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Tag: data security

Ensure student data security through college ERP implementation

Posted on by Hemant Mahajan

We live in a digital age where data decides how our business functions and operates. A decade ago, nobody would believe that the bits and bytes stored in the database is something more valuable than gold. I am sure, data and its usability in the education sector too must have reached your ears. And also, the prudent apprehensions in the market about keeping the data secure. 

As much as people want to use data to improve their decision-making, people do dread cyber attacks. Data breaches are a common scenario. You must build your institute on a robust digital infrastructure that provides you protection against all types of cybercrimes. 

Importance of Data Security in Colleges

As much as data is important for educational institutes, it is one of the most valuable assets for your organization. Having said that, you need to protect it and ensure your students are safe from any cybercrime attack. Any vulnerabilities in data management can harm your reputation and may result in a decline in the student admission ratio. Also, students and parents nowadays, especially after online learning people have become more aware of cybercrime and do take these things seriously. 

To avoid any such situation, you must have a robust Student Information System in place which allows you to protect the data across all the colleges of the university. These are advanced college ERP solutions that provide you host of operational capabilities along with automation in the processes to reduce the workload on your employees. Security, easier data management, and ease of operations this is one solutions to all your problems. 

How far the data can be misused? 

A student enrolled at your college is required to give away personal, financial, and social information to you. You store it in your database be it cloud or on-premise. Any mismanagement or malfunction in security can lead to data leakage. 

Cybercriminals may use these gaps in the security system to access the academic information of the students or may copy the electronic copies of the card or financial information of students and their parents, or may also send out phishing links to their personal emails causing them to fall prey to their ill intentions. 

How does Academia College ERP System help ensure data security?

Academia College ERP system is advanced software that allows you to manage your data better and ensure security. The software is built to bring automation to various operations and reduces the need for manual intervention. Furthermore, it comes with a highly secure centralized data system that keeps logs, provides role-based data access, and comes with encryption. 

We ensure the protection of the following data: 

  • Personal and general information of the students
  • Fee data & Admission data 
  • Hostel data
  • Attendance records
  • Academic records
  • Student performance data
  • Alumni data 

How does Academia College ERP streamline data and operations? 

Using multiple tools for performing various tasks at your college can give way to security breaches. Not all software solutions offer secure interoperability. Also, integrations and plug-ins may not be implemented by keeping standard practices. 

Academia college ERP solution is a single platform where you can manage all the student information, and perform various tasks to manage your college, also you can use various reports and data analytics to take any decision for your college. 

Since it is a single platform, you don’t have to worry about data sharing. Also, the product is configurable, you can stay assured that we provide secure 3rd party integrations to the software. 

The centralized database can be accessed as per the job role and through OTP or passwords. The data is highly encrypted and any breaches can be easily detected and declined automatically, without your intervention. 

Summing Up 

Data security is a necessity for educational institutes. It is important as you make your way toward digital transformation you must prepare yourself to fight cybercrimes. Academia College ERP system can be your chance to achieve both data security and digital transformation. Connect with our ERP specialists to understand more about the product and how we can help you in making your processes more robust, efficient, and secure. 

Data Security is a Concern for the Education Industry

Posted on by Hemant Mahajan

Data privacy is a pressing issue for the education industry. But this is not something new. For any industry that is keeping its first step towards digitalization, security becomes a pressing issue and this time it is the education industry. 

How did it all start?

Now how did it start? Covid-19 has accelerated the adoption rate of technology across the globe. In a very short time, many institutes were forced to take hasty decisions and go with the available vendor without thinking much about security and the upcoming challenges pertaining to data and its mismanagement. 

Current Scenario

Now that the world is relaxing after a two-year-long harsh battle with Covid-19, it is time to rethink those choices. Now education institutes are thinking about the data that is being shared daily on online platforms by students, faculty, and school officials. This has made education institutes a primary target of cyber criminals as the proper security measures are still lacking. Frequent and high-intensity cyberattacks have become prominent in the education sector over the last two years. 

Moreover, even software that uses powerful data security regulations often becomes vulnerable to these attacks. Not always it is the fault of the product you are using. The problem may lie in the loosely integrated 3rd party software that gives cracks in your system to make a breach. The partner applications may not follow high standards of security and this may make you more prone to data theft. 

Furthermore, thousands of students use their personal devices to access the web and mobile applications and this may put the server at risk. Also, the students are at risk as the malicious code can be pushed to the devices, or phishing emails or messages may be sent easily to the students. 

Common security threats faced by EdTech companies 

In recent times, edtech companies have become a big target for cybercriminals. There have been instances of security breaches, phishing, stealing of data, and other instances. Here are some of the most frequent threats that are battled by edtech companies around the world:

  • Cloud Security Breaches: 

One of the most common threats for edtech companies is breaches in cloud-based applications. Cloud-based applications create a virtual depository of data that is very easy to access remotely. Data dissemination and analytics are also fairly easy in cloud-based applications as compared to on-premise applications. 

