching and involves an increased focus on communication between teachers and their students in comparison to conventional methodologies. Read on and find out more on the K-12 education system and its presence in India.

The K-12 education is the term used to denote the education imparted in the primary and secondary phases of school life, including K or kindergarten to 12 which stands for the 12th standard or grade. As the name denotes, this particular system covers the education from kindergarten till the 12th standard or grade. This education methodology is slowly gaining increasing importance in India, with the government introducing new educational schemes like free compulsory primary education throughout the country.

K-12 education system includes a higher degree of focus on a teacher to student interactions, with the teacher encouraging question-answer sessions, assignments that would promote interesting learning habits in students, and overall increased engagement in learning from the student. It is not enough to depend on rote learning in such a system.

Another key characteristic of the K-12 education system is the focus on Individual attention. As expected, this method of teaching is highly beneficial to students as it lets them develop at their own pace. Learning to learn and having a deeper understanding of their own capabilities is another happy outcome to this educational methodology. The role of the teacher here to be a
guiding star in the student’s success.

Another main characteristic that sets this system apart from its conventional counterpart is how students are encouraged to think independently. How is this done? Instead of a typical classroom task involving students preparing and submitting assignments, they are also encouraged to add value to their task by sharing their personal views and ideas on the subject at hand. This teaches students to think more deeply about the classroom readings, seek extra resources, and consider how the subject they are learning about is of use to them in their life. It contextualizes learning leading to deeper absorption of new material and better recall.

A secondary outcome of this point is the natural reliance on peer learning. Studies show us that students who are encouraged to question learning material and share their perspectives tend to also participate in various group discussions via clubs and forums, where they exchange ideas and views with their peers. A healthy debate leads to robust arguments forming an approach to thinking that relies on highly dexterous mental agility – an outcome that cannot be taught directly but must be learned early on in life.

The introduction and rising popularity of the K-12 education system in India itself stands witness to the reformed education system in the country. The mode of teaching, as well as the content and resources, have changed to a great extent to facilitate more involvement of students. Schools nowadays, invest a good amount to create the best infrastructures for their students. Students, on their part, must grab the best of these facilities and available resources offered for the optimum learning. This kind of platform is what the K-12 education system promotes and this is what more and more schools in India are adopting to.

A key kind of investment is the increased reliance on school management systems. All the features described above are facilitated by a robust school management system like Fedena.

Don’t believe us – try it out for yourself for the next two weeks and experience the difference it makes in your classroom.

Still not convinced?

Read on to find out how the Fedena school management system can make the K-12 education methodology a natural fit for your school:

With its in-built messaging and communication system, the Fedena school management system allows teachers to solidify the teacher-student communication aspect of the K-12 education system. Instant, easy, private and personalized attention means a better relationship between these two stakeholders.

This school management system can also help with helping students learn better. Fedena allows teachers to make dynamic classroom material – from texts to videos, to news items – easily accessible from one single window. This means better research and increased curiosity on the part of the students.

Finally, peer discussions are made easier with a school management system. Fedena, for instance, allows groups to created focused on the subject matter of interest for classrooms big and small, for them to monitored by teachers, and for students to communicate with each other without the restrictions of time, physical presence, or geography.

Ultimately, the right school management system helps eliminates barriers to receiving an education, no matter what your concerns. Time to go limitless yet?

If creating individuals is what the main aim of the present day education system is all about, then the K-12 must be adopted. Increased teacher-student harmony and more self-reliant, independent individuals who can create a difference, not just for the school, but for society is what this new educational revolution offers.

Fedena 3.6.2

New features in your school management software: Fedena 3.6.2

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It has been just over a month into the new year and we are excited to give you the first release of 2018. Over these years, with each release of Fedena, we have loved to hear from you what works and what does not work for your institution. With this release, we are bringing to you two such features you asked us – a new and refreshed Gallery plugin and a Tax module on Fees – as well as bringing back two features that were deprecated from Applicant Registration last year.

Fedena 3.6.2, codenamed Callisto after the second largest moon of Jupiter is dedicated to Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, an Indian philosopher, and statesman who was also the first vice-president and second president of India. Dr. Radhakrishnan’s birthday which falls on September 5th is celebrated as teacher’s day in India since 1962. He was born in Tiruttani, a small temple town in Tamil Nadu. He was awarded scholarships throughout his academic life and went on to study at the prestigious Madras Christian College at the age of 17 and graduating from there in 1906 with a masters in philosophy. Unlike many of the early politicians in independent India, Dr. Radhakrishnan had a long academic career before assuming a public office. After graduation, he served in various capacities at the Madras Christian College, Mysore College, University of Calcutta, Harvard University, Harris Manchester College, Oxford among others. His term in the League of Nations, UNESCO, Constituent Assembly was well appreciated. He was elected as the first vice-president of independent India in 1952 and became the second president from 1962-67. A true statesman, he helped spread the idea of a fledgling democracy among the other countries with his knowledge and understanding.

