Fortis for K-12 Education

Schools learn value of document management

Federal and state records management rules, such as FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) mandate that school systems keep student records, including transcripts and correspondence, virtually indefinitely, while assuring student privacy and confidentiality. Schools need to make these records accessible to students or parents upon request. Such extensive record retention and accessibility puts a manpower and space burden on schools.

Educational institutions are learning how document management solutions can help them not only comply with these regulations, but also how they can serve their student body more efficiently and cut administrative costs.

Westbrook Fortis for K-12 Education is a powerful and affordable document management software solution that meets compliance regulations and solves a school system’s paper-intensive processes. Converting student records to an electronic format frees up administrative staff time and vital real estate allowing schools to convert storage space to offices or classrooms.

Some student files contain volumes of pages with each file growing as a student progresses through the school system. These files require routine review by teachers, principals, administrators, and even attorneys in some cases. Since most school systems’ facilities are geographically dispersed, Fortis makes records accessible in remote locations.

Fortis also provides solutions for other administrative needs within school systems including accounts payable invoice approval and human resources processes. For example, school districts need to manage personnel records for teachers and staff. And most need to perform background checks on employees. After scanning this information into Fortis, staff members can enter a search term and easily find and view the file they need.

Overall, school systems are finding that they can improve many of their processes and create administrative efficiencies with Fortis. Among them:

• Reduce copying and storage costs
• Make files available to multiple users from any location for review, research and requests
• Eliminate printing lengthy student files, which are now easier to search
• Improve productivity and efficiency with better workflows
• Meet regulatory requirements

Fortis provides one document management backbone that integrates with your administrative and educational systems.

Educational Applications

Fortis can be used successfully in virtually any department of K-12 educational institutions. Typical examples include:

Student records Active student files Human resources Curriculum knowledge bank Parent/student web School lunch programs IEP (individual education plan) evaluation report

Teacher credentialing Testing program records Finance and accounting A/P and receivables Facility management self service CER (comprehensive Transcripts

Scalable Solutions

Fortis is used by small and large school districts ranging from one application to broad implementations. Representative users include:

Effingham County Schools, GA Portland Public Schools, OR Chatham County Schools, GA Walton County Public Schools, GA

Clovis Unified Schools, CA Bath Public Schools, ME Montgomery County Schools, MD

Integrated Document Management

Fortis provides a full range of document management capabilities:

Image capture and OCR Versioning and archiving Records management

Security and management Viewing and annotation Disaster recovery and retention

Student Records

Fortis is a powerful tool for capturing, archiving and retrieving student records. Historical and current records are moved into an electronic archive, providing secure and searchable records.

Administration Systems

Fortis provides an automated approach to capturing invoices, shipping receipts, and other business documents and linking them to finance systems.

Human Resources

Fortis is in use by many school systems to securely store, archive and allow permission-based access to HR records.

Private School Admissions & Financial Aid

With exploding applicant pools, private schools need solutions like Fortis for capturing application documentation, allowing shared access to admission files, and speeding up the process with retrieval and routing tools.

Facility Management

To manage costs and keep facilities safe and in compliance, Fortis provides a facility management repository that keeps facility records up to date and “as built.”

Self Service Portal

Student work, teacher evaluations, forms and other documents can be made accessible to students and parents through Web portal (“extranet”) access to the document repository.