Case Study: School District 23
Digital transformation in education cuts costs while increasing efficiency and sustainability
About School District 23
Located in the Okanagan Valley, School District 23 is the fifth largest district in British Columbia. It encompasses 46 elementary, middle, secondary and alternative schools that together serve 24,000 students. The District supports its students by providing them with a safe and inspiring learning environment and strives to develop each student into a lifelong learner and a healthy, productive member of the global community.
“Having a partner that understands and is invested in your strategic direction — and wants to see you be successful — was a critical component of choosing a team like Ricoh.”
Jon Rever
Assistant Superintendent
School District 23
Challenge
Paper-based processes caused bottlenecks and wasted staff time
Filing cabinets obstructed physical office space
Inefficient distribution of information
Technology is an integral part of today’s modern education, both for the students and the administrative staff that supports them. And while staff at School District 23 aimed to provide high-quality services to their students, they lacked the technology to help them deliver on this mission.
“When I first started with the District, technology was not used to any advantage,” said Larry Paul, CFO/Treasurer, School District 23.
Staff were struggling to manage their administrative tasks, having to wade through reams of paperwork to get anything done. Not only was this paperwork time-consuming, but it was also physically obstructing their office space with clutter.
“We had filing systems all over the office,” explained Paul. “There were filing cabinets that were in hallways and blocking doors that needed to be addressed.” The District knew digital transformation in schools had to happen; they just needed the right partner.
Solution
“We’re serving 3,000 employees, and now a process that would normally take us months to complete can be completed in a week’s time. It’s all automated, no one is touching paper, and this has helped us reduce the cost of management.”
— Jon Rever, Assistant Superintendent, School District 23
Implemented a scan and capture technology to digitize the District’s files and records
Deployed Laserfiche content services to securely store and retrieve digital records
Automated digital workflows that allow administrative staff, teachers, and students to easily share and consume content
Realizing that digital transformation in education was mandatory, the district turned to Ricoh to implement a solution that would digitize their files and records, and bring them up to date with the latest in education-based technology.
After discussing the district’s needs and vision, the Ricoh team upgraded their office with a new print management solution and digitized their microfiche to enable staff to effortlessly search for, find, and share documents. Ricoh’s content services and print management solutions also helped the district get more out of their multifunction machines without unnecessary additional costs.
“While cost is important to us, it’s also important that we select a partner that is part of our team,” said Jon Rever, Assistant Superintendent, of School District 23. “Having a partner that understands and is invested in your strategic direction — and wants to see you be successful — was a critical component in choosing a team like Ricoh.”
Digitizing paper documents with new print management technology equipped teachers, administrators, and students with the ability to digitize their content and avoid the need to print physical documents. The solution also impacted existing systems in classrooms, like smartboards and laptops, and created an environment where digital content could be shared and consumed without relying on physical copies.
Result
Decreased time, money, and office space used by reducing or eliminating copying and filing requirements
Reduced time spent filing forms and paperwork, enabling staff to be more efficient
Met privacy and security requirements with an advanced document management solution
Since implementing the Ricoh solution, the District has seen improvements in efficiency, timeliness, cost, and general satisfaction among students and staff.
In the HR department, staff now uses a significantly reduced amount of paper, and the disorderly filing cabinets around the office have been removed.
“We have seen savings in the area of copying and paper usage,” says Paul. “It has also sped up our timelines for getting information out to people.”
The District has used the new system to process over 7,000 inbound forms from parents and students, sending them to teachers and principals for quick sign-off. By digitizing this workflow, staff spends more time serving students and teachers and less time filing paperwork.
“We’re serving 3,000 employees, and now a process that would normally take us months to complete can be completed in a week’s time,” stated Rever. “It’s all automated, no one is touching paper, and this has helped us reduce the cost of management.”
Not only has efficiency and cost improved, but digitizing documents has also led to a greater commitment to privacy and security.
“The system is tied to our strategies around security, privacy, and other requirements that we must meet as an organization,” explained Rever. “As we build out these solutions we’re helping users be compliant and meet legislative requirements.”
Learn more about the ways you can turn physical data into actionable information with our document management solutions.