Fedena 3.6.2 comes with many new features and enhancements to existing features. Here is a quick primer on the changes:

Tax Module

The all new tax module allows institutions to enable tax on all types of fee transactions – general fees, instant fees, transport and hostel fees. This module can be used for VAT or other similar tax systems. To collect tax on fees, enable it from the settings page in Finance section. Add the various applicable tax slabs and enter details such as Tax Identification Number. Tax is applied on fee particulars for general and instant fees and applied on fee collections for transport and hostel fees. The applicable tax slab is selected before the collection is scheduled and recorded in the various fee reports when the fee is actually collected from the student. Tax reports show the total amount of tax collected under each slab.

Invoice

Invoicing is now available as a setting in Fedena. When enabled, all scheduled fee collections will have an invoice number based on a set starting sequence. Fee receipts will also show the invoice number against which the payment was done. Invoice is available for all pre-scheduled fees like general fees, hostel fees, and transport fees. It does not apply to instant fees.

User Blocking

Users can be blocked from accessing the application for reasons like non-payment of dues with one click. The page has been redesigned to improve the search experience.

Gallery

The new gallery plugin has a modern and refreshed UI along with new features and updates. Photo sharing now is moved to the albums instead of individual photos for faster sharing. Public albums can be used to share the album across all users. Other updates include adding multiple photos at once, album delete etc. Try out the all-new gallery plugin that is coming soon to Fedena Mobile app also.

What is enhanced in Fedena

Applicant Registration

Two features which were deprecated – Subject-based registration and PIN-based registration are reintroduced in this version. Other new features include an ability to contact an applicant via SMS and Email, detailed CSV report of applicant data, printable application form, fee receipts and fee assign during allocation to a batch.

Gradebook

A new formula to connect exams – Average of best ‘n’ – along with many fixes to enhance the ever improving new module in Fedena. Coming up next – end of year report cards.

Read more in the Release Notes. Liked our features? What would you like us to improve next? Gives us your feedback, we love to hear them.

Fedena 3.6.2

Callisto: Fedena 3.6.2 Release Notes

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New and enhanced features in the latest release of Fedena 3.6.2

What’s new in Fedena 3.6.2

 

Here is the list of new features included with this release of Fedena 3.6.2

Feature Description User Role Module
Tax Module The all-new tax module allows institutions to enable tax on all types of fee transactions – general fees, instant fees, transport and hostel fees. This module can be used for VAT or other similar tax systems.

To collect tax on fees, enable it from the settings page in Finance section. Add the various applicable tax slabs and enter details such as Tax Identification Number. Tax is applied on fee particulars for general and instant fees and applied on fee collections for transport and hostel fees.

The applicable tax slab is selected before the collection is scheduled and recorded in the various fee reports when the fee is actually collected from the student. Tax reports show the total amount of tax collected under each slab.

 Administrator, Privileged Employee Finance, Hostel, Transport
Invoice Invoicing is now available as a setting in Fedena. When enabled, all scheduled fee collections will have an invoice number based on a set starting sequence. Fee receipts will also show the invoice number against which the payment was done. Invoice is available for all pre-scheduled fees like general fees, hostel fees, and transport fees. It does not apply to instant fees. Administrator, Privileged Employee Finance, Hostel, Transport
Gallery New interface: The new gallery module has a modern and refreshed  UI with a host of new features. Photo category is renamed to Album.

New features: Photo sharing is now moved to albums. Therefore, each photo now cannot be shared individually with different audiences. Multiple photos can be added to the albums at once. Sharing is now easier than before with two modes – Public and Private. Public albums are shared with all active users in the institution whereas Private albums are shared with only selected users. Albums can be easily made accessible or hidden by the publish and unpublish actions.

*Note: Photos shared before the update remain shared with the same audience and will be available under ‘Archived Albums’.

 Administrator, Privileged Employee Gallery
User Blocking Users can be now blocked from accessing the application for reasons like non-payment of fees with just one click. The page has been redesigned to improve the search experience. Administrator, Privileged  Employee User Management

What’s enhanced in Fedena 3.6.2

Here is the list of enhanced features included with this release of Fedena 3.6.2

Feature Description User Role Module
Applicant Registration Subject-based registration: This feature is reintroduced into the module after making it compatible with the new Applicant Registration module. It allows registering for selected subjects while applying for a course. Fees can be configured subject wise so that the applicant pays for the selected subjects only.

