More schools embrace paperless admissions

As universities and colleges are increasingly focusing on meeting the socio-political demands of their student bodies, the need to be more environmentally friendly is growing. As such, many schools are beginning to eliminate paper, both in the classroom and in administration. By investing in document management solutions, schools can appeal to environmentally minded students, reduce the cost of operations and be more efficient overall.

According to The Mac Weekly, the student newspaper of Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the school's admissions office plans to switch over to paperless systems by 2013. The college's strategy is to require all incoming students to use online applications and maintain paper files for current students until graduation, gradually migrating to a purely paperless system once the class of 2012 graduates.

"Ultimately, going paperless means that we’ll recycle all of our paper file cabinets and reclaim that space in the Admissions Office," Director of Admissions Jeff Allen told the news source.

While this change was originally implemented as part of a campus-wide shift to document management systems, the school has since dropped the campus-wide plan and focused primarily on converting admissions.

"The Admissions Office has considered moving to a paperless review process for several years, particularly recently as many other colleges like Mac moved to systems like the one we’re implementing this year," Allen continued.

Other schools looking to take Macalester College's plan one step further can invest in conversion services to migrate all paperwork into a digital information management system. With document conversion, an organization can begin eliminating any paper files and records swiftly, ensuring complete transfer to an electronic solution without fear of anything getting lost in the shuffle. Purely digital systems can improve productivity and efficiency, and ultimately can help eliminate much of the confusion that can occur in college administration between staff and students due to miscommunication or a lack of paperwork.

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