What is SIS? Purpose of Student Information System

Managing a school is a data-intensive task, where school administration staff members have to manage and store all student related-data such as admissions, financial records, medical records, attendance records, exam reports, guardian details, assignment management, and many other items.

In the past, this critical student data was manually recorded and stored in files and folders. It was, however, time and effort consuming to secure the long paper trail and to ensure the safety of the storage. Furthermore, ease of access and retrieval of student data was equally important in addition to storage.

Today, technological intervention has changed the way that schools, colleges, and educational institutes manage student data. Over the past few years, schools across the globe have adopted student information system SIS that streamlines and manages student data seamlessly.

In this article, we will understand SIS and explore its purpose in academic institutions.

What Is Student Information System SIS?

Student Information System SIS is a critical tool to manage the student data throughout the entire student lifecycle – from new admissions right up to alumni information. It works by creating a digital database of every single student within a central cloud location. It ensures that student data is centralized at one location, accessible by teachers, parents, and students, and is secured by access restrictions. 

Essentially, an SIS serves as a central database managing all school operations. It ensures maximum data organization with a minimum paper trail. However, many SIS platforms have also added features and modules to help manage administrative tasks.

How Does The SIS work At Fedena?

At Fedena, the Student Information Solution SIS is one of the major features of the Fedena ERP system to provide better institute growth and meet the expectations of both the Administration and the students and parents. Schools can use this platform to organize and access academic information, admissions details, finances, and other things related to student data. 

Top Features Of The Perfect Student Information System SIS

Automate Student Admission –

From course enquiry to document submission, the complete admission process can be managed online. This allows students to apply for courses from the comfort of their home and school admins can keep track of every single application from a single dashboard. They can accept or reject the application based on their institute criteria and instantly share the admission confirmation details with students/parents via email or SMS notification.  

Online Exam & Gradebook Management –

Eliminate paper wastage by conducting examinations online. Automate complete examination process from exam schedule planning to report card generation, digitize each and every operation. Institute can plan examination courses and batch-wise,    

Easy Assignment Publishing –

Say bye-bye to paper-based assignment, now teachers can create the assignment online and share with a group of students. Create media-rich assignments by adding various media formats such as images, PPT, PDF, videos. Teachers can track the status of assignments from their portal and connect with students in real-time in case they have any doubts regarding assignments. Students can submit the assignments from both desktop and mobile devices

Seamless Communication –

Reduce communication gap among all stakeholders and enhance the productivity of the entire institution. Parents can instantly connect with teachers and discuss their child’s academic progress. Institute can send notifications about upcoming events, PTA meetings, pending fees, and examination result announcements. With an online messaging feature in place,  parents don’t have to regularly check their child’s school diary to keep them updated about important information.    

Centralized Fee Collection and Billing – 

Simply fee payment process for parents and teachers. SIS Fees Management module, parents can pay online without being physically present in school premises. This minimizes the workload of employees as the admin can easily track the fee defaulters, generate digital fee receipts, automate tax and discount calculations and generate various reports to get an overview of the institute’s financial health. 

Attendance Tracking –

Monitor and mark students’ attendance online. Now teachers’ don’t have to spend their precious time manually marking the attendance of the student. By integration biometric devices with the SIS attendance module, institutes can track attendance in real-time. Send real-time alerts to parents in case of students’ absence.     

Student Record Maintenance –

The primary purpose of the Student Information System is to manage, store and track the student’s related data on a secured environment. This platform allows the admin to store student’s academic records in one place and ensure the only authorized person can access the information. Additionally, institute the rack the academic performance of students and take data-driven decisions to enhance students’ academic productivity. 

Integration with Advanced Technologies –

The perfect SIS should be able to support integrations that enhance the capability of the platform. For instance, integrations such as payment gateways, biometric systems, and video online classes boost the functionality of the system.

Besides this, the perfect student management system is also 

• Secured Data Storage 
• Affordable Solution 
• Customizable as per institution need
• Easy Accessibility 
• User-friendly UI
• Minimize Paperwork
• Integrates with other tools
• Offers training and support

Understanding The Purpose of Student Information System SIS

For School Administration Team

1. For the school administration team, one of the biggest purposes of using a school student information system is that it offers a centralized data repository where all the student-related data are stored in a secure manner. This is important because every student generates a significant quantity of information. The SIS allows this information to be systematically and efficiently be updated on the software, thereby facilitating the administration to keep track of and organize all kinds of information, ready for use at all times.
2. An effective Student Information System can dramatically enhance the efficiency of the admission process. A single system can track the entire enrollment process, from initial inquiry to acceptance and enrollment.
3. An SIS allows for the administration team to function in a paperless environment and ensures maximum productivity with minimal paperwork. Thanks to the reduction of paperwork substantially and digitalization of every process, the administration team can enhance productivity and transparency.

For School Teachers 

1. The SIS provides teachers with a central location to record and maintain student grades in a way that can be easily managed and accessed by them when necessary.
2. The system allows teachers to gauge and understand the student’s progress by looking at the data trends. Various analytical tools and dashboards that provide various types of filters for varying uses can also be used to track a student’s progress. The result is pedagogical methods and approaches that fit the learning curve of each student.
3. By using a SIS, teachers are also able to communicate directly with parents using integrated messaging and notification tools, such as instant messaging and email. To maintain privacy and safety, all information exchanged is secured.

For Parents

1. Parents may monitor their child’s academic progress, grade, attendance, etc., via an efficient SIS, all in an easily accessible format.
2. Parents can now pay their school fees, fines, or other financial obligations online through the integrated payment gateway. A hassle-free payment option with automatic receipt generation ensures timely payments.
3. The SIS enables parents to reach out and communicate with the teachers by integrating SMS and email platform.

For Students

1. Using SIS, students can easily access their daily attendance, timetable, pending assignments, grades, upcoming events and programs, and other relevant information in one central location. 
2. They can evaluate their progress with each assignment and create study strategies to help them get mastery over the more challenging topics
3. Using the integrated communication tools, students can connect with their peers or teachers to clear doubts or get a better understanding of the topic.

In conclusion, 

Implementing an effective student information system can help you manage all of your institute’s operations. Students, faculty, and staff can all benefit from such a system. One of the first and most obvious benefits of using a SIS is that it saves time, effort and improves productivity for all the stakeholders involved in the school cycle. In the long run, it helps academic institutes by enhancing school operations and empowering educators to achieve better student outcomes.