PIN-based registration: This is also a feature that is reintroduced in applicant registration. It allows institutions to enable a PIN or Pass Code for applicants to enter when they fill up a form. The PIN is generated in Fedena and can be physically given to the applicants and used as a means to allow genuine applications.

Contact Applicants: This new feature allows institutions to contact the applicant(s) via SMS or Email to intimate them about the next steps or any changes in their application process

Detailed CSV Report: Now reports of applicants can be exported with all form details as CSV. Useful to get data on the type of applicants for the year and take decisions based on that.

Print Form and Print Receipt: The application form can now be printed from the settings page for each course. This is useful when giving a physical form for applicants to fill up. After an application is paid, fee receipts can be downloaded and printed from the application form page.

Fee Assign: During allocation to a batch, the applicable fee collections for the applicant can be now allocated using Fee Assign.

Administrator, Privileged  Employee Applicant Registration
Gradebook New formula – Average of Best ‘n’ – has been added. This formula allows institutions to calculate the average from the best ‘n’ exams conducted.  This is in addition to issue fixes and overall optimizations in the new Gradebook module. Administrator, Privileged Employee Gradebook
Caching for Settings Caching mechanism added for settings, privileges and available list of plugins for an institution. This will lead to improved performance in Fedena. – –

Issues Fixed

Here is the list of issues fixed in this release of Fedena 3.6.2

Applicant Registration

  • Fixed an issue with receipt number generation if fees paid online using the new single receipt payment mode

Attendance

  • Cancelled classes count is not deducted from overall attendance report when subject wise attendance is enabled
  • Fixed an issue with the order of absence marked in attendance report to date wise descending

Custom Report

  • Issue with additional fields starting with numbers not showing in student custom report fixed

Finance

  • Fixed a 500 error in pay all fees page when hostel or transport plugins not enabled
  • Incorrect fee due amount issue in pay all fees page fixed
  • Amount in words format incorrectly when fee collection amount is less than 100

Inventory

  • Issue with invoice being marked as paid even when finance transaction failed fixed

Student

  • Fixed the issue of allowing student category delete even when students were assigned to it.
school erp software

Reasons why school ERP software implementation fails

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Quite often we see that ERP (enterprise resource planning) fails in schools and colleges. Now, the question that comes up in this regard is why it happens. There are plenty of instances where we have seen the same school ERP software performing brilliantly in one educational institution and not doing so well in another.

What can be the reasons in this case? Let us try and find out.

The lack of clarity with regards to objectives

In most cases where institutions fail to implement ERP properly, it is seen that they do not have any proper goal behind its usage. When as an educational institution you do not have a sure and clear definition of what you expect by way of success then you should not expect to be successful at all.

It is very important that you have a clear idea of the problems that you are looking to target by implementing the software in question. You should know the financial benefits that you expect from the same. If you do not have all these goals set out clearly you can only expect the results to be vague. This is the reason why you need to be really clear about these things at the very first stage of implementing the ERP itself.

You should not be suffering from any dilemma regarding whether your institution needs the ERP software or not. This should be solved even before you have bought the product itself, let alone implementing it. It is also very important that you have a clear idea of the time within which you wish to see results. If you do not have a proper target on hand the end aim just becomes a moving one and that is not really a great thing necessarily.

Not training the users properly enough

If you wish your ERP implementation to be successful you need to train the guys that are going to handle all the processes properly enough. There can be no two ways about that one for sure. This is even more applicable in cases where you have people who have not handled a whole lot of technology in their lives.

Normally, when you implement these things in a short span of time such gaps in training are created. You should take sufficient time in training your staff as far as handling school ERP software is concerned. You need to understand the simple fact that no matter what ERP system you use it is always going to automate most, if not all, of the work that you do and this, is going to have a significant effect on the departments as well. You need to understand that you cannot provide the same training to all the people out there.

The training needs to be tailored according to the department, which is receiving the training. The amount of time devoted to it should also be adequate and if possible you should include all the people in your school. If your end users do not know how to use the system then it will never be implemented in an optimal way.

Treating it as a cost and not an investment

Quite often schools treat ERP system as a cost instead of thinking it as the worthy investment that it truly is. In most cases, schools do not realize the simple fact the ERP software that they are implementing now would yield rich dividends down the line. It will only accrue them profits. Instead of that, they look to minimize their costs and for that, they look for the lowest quotes on offer. This way, they end up choosing a service provider who is not always up to the scratch and their ERP implementation fails as a result.

