Case Study: Capilano University

Serving students better with feature-rich document management.

About Capilano University

Capilano University is a teaching-focused institution providing high quality education to over 7,000 students at two campuses across the Sunshine Coast and Metro Vancouver. Capilano University has earned an international reputation for quality teaching, programs and services.

“Our older student records, once stored in two large filing cabinets filled with thousands of microfiche films, are now being inputted into the document management system. This is significant risk mitigation for us, and having all of our records centralized is a huge bonus.”
Karen McCredie
Registrar
Capliano University

Challenge

For eight years, Capilano University’s Registrar’s Office had relied on a homegrown system to manage student files.

The system was also not storing scanned documents properly. The scan quality was lacking, which resulted in missing data or illegible scans. Thousands of physical documents were being stored as backups in an offsite secure location.

The system also relied on a complex and expensive barcode labeling system. The process of verifying barcodes on every scanned document was costly and time-consuming.

The staff faced additional roadblocks once documents were scanned. The search function was limited to just the student number and there was no document type filter to narrow search results.

Solution

Ricoh conducted discovery interviews with Capilano University and learned that they would prefer to integrate with the current student information system, which was being used as their student registration backend.

Ricoh Canada built a document management solution that connected to the school’s student information system for scanning, searching and storing student records.

Student records scanned into the system are now optical character recognition (OCR) enabled, allowing full-text search for any keyword.
Ricoh Canada’s solution eliminated the need for the entire barcode system, and has paved the way for the office to reduce or eliminate physical record storage.
Ricoh Canada also installed a new batch of Kodak scanners on employees’ desks so documents can be scanned immediately.
Ricoh is also helping Capilano University digitize older student records by scanning them offsite at one of Ricoh’s five Business Information Services Centres, which are used to facilitate business process outsourcing.

Result

Ricoh’s document management solution, scanners and imaging services improved the Registrar staff's daily workflow, saving both time and money.

Employees now save approximately 30 seconds per scanned page, and hardware and supply costs have dropped dramatically.

With the barcoding system removed, there is no risk of losing a document mid-way through the scanning process. Employees can scan documents at their desk, or at any Ricoh multifunctional device within the office.

All documents are now searchable, which is a great benefit for employees looking for specific student records.

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