How to Drive Digital Transformation in Education

Educational institutions have been inching toward digital transformation for years—the pandemic only accelerated investments and efforts to deliver digital experiences across the learning spectrum. With the educational process moving online and higher education facilities offering digital and hybrid work flexibility for staff, all institutions face the need to digitally transform—starting with documentation.

In fall 2020, the National Center for Education Statistics reports more than 11.8 million undergraduate students participated in distance education courses in the United States.

An essential component for embracing the future of remote education and staying competitive in the digital world, digital documentation introduces benefits like automation to your workflows. Modern tools like PDF and eSign solutions allow you to:

• Speed up services and administrative processes
• Provide flexible ways for staff to teach and students to learn
• Cut costs with digital documentation
• Support distance learning

(And that's just getting started.)

Here are some important characteristics to look for in a document solution vendor:

• Look for a company that positions itself as a digital transformation partner—not a technology sales organization. Educational institutions cannot afford to become just transactions because their needs are deeply nuanced, unique to each organization and often complex. Your vendor should be sensitive to those factors and understand your document processes.

• The right provider will take careful consideration of your budget. Educators often have limited budgets with little leeway. You should not feel like your organization is a square peg being forced into a round hole with expensive digital document solutions.

• Speaking of budgets, don't get stuck with surprise fees. To drive true cost efficiency, your vendor should provide flexibility with licenses—in addition to delivering powerful features and performance that don't tax IT.

It can seem risky to move your paper processes to the electronic realm, but the right provider will have robust protection dedicated to keeping your sensitive data secure and your workflows compliant.

Nitro protects the data of more than 1.5 million business users every day. We leverage Amazon Web Services (AWS) for cloud security practices and protection, and we have integrated multiple layers of defense into our technology's infrastructure so you don't have to worry about confidential data getting into the wrong hands.

Learn more about high-trust signatures in our free Ultimate Guide to Electronic Signatures eBook and explore our security and compliance standards by visiting our Trust Center.

Virtual education experiences are here to stay, so offering a remote and hybrid learning environment requires digital document workflows that move administrative processes along quickly and keep students progressing. Parents can sign report cards electronically, students can share homework virtually, and teachers can submit substitute requests digitally—all with Nitro.

The historically paper-heavy processes involved in admissions and enrollment procedures can transform with new efficiencies through PDF and eSign solutions. Digital documentation allows for faster, easier administrative workflows using contactless signing, document sharing and more.

With a solution like Nitro, faculty is no longer bogged down by time-consuming paper processes. No more dealing with printer jams, stagnated workflows for lack of ink or lengthy copier projects. Teachers can use digital handouts and assignments, and eSign allows you to cut physical paper out of the approvals equation. You'll save money on equipment like paper, ink and machines—and you'll save on labor involved in all those processes.

PDF and eSign solutions should integrate seamlessly with your existing solutions. If you've got school management software, human resource platforms, or other technologies, Nitro uses powerful APIs to connect to those systems for full automation. You do not have to rip out existing solutions to accommodate the document tools for your digital transformation. From SharePoint to TalentSoft, Nitro has you covered.

Our PDF and eSign solutions help you digitalize education documents so you can improve the student and educator experience in a simple, secure way. Nitro’s Productivity Platform connects our PDF, eSign and analytics tools in a single solution to streamline all document workflows.

Nitro offers a pilot program for organizations that is distinct from any basic “free trial” offering you’ll find with other digital document providers. During the program, you get the full Nitro Productivity Platform experience.

For several weeks, your users can test and evaluate our solution and explore every feature and possibility in the Nitro Productivity Platform. This program allows you to be absolutely sure you’re getting your money’s worth from these important tools, and if you commit to onboarding, you’ll be set up to rapidly integrate Nitro into your environment—speeding up ROI.

Learn how to try Nitro for free.

We know educational institutions often have entrenched ways of working that can be challenging to upend with new technology.

Not only does Nitro make the transition to PDF and eSign painless with our integrations, we offer personalized change management and 24x7 support with additional resources such as self-help, training, video tutorials and how-to guides.

Nitro has deep experience working with educational institutions to bring student and faculty workflows digital.

Whether you’re running entirely online classes or planning a long-term blend of in-person and virtual learning, we bring you the tools you need to work smarter, not harder. We believe in establishing a long-term partnership to set up your organization for a successful digital transformation that fully supports flexible learning and working.

Nitro Analytics helps you measure productivity for PDF and eSign solution so you can prove you’re getting the most out of your investment. It provides actionable data to optimize the adoption and overall value of your solutions. With the ability to track usage across your Nitro products, you’ll remove bottlenecks, improve performance and automatically calculate ROI.

We’d love to learn about your institution's goals and needs.

Get in touch with Nitro experts today to learn how we can help you on a successful digitalization journey.