Managing the changes

In some cases, schools fail to implement ERP software properly for the simple reason that they are not able to manage the changes that happen because of it. Whenever a new system is implemented in a school, there are always going to be some changes or the other. The intelligent thing to do in this regard would be to adapt to the changes but that does not happen always. In most of the cases, people are busy finding faults with the new system and stating how much better the older system was.

As a school, you have decided to upgrade the system and as such, it is very important to hold up your end of the bargain. You need to adapt yourself so that you can get the optimal result that you are looking for.

Managing the project poorly

As a school, you would also fail to implement school ERP system properly if you are unable to manage the overall project the way it needs to be done. It is true that this is always easier said than done but still this is something that needs to be done in order for the ERP implementation to be a successful one.

It is for this purpose that you need a proper leader as well as team manager who will look after the entire process of implementation as such. She or he could work on important areas such as determining the schedule of implementation as well as making sure that proper communication takes place between all the people concerned.

Lack of accurate data

When as a school you are trying to implement an educational software in your institution it is important that you have proper data to back it up.

If the new ERP system is implemented in your school is not fed the right sort of information then it would never really be a credible enough solution for the end users of the same.

Glossing over technical issues

There are so many problems that a school ERP system could face as far as implementation is concerned. There could be issues with the hardware; the interface could have problems with the ways and processes that are being employed in order to manage the school in question; in fact, the software could be bugged as well.

No matter what it is, these issues can always put paid to your aim of implementing a school ERP system properly enough. As a school, you would only be overlooking them at your peril.

Some other reasons for failure

Quite often ERP implementation fails for the simple reason that it is being done in the first place. In cases such as these the schools themselves are in a fix as to whether they need to implement such a system or not. Schools become unhappy with the way their systems are working and this includes problems in areas such as reporting, efficiency, and integration to name a few. They are absolutely convinced that the problem lies with the software that they are using for operational purposes.

They then try and implement an ERP system that costly and too risky and big given the scale that they are operating in. Maybe, all they need is a simple tune-up of the system that they are using to run their operations. The problem is that the schools do not realize that. At times, they might be better off with a few add-ons here and there but they just want to overhaul their systems and radically so. It may be that they just need to improve the reporting system or change the employee portal.

The best thing about these small changes, apart from the fact that they solve your problems, is that they can be done at very little cost, which is such a crucial factor for the smaller schools that are more often than not struggling from a financial point of view. At times, the problem could also be solved by just re-implementing the same system rather than using a new system from the scratch.

Here we have a guide for you which shows that how can you choose the right school ERP software for your institution.

Conclusion

You need to keep in mind a simple thing – implementing ERP can be a major challenge. It is something that takes a long time to be implemented properly and hence you need to be extremely patient in the way that you go about it. It is very important that the steps you take in order to implement the system are carried out in the right way. If you are able to do the entire thing in a timely manner, including dealing with the issues, then there is no reason why ERP cannot be implemented successfully.

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Union budget 2018 and it’s impact on education sector

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“Govt to increase digital intensity in education. Technology to be the biggest driver in improving quality of education: said by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley”

Introduction of Indian Union budget 2018 in India education sector

Education is the backbone of every country. It is a key through which a country’s economic condition can be reformed and individual citizens attain the power to grow financially. It helps in forming a democratic and harmonious nation. In India, the reach of education has improved a lot, but when it comes to the quality of education, India is still lagging behind compared to other developed nations. This is why in 2018’s Indian Union Budget, the government focused to boost the education sector to the next level.

We all know that India’s 2018 financial budget is out. This time government has taken big steps to improve the quality of education and to revitalize the institutional infrastructure. The purpose of this new budget is to amend the standard of education using the latest technology in the education sector. It has been observed that even with a widespread outreach of education, it is the quality which is lacking and thereby impacting the economic growth. Therefore for better economic growth, a better quality education is a prerequisite, which would eventually boost the productivity and success of the nation.

Initiative was taken by government to improve the quality of education in India

To benefit the youth of our nation and education sector, the government has taken various initiatives in the education sector. Let’s have a look at these:

  • The government has proposed to launch “RISE (Revitalising Infrastructure & System in Education” program which is planned to be accomplished by 2022. The main aim of this demarche is to revamp the institute infrastructure, opening the schools for the tribal children, and teacher’s skill development program for an opportunity for a higher quality of education.
  • To upgrade the teaching skills, the government would soon be launching the learning portal “DIKSHA” and will initiate the integrated B.Ed programme, which is a combination of degree in art, science and education courses. The government has made these programmes mandatory for every individual, as the teachers are the primary source of education for the children. So it is very crucial for them to be properly trained with their skills updated and honed to suit the upcoming technological advancements.
  • To push the best minds in the education industry, the government has announced the “Prime Minister Research Fellows (PMRF)” programme. Top 1000 BTech students from premier institutes get an opportunity to complete the higher education from IITs and IISc institutions, along with which they will receive handsome fellowships. This is a chance for the youth generation to be inspired for joining the teaching profession, which would eventually improve the quality of education.

How Foradian can help in improving the education structure

The new budget has revealed that with the implementation of better technology the government is ready for a big change in the education sector. Likewise, Foradian is also focusing on turning every school into a smart school. This’ll help teachers focus on delivering the best education to the students instead of wasting their time on unproductive tasks such as taking attendance, timetable management, assignment collection, progress report management and many more.

To achieve such goals Foradian has two smart and robust software for institutions named as Fedena (school management software) and Uzity (learning management system).

Fedena is a school management software which helps in automating and revitalizing the institution’s daily operations. Using Fedena in institutions all administrative and academic activities can be managed efficiently. As we know, the Finance Minister has proposed every institution to have a better infrastructure, which not only means the institution is well structured (with updated DR norms), but also to manage the institution’s daily workings. The schools must have updated technology in their organizational system.

Therefore we are continuously enhancing our product for the institutions to make them experience the best there is to offer, which would also meet all the needs of the daily trivialities to be observed. Along with it, we launched a Fedena Demo Mobile App so the institution’s stakeholders can operate the software according to their convenience. Using the app you can connect with anyone from anywhere at anytime. Students can get instant notifications such as exam alerts, event, fee dues, attendance details and much more. This saves the time of students and teachers so they can focus on their subjects.

Soon Fedena 3.6.2 is going to be released which comprises of all the new Tax calculations, gradebook features, and several other key feature enhancements.

Uzity a learning management system was designed to move the learning from a blackboard to a digital board. Uzity is a platform using which teachers can teach their students from anywhere at anytime. It has been analyzed that students find traditional teaching method boring and impractical. Imbibing the concepts without practically understanding them not only mitigates the quality of education but also gives a rise to an incompetent generation. But using e-learning platform in your institution system, the learning can be transformed into an interesting and interactive studying experience.

Uzity’s amazing features allow you to add teaching materials such as in the form of videos, audios, presentation, which waxes the interest of the students and motivates them to focus on their studies. Teachers can navigate the progress of their students for each course and also assess using either assignments or online quizzes. Its in-app messaging feature always keeps the students up-to-date even if they are farther away.

Quality education and usage of better technology in the education sector is a step further towards a better nation.

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Should school management software be institutionalized?

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Why we need government support for School Management Software

School management software is becoming an increasingly ubiquitous piece of technology for modern institutions in India and beyond. But when we take a look at education policy in the country applications of education technology are disappointingly limited. Critics may argue that this is because India, as a
country, is still focused on resolving some first level issues that continue to plague. What room is there to even consider education technology when there are teachers struggling to accrue enough textbooks for all the children in their classroom?

Is a smart whiteboard really something to desire when so many classrooms across the country do not even have access to chalk and a slate?

But school management software can often be a stop-gap solution or the comprehensive answer to a lot of these problems. It just needs initial investment and consistent institutional support from our powers that be – the government. We have seen some examples of this already – outcomes from the Kerala government implementing the Fedena school management software across all government schools in the state have been overwhelmingly positive. These targets could not have been achieved with the wide reach of governmental support.

At Fedena, we believe this model could be replicated across the country to the advantage of every stakeholder in the educational ecosystem. We have spoken about the many benefits school management systems bring these stakeholders, but what can a behemoth body like the government gain from a piece of educational technology?

Here are a few we can think off right away:

Better across the board accountability

We saw this happen in Kerala – once all schools under the State Government’s aegis were on the same platform, the playing field was further leveled. How so? We had a unified system to function on – schools communicated with each other and their managing bodies through the same channels leading to open conversations, the review metrics for all schools were consistent leading to more honest evaluations, smaller or weaker schools didn’t just fall through the cracks, and finally, students and parents themselves experienced a comforting level of consistency when changes or transitions took place. All these ultimately resulted in high levels of accountability and transparency helping us move towards a collective goal of better education for students.

Reaching new scholars

One of our biggest challenges in India has been reaching universal or near-universal education. While the privileged are offered choices in the kind of education they wish to receive, those who are not are often not even given a standard option.Existing schools are under-resourced and inconsistent in the imparting of wisdom, leaving students bereft and their futures in question.

Here, educational technology like a school management system can be a big equalizer, using video conferencing, remote classrooms, single window platforms etc. as a way to connect with students in far-flung areas of the country and helping them with teachers and peers who will form their classroom.

