As an International fee-paying school, you’ll be no stranger to the Student Information System (SIS) market. There are an increasing number of solutions available, all seeming to meet your daily operational needs as an education institution. But what about your needs as a business?
As the demands on K-12 fee-paying International schools continue to grow, so does the need for a more comprehensive solution than the traditional database SIS. An ERP could be the software that your school needs to truly thrive in an evolving market.
A school ERP for International schools in Asia means more than just everyday data management. So, you need a provider that can keep up with your scaling demands. While your current systems may be powerful, now might be the time to consider how you can move beyond the SIS, towards a more comprehensive, whole-school approach to software.
- SIS vs. ERP: What's the difference?
- Why do you need more than an SIS?
- Benefits of a school ERP for International Asia schools
- Key features in a K-12 fee-paying school ERP
- How to choose the right software for your needs
- iSAMS: Think beyond the school management system
SIS vs. ERP: What’s the difference?
An SIS has always been the traditional go-to software option for schools, whether fee-paying or publicly funded. These offer all the key functionality your school needs to run, from an educational operations perspective. This might include timetabling, student data management, cover management, and more.
However, fee-paying schools are typically more than just schools. Full business management requires a far wider scope of operations, including academics, but also administration, finance, HR, communication, and more.
An ERP extends beyond what a traditional SIS can offer. ERP software doesn't make an SIS obsolete, but simply work in tandem with your school management system to ensure that the entire school body is functioning efficiently and to maximise your success.
As schools turn into powerful businesses, ERP software may be the better option for driving growth and scaling business operations for your school leaders.
Why do you need more than an SIS?
The requirements placed on school administrative teams become more and more complex. With growing numbers of campuses, a diverse range of curricula, and even a global workforce, software demands can only increase with business growth.
However, these software demands don’t only originate from your school admin teams. Parents have higher expectations for real-time communication from their student’s schools. They are keener to be involved in their child’s learning than ever, and it’s your school’s responsibility to meet those needs in order to maintain that vital connection.
It’s also important to note that each country and each school face their own challenges relating to both financial management and compliance requirements. Many school management systems weren’t built with these needs in mind, and can lack the required flexibility and functionality.
There is a plethora of dedicated solutions on the market for each of your school’s departments – but how do you know whether you’re making the right decision for your institution?
Benefits of a school ERP for International Asia schools
There are a few key benefits to note when considering implementing a full school ERP for International schools. Note the following during your research phase:
- Centralised management: Ensure that your staff, student, finance, admissions, etc. management can be handled efficiently, with a Central hub for all key data and processes.
- Improved parent-teacher-student communication: Integrated systems, apps, and portals all ensure that parents are updated on key school events, including milestones and student achievement – forming a more cohesive partnership between home and school.
- Scalability for growing schools: It goes without saying that your school’s primary goal is to continue growing – so implement a full system that can grow with you and reduce the potential for future administrative demand.
- Analytics and insights: By connecting multiple areas of your business management, you can ensure that your data is truly driving your decision-making.
Key features in a K-12 fee-paying school ERP
While it’s important to recognise the benefits of a full school solution, it’s not guaranteed that your providers can offer all the functionality that your school needs. Take the time to create a list of key functionality for your school before engaging with potential software partners. These will differ for each school, but here are just a few key suggestions for the right solution:
- Integrated SIS: While an ERP may be the best option for your school, that doesn’t mean reduced school management functionality – the right provider should be able to offer a comprehensive SIS as a focus for school productivity.
- Full-service financial management: Your budgeting and forecasting is vital to effective school management, ensuring that your finances are driving school growth – not working against it. That’s why the right provider should offer a comprehensive solution for your school accounting department, including payroll and audit functionality.
- Timetable and resource scheduling: Your timetable ultimately keeps your school running, but your staff and students are also human. Your system should be able to keep up with your timetabling requirements and offer flexible and user-friendly solutions.
- Parent and student portals: Communicaton is more vital than ever, and is increasingly expected by your community of parents. Keep up with their expectations and maintain their engagement with their child’s learning by choosing a provider that can offer user-friendly, accessible parent and student portals.
- Data security and compliance: It goes without saying, but data security should be at the forefront of any software deliberations. Cloud hosting should always be a first, but ensure that your provider understands your unique compliance demands for your region and your school set up.
- Third-party compatibility: No one provider can offer every single piece of functionality or solution that every school needs. It’s important to recognise this but also recognise that there is a solution. Third-party integration amd API technology should be the backbone of the one-of-a-kind school software you need.
How to choose the right software for your needs
Now that you have just a few key components to search for, it’s critical to have a structured process to begin your software search. It can be easy to choose a system that doesn’t ultimately work for you when your search process is disorganised, and without a clear goal.
Step 1: Assess your current system limitations
If you’re searching for a new software suite, chances are that your teams are not satisfied with your current options. That’s a great place to begin. Speak to those that interact with your current software and understand their challenges, concerns, and gripes with your daily drivers. These should form the basis of the must-haves as you engage with new suppliers.
Step 2: Involve all stakeholders
It can be easy to get bogged down by the loudest voices when making changes in any school. However, it’s not simply the leadership team or even IT that should 100% drive this decision. Your admin teams, teachers, parents, finance managers, and more all interact with and rely on your school systems. Ensure you’re taking all opinions and requirements into account.
Step 3: Prioritise scalability, flexibility, and integrations
It’s important to take a proactive and positive position when searching for new systems. Your primary goal as a school is to grow, so you need software that can keep up. Bear in mind the future of your school, not just the present, when assessing all the functionality offered by a potential software provider.
Step 4: Regional support and compliance are unique
You may find there are a range of suppliers that boast similar functionality and overall package. This is where the small things often become the decision-makers. In the case of International schools, regional support can be vital but not a given for all providers. Take the time to discuss your region-specific needs and ensure alignment.
iSAMS: Think beyond the school management system
From the very beginning, iSAMS was built to grow and evolve. The education industry has never stood still, so neither should your software. What was built to serve as a comprehensive MIS, has now extended into a full suite of systems that hold the needs of Independent and International schools at their heart.
The future of efficient school management lies in flexible, scalable systems that can adapt to a continually updating landscape. That’s why iSAMS not only expands, but integrates with a range of additional solutions – to enable you to build the solution that really works for you.
Start with the SIS, and then chat to us about our full range of systems to support global K-12, fee-paying schools: