Document management solutions for universities

The institutional data management experience

Universities manage an incredible volume of physical and digital documents and data that typically relates to the business and student learning. From administration (including personal information), business/compliance documents, and scholarships and grant information through to examination materials, textbooks, and course or event-related learning materials, images and recordings, the diversity and depth of data alone proses extraordinary risks.

Securing and monitoring documentation and data generated within the education sector is also time-consuming, significantly impacting on worker productivity. It is, however, a vital process.

In addition, universities are moving from a paper-based environment to a digital one. Although welcome, the conversion to a compliant records management system or university-supported business system adds to workloads and time spent on document processing and management activities.

Business issues require a smart office solution

Educational communications, process management, printing and information capture needs remain constant. However, from both an educational requirement and business management perspective, there are issues to be aware of including:

• Overlapping roles and responsibilities
• Wasted resources
• Appropriate training on new systems
• Service and security quality
• Controlled/monitored access for authorised users (third parties, regulators, examination boards)
• Accessibility for the disabled
• A need for strict version control
• Privacy/right to information
• Classifications
• Records retention/disposal
• Disaster recovery planning
• Audit/compliance
• Digitisation, and
• Physical source record disposal.

This is where Canon’s print room management solutions – from secure exam printing through to automated workflows – come to the fore. They’re designed to streamline university processes while reducing human error. To eliminate wasteful processes and duplication. And to increase collaboration and sharing via smart office solutions such as integrated print room management, document digitisation, and on-demand document production.

In a nutshell, they’re the services, systems and processes that form the foundations of modern, successful education providers.

From cost centre to profit centre

One example is uniFLOW, a Canon integrated print room management solution. Secure printing functionality allows users to send sensitive documents to network printers from desktops and mobile devices, with documents only released when the user is physically standing at the device. Secure solutions like this are critical when handling sensitive information, such as exam papers and results.

Print is a significant cost to education institutions. Effective print solutions need to be integrated and configurable to specific university needs, with on demand print reducing waste and delivering security via:

• The automatic deletion of unreleased print jobs
• Print policy implementation
• Rerouting of print jobs from desktop printers to multifunctional devices or the print room
• Allocating costs to individual users, departments or projects, and
• Reducing IT overheads by rolling out one printer driver for the device fleet.

Education is a heavily regulated sector that must balance multiple objectives and responsibilities to authorities, staff and students. With on demand printing benefiting all of these stakeholders, it’s clear implementation of strategic print room solutions is the driving factor of the modern education institution.