Becoming future ready

Twinning programs, study abroad, and international internships and residencies are becoming par for the course for school and college students in India.  But what about less underfunded schools?

These students also have the potential to do great things on a global scale, but they just lack the exposure. A school management system helps brings schools across the world closer, helping students who may not have the resources to head abroad themselves access a vast majority of the infrastructure students who can experience.

From access to the biggest libraries in the world to collaborations on projects from students across countries, your school management system powered by the far-flung reach of governments helps student access international resources certified and recognized by their home institutions.

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Why school management system is the most trending thing in education industry?

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Automate institutes daily operations using trending technology

There are several reasons as to why school management systems have become the latest cool quotient in the world of education. Managing a school has always been tougher and with every passing day, one can only guess, it is only getting even tougher. The pinch is perhaps felt the hardest by the school administration, ones who are supposed to run the school – on whom all the responsibility rests and with whom the buck stops. After all, there is so much of work that the school authorities have to do!

Let see that how the school software can be helpful in automating institution operations:

Keeping track of information related to students

The first such reason would be the fact that with these systems it is incredibly easier for schools to maintain information pertaining to their students. A school management system makes it easier for schools to keep track of information such as attendance records, the status of homework, maintenance of discipline, how well the students are doing, and what they are achieving within the boundaries of their schooling careers. This is basically all the information that you need to be aware of as a school with respect to your students. When your school management software is efficient it becomes easy to keep track of such vast data.

Providing access to parents

When a parent is able to take part – no matter how indirectly it is – in the school-related activities of their children the experience becomes a joyous and rewarding one for them as well. This is what is facilitated by good online school management software. With the help of this software,  they always remain informed about the progress of their pupil as well as their lacking areas. No matter how busy they are they always receive the information that they need to know. These apps and portals have definitely made life easier for them.

The advantages of having a parent portal

An integral part of school software is the various portals that have been created for the benefit of parents of the students in a school. There are so many benefits of these systems. First of all, they help parents participate in an active manner in the educational activities of their children. They also provide the latest information pertaining to their children as far as things such as PTA (parent-teacher association) meetings as well as the various assignments and grades of the students. Parents also get attendance reports as well as progress cards of the students. Along that improve the communication between the parents and teachers results in better growth of a child.

Information on teachers

With the latest technology, it has now become easier for everyone to get all the information that you need about perhaps the most important cog in your wheels – the teachers. You get to know each and everything that the teachers are doing within the school. You can also take a look at a teacher’s class schedule and the reports that they are filing with a greater degree of efficiency and ease. This database is beneficial for the teachers as well as they get apprised of important things like their class schedules and timings.

Facilities such as e-mail texts and voice messages

With the help of an online school system, a school management is able to send across important information through media such as e-mail and text messages to all the important stakeholders. It is well known that for a school to be successful there needs to be proper communication among all the parties concerned and this is especially applicable to the students, teachers, parents and school management. With the management and administration systems being used by schools these days it has become easier to perform a quotidian work more better.

Managing attendance

An important administrative task performed by a school is managing attendance. As such, if the teachers are tasked with such tedium inducing tasks you can be sure that it is going to end up costing a significant amount of time. No matter when it is done it is always going to eat up precious time that could have been devoted to the class. At times, the teachers too find it really difficult to perform such banal work. This is where the modern day school management systems can make life so easy for them.

Keeping track of report cards

A report card shows how well or poorly a student has done throughout a year and as far as an academic year is concerned it is easily the most anticipated thing. However, if the work has to be done manually as is done in most cases, the staff as well as the teachers who are normally tasked with such responsibilities, is going to find out how time and effort consuming it can be. This is where you need the present day school management systems to make sure that the entire process gets over and done in the most seamless way possible.

Tracking of fees and online payment

The one thing that makes everything run in this world is money and schools can be no exception to that time-tested universal norm either. Now how does a school get money, through fees and other avenues of payment? Keeping track of all the receipts, payments heading their way can be quite a headache. This is why you need the school management systems, using this it becomes really easy to perform these functions along with getting the bills and invoices ready as well as keeping track of various kinds of fees.

Managing admissions

Managing the entire process of students getting admitted to your school can be quite tough as well. However, if a school has to do all this manually through a whole host of files then there is always a chance that crucial data could get lost. This is where the school management systems can help you so much as they help you perform the entire work online and thus save plenty of priceless data easily enough. Yet another benefit of these systems is that you can access the data at any time that you may need.

Managing profiles

A school management software system is able to perform profile management work without any problem whatsoever. These systems come armed with many modules and this just so happens to be one of them. With the help of this particular facility, they can manage profiles of all their stakeholders such as students, staff members, parents, teachers, and people working in the administration as well. These systems, at the very least, are able to record data such as contact information and names of these individuals. It also helps that it is pretty easy to access these systems.

