Concern over protecting sensitive student records has increased over the past decade. And now it seems the law is catching up. Just last year, 14 states passed new laws aimed at limiting access to student records. But while these laws will provide necessary protections for students and their families, they can also create a whole host of potential headaches for administrators and teachers.
Student data provides valuable insight for teachers and administrators when it comes to boosting student performance, but it can also be vulnerable to loss and cybercrime. So how can districts and administrators find the right balance between access and security? Here’s how a document management system can help:
RISK MITIGATION
The key to protecting student privacy is effective document management. When a new student enrolls in a school, their information passes through many different hands. And if your school is still relying on paper documents, there is a much greater risk that this information could be lost, destroyed, or accidentally shared with the wrong people. One minor mistake along the way could expose your students to security risks, and open your school or district up to some costly potential lawsuits. An effective document manage system allows you to streamline the enrollment process, which will instantly cut down on the chances of data losses and leaks.
ACCESS CONTROLS
A document management system allows you to implement strict controls on who is allowed to access certain student records. This means that no one inside or outside your school or district will have access to any student records that they don’t have the appropriate security rights to view.
AVAILABLE BACKUP
When new student records enter your system, your document management software sorts your documents based upon the content type allowing you to determine what is a record and what is just another document. Records can be backed up onsite or offsite which means that if any of your student documents become compromised, destroyed or corrupted, you will not lose critical information.
TRACKING & ACCOUNTABILITY
When you know who is accessing certain documents at any given time, you increase accountability among your staff members, which in turn increases your data security. By allowing you to easily track access to digital student folders, your document management software lets you keep close tabs on how student information is being managed.
By cleaning up messy and outdated paper-based workflows, and offering secure access and pinpoint control over all of your sensitive data, document management software allows you to comply with student privacy laws without an onerous administrative burden. On top of that, document management for K-12 schools also cuts down on time-waste and paper-waste while helping your staff boost efficiency. If you want to protect your school or district from costly leaks and lawsuits and save your district money, all while increasing productivity in the process, consider a document management system today.