How Education Management Information System (EMIS) is a backbone of modern institutions?

All modern educational institutions use multiple software tools and professional management practices to run institutions efficiently. When you look for a single system that connects all the activities of the institution, you will understand the significance of the education management information system(EMIS) working as the backbone of modern institutions. 

The wide scale implementation of EMIS started recently along with the digital transformation trends in the last decade that digitised almost all other sectors. Even though schools were using simple software tools like spreadsheets, but now they have started implementing the EMIS tools only in the last decade. Before that, software solutions like EMIS or ERP(Enterprise Resource Planning Software) were affordable and practical only to rich private schools. The availability of high-speed internet and cloud hosting services decreased the cost of these advanced software tools for institutions and resulted in the wide scale implementation of EMIS and ERPs. 

In this article, we will find out the major benefits and how management information system works as the backbone of schools, colleges, and universities.

Education Management Information System(EMIS)

An education management information system is a platform which let educational institutes to manage their data or information at a single place. This system act a data repository where institution can gather, store, and analyse the data, also create various reports which them help in monitor the institution growth & students academic progress in a real-time.

An ideal MIS in education not only help in managing the academic and administrative operations such as payroll management, fee management, transportation management, attendance data but also include learning management features which provide virtual learning space for students.

The education management information system can be used in schools, colleges, and universities with or without much customization. This possibility makes EMIS versatile and easy to implement in any kind of educational institution irrespective of the student strength.

EMIS can be also implemented at group-level in case the organisation has multiple institutions operating under them and even at government level for thousands of schools and colleges under the state or district. Governments are the major implementer s of education management information systems to streamline the operations of all schools under and also to gather live data from all schools for decision making.

Why use Management Information System in modern educational institutes?

Educational institutions derive a lot of benefits from EMIS software. The availability of all operational data at a single place makes the educational management information system the go to tool for all management related decision making. Along with decision making, the EMIS software helps in all other operational aspects of the educational institution which is listed below:

• Parent-teacher communications

With EMIS the teachers got the right tool to send instant communications to parents regarding the academic and non-academic activities of the students. This tool provides a platform also for parents to share instant feedback to teachers.

• Fee collection management

Revenue from fee collections is the main source of income for most of the schools and colleges. So it is critical to have software to manage fee creations and automate collections. By regularly sending alerts to parents regarding the upcoming fee due dates and collecting fees online through payment gateways, EMIS works as a backbone in the running of educational institutions.

• Admission & enquiry information management

It is primary to the schools and colleges to either maintain or increase the admission intake year on year. More than the numbers, the quality of admissions also matters in achieving the academic goals of the institution. This can be simplified and automated using EMIS software. Along with admission, it can help in the enquiry management which happens throughout the year regardless of the admission season.

• Examination management

Examinations are the core of academic activities. The management information system automates this process by scheduling online examinations and publishing results with minimum effort from teachers. The generated grade books will be shared to parents for review and feedback.

• Student Information Dashboard

All student information related details will be available at fingertips for teachers as well as parents. This includes various information like the historic data of academic performance, attendance data, fee payment data, disciplinary data, etc. Also, different reports regarding students will be available on the student information dashboard.

• Timetable management

All the schedules regarding operating the classes and exams in different classrooms will be provided by the EMIS in the form of class timetable, teachers timetable and institution timetable. These can be printed out or directly accessed from the mobile app or web dashboard to plan for the day and week.

• Payroll & leave management

The human resource management module available with EMIS takes care of the payroll and leave data of teachers and other faculty. This provides a single place for teachers and faculty to apply for leaves and access payslips.

• Lesson plans & assignments

The EMIS provides modules for teachers to share lesson plans to students and parents in advance and also to accept assignments from students. With these kinds of modules, the EMIS provides a backbone for learning activities also.

• Transportation management

It includes the functionality to manage the entire transportation of the institution. The various information like driver and bus details, bus timings, bus route, etc. will be shared with parents as live alerts. This improves the safety of the institution and reassures the role of EMIS as the backbone.

• Library management

The library is one of the most used facilities in the institution’s campus. With the library data also available in the EMIS, students and teachers can browse the available books from outside the campus, also improving the efficiency as well as the tracking of issued books.

Future of Management Information System in Education

With the Internet of Things present everywhere, the student safety within and outside campus is now far better than how it was a decade ago. The in-out time of campus and location data while in transport are available to parents in real-time through IoT integrated with EMIS. The virtual reality and augmented reality will soon find its place in all the classroom and students’ life cycle through the integration with education management information systems. All these innovations will be catalyzed by the high speed internet provided by 5G technologies. You can expect EMIS to evolve in ways that you saw in movies but never imagined to happen in reality. 

Frequently Asked Questions in EMIS

Q. How much does it cost to purchase and implement EMIS?

A. The price of a good EMIS depends on many factors. Some providers price it according to the number of users or number of students in your institution. Other providers price it according to the features available in the solution. The price also varies drastically if you are choosing to customize the software to fit your unique requirements. There are a few free EMIS solutions also available but with limited features and no support. Also do not forget that there will be annual maintenance charges to be paid after the first year.

Q. Where should I host EMIS? Can I host it on our campus?

A. You can host the EMIS on your campus or in the cloud servers either provided by the vendor of the solution or purchased and managed by you. Nowadays it is ideal to host with the vendor if you are purchasing from a trustworthy company. This will keep your cost down for many years.

Q. Can EMIS be integrated with other software tools used in the campus?

A. Yes. Through APIs or by developing specific plugins. Ask your provider for more details.

Q. How to shortlist and purchase the best EMIS solution available in the market?

A. Since there are hundreds of companies providing EMIS solutions, it is advised to do research in your geographic area about the software used in nearby educational institutions. Collect from them the feedback. Along with this do an online research about the other solutions available. Talk to multiple vendors before deciding the final solution to be purchased. Check this article for more information 15 best practices to successful implement school software.

Conclusion

In this article you understood how EMIS provides numerous benefits while working as the backbone of modern educational institutions. If you are looking for an education management information system(EMIS) to automate the day to day operations and generate helpful reports for critical decision making, you must try Fedena EMIS. Signup for a free demo to understand all features in depth. Or contact the sales team for a free consultation.