Keeping track of assignments

With the help of assignment module that you get in the school management systems nowadays, it has become easier to facilitate the tasks and assignments to students and other stakeholders at any time. You can do these 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. From such modules, you get crucial information such as when the homework was assigned when it has to be submitted, and other details such as what was the assignment. This is beneficial for the teachers as well as they can easily modify the homework assignments whenever it is required.

Managing libraries

The school management systems these days contain library management systems as well. These systems make processes such as these simple enough for you and at the same time, such work can be done a lot more effective as well. With the help of these systems, you can look up their inventories of books and get the latest information regarding their status as well. These systems are also capable of scanning barcodes in order to automate the libraries. Then there is also information related to library members as well as daily issue registers.

Managing transport

If you are running an effective school management system in your institution structure then it should definitely have a module to manage the transport facilities being offered by the school to the students. It goes without saying that such work needs to be done in an effective manner. Such systems enable you to keep track of the routes being taken by students to the school premises and if at any time the routes are being changed or not. You can also see if students used school transportation without using the routes that had been assigned to them. As far as student safety is concerned this is an important feature indeed.

These features are just a glimpse of a trending and most effective school management software. There are so many other modules which will simplify the tasks for all the stakeholders and helps you in saving a lot of time and money also. So that, institutes can deeply focus on students performance and on their better productivity.

Try our 30 days free trial demo and let us help you in growing your institution.

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How has school management software changed learning?

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Education has evolved thanks to school management software

On the Fedena blog, we regularly look at how school management software fits in with our new world. We have previously discussed how this technology will be used in 2018, used in times of crisis, and even used to teach different types of students. We have started to witness the far-reaching effects of what was viewed as a simple administrative tool – your school management system.

Education technology, like school management software, is slowly becoming a necessity. While simple pen and paper might never die out with loyalists, old school techniques are being thrown out for the new every day. One cannot deny the convenience of a smartboard over your blackboard, even if the latter does have its charms.

But what about the role of education technology in shaping new ways of learning. How has the advent of school management software changed learning environments, learning equipment, or more simply, learning itself for every stakeholder in the system?

Here are some changes we have noticed:

Dynamic Learning Material

Since the introduction of school management systems, we are seeing a change in the kind of material students learn from. Educators are increasingly able to work with more engaging content – from videos to games, to music.

These dynamic materials are more interesting to young students leading to higher engagement with the coursework. Research shows us that most
people are visual learners. Being able to rely on dynamic, visually engaging content can result in better learning outcomes. Still doubtful? Next time you have a difficult Physics concept to explain, use any of the plethoras of YouTube videos out there that explain it more visually and see the difference for yourself.

Extended Accessibility

We are seeing an increasing spike in the use of modern learning tools but the sad reality of the situation is that, even now, in 2018, we see young people with no access to an education. This is due to a multitude of factors, but most commonly, it is due to a lack of funding or access.

Your school management system is a possible solution to these issues. Being able to remotely access learning materials and one-on-one guidance just through your mobile phone or computer is step one to bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots.

Improved Administration

There is no denying that education has become a more strategic endeavor. A by-product of this increasingly planned out approach is the growing use of educational technology of is a near immediate boost in efficiency. Your school management system was built to improve and automate processes in your educational institution.

This is especially the case if they are time and labor intensive; associated costs are automatically reduced. It also means a better experience for the end user – the students and parents. Instead of tangling with bureaucracy every time they need to make a fee payment or check their course schedule, these
stakeholders can do what they need seamlessly, from anywhere, on any platform, and at any time.

Increased Collaboration

School management systems inherently encourage better communication between all the stakeholders – teachers, students, parents, and non-education staff – who are working on giving a child the best possible start in their life.

This results in better collaboration between parties, leaving each of them to do what they do best – their key job responsibilities. It also results in better peer learning or blended learning – students are able to work in groups even remotely, learn from each other, create online study groups, and communicate directly with their teacher in real time to troubleshoot and problem solve.

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Selecting School Management Software for 2018?

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8 Questions You Must Ask Before Making a Decision

Deloitte’s Bersin has forecast that in 2018 that money spent on school management systems (SMS) by schools would increase by 21 percent in 2018. The aggregate budget expected in this domain is supposed to be in the region of 2.5 billion dollars. In fact, in the last couple of years – 2016 and 2017 – the money spent for SMS has increased by 52 percent. All these are whopping figures when you come to think of them. This also means that the market for SMS or ERP (enterprise resource planning) software for schools and colleges is much stronger than the years gone by.

