News
News
San Diego State University Saves After Implementation of Singularity
SANTA FE SPRINGS — August 9, 2005 — The faculty and staff of San Diego State University are dedicated to their students, but because of the approximate 50,000 undergraduate applicants and 6,000 graduate applications received each year, it made it difficult for the Admissions Office to perform the necessary applicant evaluation process and often resulted in student inconvenience and staff frustration. During this time of the year SDSU would employ an additional 12 full-time temporary staff members to help with the application process. SDSU commissioned Hershey Systems, Inc. and their flagship product Singularity to help SDSU obtain their goals of improving staff productivity, automating the workflow process using OCR technology and develop a technology foundation that is designed for future growth. With the use of Singularity Transcripts, Archive, Integration and Workflow SDSU was able to obtain their set goals and eliminate their need for the 12 seasonal staff members, which resulted in a significant cost savings and a significant increase in student satisfaction.
“There was a significant cost savings after the implementation of Singularity, said Rita Gajoli, Associate Executive Director of Enrollment Services at San Diego State University. “It eliminated the need to hire 12 full-time temporary staff members for the 4 months it took to complete the workload.”
Singularity – A Major Cost Savings
“Undergraduate applications are received and processed electronically, so we do not need to scan them. We do scan, however, the approximate 6,000 graduate applications that are received each year,” stated Rita Gajoli, Associate Executive Director of Enrollment Services at SDSU. The majority of the undergraduate applications arrive in the Admissions Office between October and November. These must be processed into the student information system (SIMS-R) by the end of December each year. The goal of the department was to input all data prior to the winter vacation holiday. Prior to the introduction of Singularity this goal was obtained by hiring an additional 12 full-time, temporary staff members to help with the workload.
“The most beneficial part of Singularity is the Electronic upload of the approximate 50,000 CSU Mentor applications into Singularity. The index module is also a great improvement over our last system, and more stable” stated Gajoli. Once the files are automatically uploaded an operator approves and double-checks the document for any possible errors and, once indexed, the document is uploaded into the Singularity Archive software, which triggers the appropriate Singularity Workflow, and the document is then sent through the pre-defined application workflow; this entire process takes place in a matter of minutes.
“There was a significant cost savings after the implementation of Singularity. It eliminated the need to hire 12 full-time temporary staff members for the 4 months it took to complete the workload” noted Rita Gajoli, Associate Executive Director of Enrollment Services. “Now, with the help of Singularity, there are only 4 staff members total needed to complete the application process.”
SDSU currently has approximately 30 users signed into Singularity, which is primarily used by the Office of Enrollment Services for archive and retrieval, OCR and workflow. In addition to the Admissions Office, the Athletics Office, Graduate Division Office, and Liberal Studies advisers have also been able to incorporate the benefits Singularity into their offices as well. SDSU has improved staff productivity, eliminated the printing of applications submitted online, and developed a technology foundation designed for future growth all with the help of Singularity developed by Hershey Systems, Inc.
About Hershey Systems
Hershey Systems, Inc. provides innovative software solutions to more than 200 Higher Education Institutions across the United States. Hershey is focused on the higher education market and is recognized as the leading provider of student-centered solutions. Hershey's software solutions for higher education include the Singularity Suite, DocBox XE and MedPro. The Singularity Suite is a web-based document management and process software product that enables our clients to manage all critical business process and documents. In addition Hershey offers an Internet appliance device, the DocBox XE is an "all in one" Internet appliance device created to allow the secure disbursement of mission critical documents; MedPro is a practice management software product developed specifically to meet the unique needs of Student Health Centers. Hershey is has corporate offices in the following locations: Los Angeles, California - Sacramento, California - Des Moines, Iowa - Charlotte, North Carolina - London, United Kingdom.
For more information on Hershey Systems:
Amy Chung(562) 483-6900 X126
amy.chung@hershey.com
www.hershey.com