Setting up FormLizard - Schools
To say that school budgets are tight is an understatement. Never have educators and administrators had to do so much with so little. Our education customers have told us that they know we understand this. From our low pricing and high functionality, to our high security standards, FormLizard is a great way to move forward with technology in these lean times.
This section describes how schools are using FormLizard. The most common use we see is for handling New Student Registration packets. We have made some good videos that specifically describe how to setup a student registration packet, if you would rather watch than read.
In this section, we’ll address setting up a student registration packet and also describe an approach for reducing printing costs for those intermitent forms that are needed from time-to-time, like field trip permission forms or authorization to dispence medicine during school hours.
Student Registration Packets
Registration packets often contain multiple forms, each with some redundant information such as name of student, name of parents/guardians, home address, phone and the like. Of course, with FormLizard this information is entered only once and it is correctly placed on each of the forms.
An example would be a registration packet containing the following forms:
- Student Information Form
- Parent/Guardian Information Form
- Student Placement Information
- Medical Screening Permission Form
- Notice to Parents Regarding Immunization Deficiencies
Each of these forms probably started out as MS Word file that someone created and perhaps has been put in PDF form on the school’s website. We recommend combining each of the separate MS Word files into one long form, with page breaks in between each form. This combined form is the one that would then be uploaded into FormLizard. This is recommended for the following reasons (by our school customers):
- First, it keeps the cost of FormLizard down, instead of using five forms (or more) in FormLizard, the one long form only uses one. This means four other forms can be added and still be at the $5/month level.
- It reduces the number of electronic files that need to be handled. One PDF document with all of the student information also allows the parents to E-Submit just one form.
- It reduces the number of signatures needed: some of our customers have attached one signature page at the end, listing each of the forms being singed by the one signature block. Some of our customers have also incorporated an electronic signature capture device in the school office, so they don’t have to print out any paper.
- For parents with multiple students, they can complete one form for each student rather than multiple, meaning that if they had three students, they would complete three forms rather than 15 or 18. They can even complete the first, then start a second interview using the answers from the first interview and then just change the student name, and other student-specific information.
- Lastly, by combining the forms into one, the data can be easily extracted and imported into the student management system of the school. If the school’s web developer is using FormLizard’s API, the data can be entered into the school’s system automatically.
Below is a diagram showing one way you can setup FormLizard for parents/guardians to use.
An important timesaver for all is using FormLizard to update data. Parents may login to their secure data anytime and update their information, thereby eliminating the need to get new paper forms, fill them out again, and then have the school administrative personnel have to re-enter the information. In this way, FormLizard can be used as a databank.
Overall, using FormLizard for student registration packets achieves the following benefits:
- reduces the time and printing costs required to handle, distribute and process student registration packets. With FormLizard, nearly all registrations can be handled electronically.
- eliminates handwritten paper forms handling, including deciphering bad handwriting and tracking down information to fill-in incomplete answers.
- allows parents to more conveniently update the data, meaning that the school is likely to have current data
- establishes your school as a technology forward school, showing that you also walk the walk.
Intermittent Forms
Using FormLizard for intermittent forms, such as permission slips and authorization forms greatly improves the timeliness of getting the forms returned. Setting them up is easy, since most are just one page forms that started off as MS Word documents. Add in the field tags, upload and create your interview.
One area where we see schools reducing paperwork (and costs) is in having the forms E-Submitted , so no paper is needed. The issue always comes down to getting the parent/guardian signature on the form. What we have seen some schools do, is to include a page on the interview with a field for the parent/guardian to enter their name and click a checkbox as a proxy for their handwritten signature. There can be other text on this interview page explaining that by entering their name and clicking the checkbox they are electronically signing this document. Before using this approach though, be sure to get permission from your school’s legal counsel.
As you use FormLizard in your school, be sure to let us know any tips or tricks you come up with and we’ll continue to add to this section.
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