All this means that choosing the right product for your school is a much trickier business than what it used to be. It is well-known that there is no single software that is going to answer all the questions that you may have. This is the reason why, at the very least, you need to find software that would solve most of the problems that you have and that too at a price that is good enough for you.

The problem with this scenario is that there are plenty of school software products on the market and this is the reason why it is so tough to choose one from them. You need to be able to decide the one that is right for your school.

Following are a few questions, answers to which would help you find the best possible solution for your school.

What are the features of the software? Will they work for you?

When you are attempting to select a school management software in 2018 the first thing that you need to ask yourself as a school, is regarding the best features of the software that you are looking to buy. What are the best features of the new software? What kind of functions is it capable of performing?

Would it suit what you need from school management software?

This would make sure that you do not end up buying something that you don’t need and, worse still, get stuck with it for a long time just because you do not have the money to buy a new one that is more commensurate to your needs.

For this purpose, you need to compare the basic features of your new product and compare them with others of your like. You should never pay for something that you do not need.

Can you get access to various platforms through mobile with the new software?

You need to make sure that the new online school management software, which you buy, should be able to provide you the capability to access data in a short span of time. This should include the all-important reports as well.

Best of all, you should be able to do this through mobile devices such as iPhone and Android phones. This way, you would be able to make decisions and that too while you are on the move. Ideally, the mobile applications should have inherent capabilities to get push notifications, track locations, receive alerts and reminders, and get data on a real-time basis.

Can it be customized?

Ideally, the school data management software that you choose should be good enough to be changed as per your requirements. The major question that you could ask over here is can the new system be changed with respect to each and every school and its needs.

Ideally, you should never get stuck with a product that cannot be customized or changed to work according to your needs and requirements. Each school out there is a unique proposition in its own sweet way. Can the simple things such as product design or theme be changed as per the requirements of the school? Can the school sort and then place the menus as per how they are going to be used?

Can it be scaled?

You also need to be sure that the management software for schools that you are using can be scaled – ideally, it should be able to adapt itself to the needs of your organization that is always going to increase on a regular basis.

It should also have a certain degree of compatibility and it should have the ability to deal competently with a lot of users, and that too at the same time. Apart from handling a large amount of inbound traffic as schools usually do, it should help you attain a certain level of growth at an organizational level as well.

Can the application be hosted on Cloud?

The work that you do by using your online school system should be capable of being hosted on Cloud.

Ideally, this should be applicable to all the work that you do with this particular software. This way, you would be able to reduce the additional costs needed to manage and operate hardware that is expensive as it is. At the same time, you would also not need to hire extra professionals for handling your information technology (IT) work. This would also mean that the data is safe and properly backed up.

Is it safe?

You may have all the features that you need from your school management software and if it is not safe then it would have come to naught.

As an organization, you need to be totally sure that your data is safe before you buy it as such. There should be built-in security features in the software itself. It would make sure that all your valuable information is properly protected.

Can it be implemented easily and quickly enough?

As an educational institute, it would always be better if you are able to implement it without any problem whatsoever and that too within the shortest of time spans. Ideally, your operations should not get bogged down just because you are implementing new software.

You can be sure that the longer and harder it takes you to implement the new software the more money it is going to end up costing you. In this case, you should also look at the track record of the software in question. How hard or easy has it been for other schools, especially ones that are similar to you, to implement this particular product? How long or short has it taken them? Facts such as these are what you should be aware of when you look to buy school management software.

Will it be accommodated in your budget?

This is perhaps the most underrated and yet the most important question of all the ones that have been posted in this piece so far. Whenever you decide to buy new software you need to be aware of the money that you would have to spend to buy it and the costs that it would incur. Will the new software fit into your budget? Does it have sufficient features as per your estimate for the price that it is asking? Are the plans that you have right now not flexible enough to the way your school is working?

At times, especially so with the better products, you may be paying a price that is more than what you wish you could pay but then the returns on investment that you get from such software would more than makeup for the money you parted with to buy that software. No matter what, you must be aware of the return that you are getting from your investment in that particular software.

Some other considerations to be taken into account

Apart from this, you also need to be aware of your audience. As a school, you need to have a clear idea of whom you are buying a product and how it is going to be of benefit for them. You need to be properly aware of the needs of the intended beneficiaries of this software.

At times, you may need to use some different features such as asset and payroll management. These facilities may not necessarily be there in the educational software that you are thinking of buying at the moment. When you know who all are going to use this software and what their needs are then you would also make a better buying decision.

You also figure out if you would be able to work with the service provider in question or not. It is very important to be able to communicate properly with your software partner and understand it completely.