Many Australian schools are currently weighing up an important decision regarding their SIS: to stay with an outdated, underperforming platform, or make the effort to switch to something more modern and progressive.
A few years ago, with limited SIS options available on the Australian market, most schools would simply stay put and suffer through. With Veracross entering the Australian market, the decision to shift has become more tempting.
Despite the clear benefits of a new SIS, many schools remain concerned by perceived challenges and uncertainties. How committed is Veracross to the Australian market? How difficult is the implementation process? How suitable is Veracross for our school?
Thankfully, these questions can be answered firsthand by the first batch of Australian schools to sign up to Veracross. In this article, we explore the benefits and implementation realities of the transition according to two distinctly different schools; one in the northern suburbs of Sydney with nearly 3000 students and one in regional Queensland with less than 500. Barker College and All Souls St Gabriels School prove that transitioning to a new SIS can be a transformative and manageable process.
Enhanced efficiency and time savings
One of the most significant benefits of adopting a modern SIS is the improvement in efficiency and time savings for school teams. James Stewart, Head of ICT at Barker College in Hornsby, highlights how their new Veracross system has already streamlined their enrolment process. “Its implementation has saved our Enrolments team approximately 30 minutes per application, and we estimate that in total the migration to Veracross in Enrolments is yielding the team a 25%-time improvement at the minimum,” Stewart explains. This efficiency gain allows staff to focus on more strategic tasks rather than being snowed under by administrative work.
Similarly, Sophie Urquhart, Business Manager of All Souls St Gabriels School (ASSG) in Charters Towers, Queensland, notes the importance of dynamic reporting and integration capabilities in their decision to switch to Veracross. “The ability to customise the program to [our] specific requirements and have dynamic reporting available at any time was crucial,” she shares. This customisation and real-time data access significantly enhance operational efficiency.
Improved data accuracy and integrity
Maintaining accurate and complete data is vitally important for any educational institution. Veracross’s robust data integrity features have made dramatic improvements for Barker College. “True reciprocal relationships mean that once a relationship is built for one person record, the reciprocal relationship is automatically input to the relating record, which cuts down time and improves data accuracy and completeness exponentially,” Stewart explains. This feature ensures that data remains consistent and reliable across the system.
The ability to easily manage and de-duplicate records is another critical advantage. Before implementing Veracross, Barker College faced significant data challenges. “After initial import and initial data cleanup by Veracross engineering, we had about 3500 duplicate person records, some 2000 duplicate household records, roughly 20 high priority integrity issues and approximately 3500 medium integrity issues. We were able to fix the duplicate people records in two days and have been slowly working through all the other issues. The process to de-duplicate is so easy, with both full data sets being visible on the same screen and the operator having the ability to choose which way to merge the data with controls and logs to prevent specific data in the obsolete record being lost,” Stewart recounts. The system’s de-duplication process allowed them to resolve these issues efficiently, greatly improving data quality.
Customisable and scalable solutions
A modern SIS must be adaptable to the unique needs of each school. Both Barker College and All Souls St Gabriels found Veracross to be highly configurable, allowing them to tailor the system to their specific requirements. “The ability to integrate with existing programs within the school was a key determinant,” Urquhart emphasises. This flexibility ensures that the SIS can grow and evolve alongside the institution, accommodating new needs and challenges as they arise.
Barker College also benefited from the system’s scalability and modern architecture. “Veracross is highly configurable. When implementing the ‘Adopt not Adapt’ principle, depth of configurability is essential,” Stewart notes. This adaptability has been crucial in meeting the school’s diverse functional requirements and supporting their digital strategy.
Enhanced communication and engagement
Effective communication with students, parents and staff is vital for any school. Veracross’s Communication tool, Composer, has significantly improved Barker College’s engagement strategies. “Templates have been designed for each point of contact with prospective families, which have merge fields addressing their child specifically,” Stewart explains. This personalised approach enhances the quality of interactions and helps build stronger relationships with their school community.
The ability to track engagement metrics, such as open rates and link click rates, provides valuable insights that can be used to refine communication strategies. “The staff can view the analytics of the communication, such as open rates and link click rates, which is insightful data that can be used to improve communications and engagement in the future,” Stewart adds. This data-driven approach ensures that communications are effective and impactful.
Wrapping up
While the decision to switch to a new SIS may seem intimidating, the positive experiences of schools like Barker College and All Souls St Gabriels School demonstrate the significant benefits of moving to a more robust system. By choosing a SIS that offers customisation, integration and robust data management, schools can significantly enhance their operations and better serve their communities.
As James Stewart aptly puts it, “The ability to achieve our objectives has been largely due to the highly configurable nature of Veracross, [and] the willingness and ability of the Veracross project team to quickly develop and implement key functionality determined to be essential to the Australian market.” This sentiment is echoed by Sophie Urquhart, who emphasises the importance of a thorough market search and the value of recommendations from other institutions.
Embracing a new SIS can lead to substantial improvements in efficiency, data accuracy and overall school operations for the benefit of both your bottom line as well as your students and community. Schools considering this transition can lean into the success stories of other schools to move forward with confidence.
Want to find out more? Request a demo with our local team.
