Software companies are flooded with requests from schools to make custom admissions and enrollment software. Custom admissions and enrollment software are different than using an off-the-shelf (OTS) system such as Peoplesoft or Blackboard that only needs a little customization to fit the school’s needs. The difference between purchasing OTS versus custom admissions and enrollment software is that OTS requires a “one size fits all” type of mentality. Admissions and enrollment software is unique to each client and can be completely tailored. Schools want a system that will fit all of their needs, not just the standard ones.

Benefits of Admissions and Enrollment Software

Here are five of the many benefits of using school enrollment software:

#1: Specialized Graphs and Reports

Admissions and enrollment software allows a school to create a more dynamic experience for parents. A parent of a student can get a hold of his or her child’s grades, attendance records, extracurricular activities, meal plans, fees paid on time, missed classes due to illness or injury, performance in sports or academic events, or any other data easily.

#2: Saves Time and Money

Having a system like admissions and enrollment software will save you time and money because you can track and monitor your students and finances more efficiently. You will also save on paperwork because everything is electronic with this system. What would take hours to accomplish can be done in just minutes.

#3: Centralize Information for Parents and Students

Instead of having to go to each department such as attendance, counselors, registrar’s office, etc. information is all located together. This makes it easier for the parents and students because they don’t have to search for information from different sources.

#4: A System for Schools of All Sizes

Regardless of your school size, admissions and enrollment software can be tailored to fit your needs. With the right staff, you will not have any problems creating a system that works for both students and staff.

#5: Make Improvements Year After Year

One of the many benefits of admissions and enrollment software is that you can make improvements year after year. This could be upgrading to a new version, adding new features, or even adding mobile capabilities. With the right company, they will have no problem working with you until your individual needs are met.

Why Custom Software is Superior to Off-the-shelf Software

There are many advantages of custom software. Here are three of the main ones.

#1: Tailored to Specific Needs

One of the many benefits of using a custom software system is that it is tailored to your specific needs for your school’s online admission software. While OTS systems have a lot of features, they may not have all the features you want or need. With a program that is made just for you, this problem will never be an issue.  It can also be difficult sometimes to find the right help for OTS because their support teams are not specialized in your needs.

#2: Customized Tracking Data

Another benefit of using custom software is that you can have better tracking data about your students. With a personalized system, schools have access to all kinds of information which gives them more insight into their students. This information can be used to help the student in the long run.

#3: Makes Communication Easier

The benefit of using custom software is that it makes communication easier for everyone involved. You will have your message center where you can communicate with parents, staff, and students at any time. There are also features to allow for staff to communicate with each other (staff-only message center) and parent/student messaging.

Admissions and enrollment software is an excellent way for schools to manage their visiting students, parents, and staff. Custom software is your best choice. It allows for the most customizable experience.

How To Choose The Best Admissions and Enrollment Software for Your School

Here are the 5 steps on how to choose the best admissions/enrollment software for your school:

Step 1: Determine Your Needs

You will need to determine what you want and where you plan to go with this software. Are you looking for the very basic features or do you need a fully comprehensive system? The more information you can give us upfront about what your school’s needs are, the better we can advise as to which admissions/enrollment software systems will be the best fit for your school.

Step 2: Research, Research, Research

Another step is to research the software you are looking at purchasing. We suggest that you take a look at what people have said about it online and customer reviews. The more information you gather about our company and the competitors out there, the better equipped we will be to help you choose the best admissions/enrollment software for your school.

Step 3: Choosing the Right Company

Choosing the right company is crucial. The company that will build your custom admissions/enrollment software for you should have an outstanding reputation with lots of experience doing this type of work. They should be able to answer your questions and be able to help you through the whole process.

Step 4: Building Your Software

The company you choose will work out all the details with you on building your software. They will do this by gathering all the information they need from you to make sure they know exactly what features are most important for your school. They will then build custom software that has all the features you need for your school.

Step 5: Have Outstanding Customer Service

The last step is to choose a company that can provide outstanding customer service throughout the entire process. You should never have to worry about whether or not your questions will be answered quickly. The company you choose should also build high-quality software that does what it is supposed to.

These are the main steps to finding the best software available for your school! Make sure you do plenty of research and also make sure you know your school’s needs.

Admissions and enrollment software is an excellent way for schools to manage their visiting students, parents, and staff. It makes communication easier for everyone involved as well. You will need to choose between custom and OTS software. Custom software offers so much more than OTS as you can create it any way you want depending on your school’s needs. Make sure to do your research and find a good company to work with when it comes to your admissions and enrollment software!

SchoolCues is an all-in-one school management system for small schools with limited budgets and resources. Our solutions include admissions and enrollment, online payments, student information system, gradebook, communications, parent engagement, donations and fundraising, alumni management and more. Schedule a demo with us today.