What is your school's attendance tracking software like?
Who’s responsible for tracking attendance—staff, faculty, students?
Is the process done on paper or with software?
And, perhaps most importantly, is the process done consistently for all classes at your institution?
In the world of career-focused institutions, every school has some type of process for tracking attendance. However, most of them still don’t have a fully automated, digital attendance tracking process.
For schools that only offer in-person classes, reporting on attendance is typically only done retroactively, which can create issues with accuracy. Online attendance tracking is easier, but without the right software in place it becomes a cumbersome process.
So, is attendance tracking software worth it for vocational, trade, and career-focused schools?
Absolutely.
Schools that have the right attendance software in place are able to enjoy:
- Simplified compliance and auditing
- Increased automation and efficiency
- More opportunities to scale their institution
- Better student outcomes
Let’s dig into the benefits of each.
Compliance: Passing Title IV Audits with Confidence
One of the biggest financial responsibilities that schools face is the need to stay compliant with the regulations around Title IV funding.
Many of us who work in higher education have experienced the panic, chaos, and disruption of an unexpected audit for which our institution wasn’t prepared. I’ve been in the room when that’s happened and…it’s not a fun conversation.
When schools don’t maintain Title IV compliance—a huge part of which is having accurate attendance numbers—they risk having their funding pulled, which can create major cashflow issues and negative impacts on your institution’s students, staff, and reputation.
That’s why it’s so important to have attendance tracking software that can help your institution prove to auditors that you have the right number of enrolled students, you’re managing those students effectively, and that classroom attendance numbers are accurate.
Simplified attendance tracking and real-time reporting will give you confidence that you are always audit-ready.
Check out this case study we recently published on this exact topic: How Unitek College fixed attendance issues and protected Title IV funding.
Automation: Reducing Manual Work to Create Better Outcomes
Even with all of the work that career-focused institutions have done to modernize their schools, so many of them are still tracking attendance on paper. Here’s why that’s not a good thing.
Whether it’s a sign-in sheet or a list that’s managed by the instructor, tracking attendance on paper can create a lot of issues, particularly for instructor-driven attendance tracking,
When you ask your instructors to be the ones to take attendance before each class starts, you’re asking them to disrupt the learning time to partake in an error-prone process. This is particularly true for part-time or adjunct instructors that don’t necessarily understand the importance of tracking attendance data accurately.
For example, if there are instructors who often let students out of class early, they are probably setting themselves up for a situation in which students aren’t getting all of the information they need and aren’t meeting classroom hour requirements. If this seemingly innocuous activity leads to students not passing their exams, the school could actually get sued.
This might seem over the top, but I’ve seen it happen.
When you ditch the manual process and automate attendance tracking, your school:
- Becomes more operationally efficient
- Collects better, more accurate data that’s less prone to errors
- Reduces the burnout for staff and faculty
- Is able to worry less about audits and spend more time on creating better student outcomes
READ: 6 Ways Career Education Programs Are Leveraging Automation
Scale: Organically or Through Acquisition
Does your institution have goals for growth and scaling into the future?
Many for-profit schools do. Whether through organic growth or acquisitions, they have plans for more students, more staff and faculty, better facilities, and everything else that comes with growth.
Growth is a great thing—but it can create complications if you’re not prepared.
For example, if your school is located across multiple campus locations, or if you offer a mix of virtual vs. in-person classes, it becomes quite difficult to track student attendance and assure that it’s done consistently across the entire institution.
Acquisitions also force the need for digital processes that help maintain compliance. If your school draws funding to pay for more staff, new faculty, or building materials for new facilities, you need to be able to prove that you’ll use all of that funding exactly how you said you would. For example, if you need to reduce the amount of faculty you hired because a certain number of students un-enrolled, those corresponding funds would have to be returned.
That’s why attendance tracking software is so important. This essential tool gives schools real data they need to scale effectively and the reporting to back it up, both internally and to third parties. With this data on hand, you can feel confidence in your numbers so that you can make data-driven decisions as you scale.
Student Outcomes: Helping Students Take Ownership of their Education
Attendance tracking software is about more than simply tracking who shows up to class.
Yes, this process is essential for efficiency, compliance, and scaling…but there is a bigger picture and it’s tied to what this entire industry is built around: student outcomes.
Schools that are able to deliver a mobile solution into their classrooms are going to deliver student experiences that other schools simply can’t touch. Integrating mobile-friendly applications into their learning journey will allow students to take ownership of their experience and education like never before.
How does this work?
With a mobile application, students can track not only their attendance but their progress toward graduation: course credits, curriculum, faculty, assignments, everything they’d need to feel like they’re in the driver’s seat. They’re tracking their own progress instead of waiting for someone else to tell them where they’re at in their journey.
Mobile attendance tracking also helps build career-readiness skills that will help them in the real world: time management, clocking in and out, being on time, and being present with the work that’s expected of you.
At a time when so many students are struggling with challenges that are hurting their attendance, this has never been more important.
Empower and engage students where they are.
Attendance Tracking Software is Just One Piece of the Puzzle for Career-Focused Institutions
Attendance tracking software is a must-have for career-focused institutions that want to scale, become more profitable, and deliver exceptional student experiences.
However, this is only one piece of the puzzle.
Attendance tracking is most effective when paired with other essential software: CRM, SIS, financial aid, and document management, to name a few.
Meet Portico’s all-in-one solution for attendance and skills and student interventions so that you can manage the entire student lifecycle, all in one place.
Personally, one of my favorite features is the “nudge.” Anyone can send an email to students when they owe paperwork or are behind on an assignment, but students today prefer the mobile touch. If you want to drive real engagement and create the outcomes you want, Portico’s in-app nudges have delivered great results for our clients.
Whether your institution is looking to scale in the near future or you just want to create better operational efficiency, Portico is in your corner. Get Started to learn more!