But at the same time, the risk of data breaches concerning the personal information of students and educators, financial operations, and other tasks associated with an institution. Cybercriminals may use this information and redirect the payments to a fictitious account that hackers control. 

  • Phishing:

Phishing needs no introduction as it is one of the most common threats. Cyber attackers mask their identity as a trusted entity and lure the users into divulging into sharing private and sensitive information such as credit card numbers, etc. Mostly cyber criminals target children as they are gullible and easy targets. 

  • Denial of Service (DoS): 

This is a new type of cybercrime, wherein the cyberattack makes sure that data or the systems that are used by the user are not accessible and are denied access. The cyberattack involves flooding the network with information and this disrupts the existing services. 

Denial of Services (DoS) in the context of edtech may result in disruption of education, delays in getting the right information for efficient administrative operations, or unavailability of knowledge resources or study material. 

  • Malware:

Malware attacks are very common. The software gets installed on the computer or server without the knowledge of the user, they come in various types and are employed to steal sensitive information of the users or commit crimes such as extortion.

  • Zoombombing:

It is fairly recent, online video conferencing platforms are interrupted by intruders. Incidents such as hate speeches against students during online classroom sessions or exposure to unwanted, harmful media during virtual classes have been reported. 

How Academia ERP is beating cyberattacks and staying compliant with global security standards? 

  • General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): 

We are a GDPR-compliant organization. It is one of the biggest security standards for the countries in Europe, where the regulatory framework ensures we are assessing and processing the large volumes of data involving users securely and are not mishandling the data at all. We adhere to the framework very strictly and have by far never had any incidences concerning the mishandling of data or privacy breaches. 

  • Conducting Security audits: 

We timely conduct security audits and make sure there are no gaps in security with respect to our product. Furthermore, we go a step ahead and make sure the integrations that we do for our clients are not lost and do not provide any cracks through which the cybercriminals can make breaches.

  • Network and System Security

Network and system security are taken very seriously in Academia ERP. We take various measures to ensure the data and information is protected and shared through only secured channels through reliable access and network performance. Our well-designed network security solution ensures protection from a wide range of viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, adware, and ransomware. 

  • Cybersecurity awareness sessions

We are a big team of 200+ individuals, and we make sure each of our employees is adhering to the security standards and is following compliance. We regularly conduct cybersecurity awareness sessions and provide training to our employees about data protection and security protocols. 

  • Two-factor authentication & role-based access controls

Two-factor authentication and role-based access controls are implemented in the software solution. This allows us to make sure there is no unauthorized access to the system and that you face no situation where there is data leakage. 

Summing Up

Cybercrimes in the education sector are growing at a fast rate. As a decision-maker, the key to protecting yourself and other stakeholders using digital tools for administrative, academic, and non-academic operations lies in your hands.  

You can do right by choosing a reliable solution provider such as Academia Education ERP / Student Information System which adheres to the highest security standards and has by far had no instances of security breaches. We follow international standards of security and stay compliant with global regulatory frameworks. 

Know more about highly secure Education ERP called Academia ERP security by dropping a message. Also, get full-blown exposure to Academia ERP and its amazingness by requesting a live product demo. 

How Data Analytics Improves the Efficiency of Educational Institutes?

Posted on by Hemant Mahajan

The education ecosystem includes various small and medium entities like universities, colleges, schools, and training centers. It involves a huge amount of data and information that needs to be stored, managed, and organized in a way to be accessed anytime. Manual intervention in institutions makes this process a bit complicated and sometimes creates situations for breaches of confidential data. 

So how can you solve this in the modern era of education and technology? Education analytics can become the perfect solution to this. Using analytics institutions can attain a lot of opportunities for better data gathering and analysis that can help faculty members and students in the long run. 

Want to know how it is possible? Let’s discuss it in more detail:

What is the role of analytics and reporting dashboards in an educational institution?

Modern educational institutions need to understand analytics so they can attain advanced outcomes that can significantly transform the way of teaching, learning, and managing the whole institutional objectives. 

Analytics and reporting dashboards can effectively attain and engage current and prospective students, increasing student enrollment, and improving student retention and completion rates. It can help institutions achieve intended outcomes with pace and perception. 

How can analytics improve academic and administrative efficiency in an institution?

Analytics and reporting are becoming increasingly helpful for educational institutions to attain positive outcomes, it can effectively manage all the academic and administrative operations of an institution. Let’s discuss it in greater detail:

 

Academic Management Using Analytics 

  • Efficient admission process 

Admissions are considered one of the most important sessions which includes enquiry, registrations, enrollment, and various other tasks. Analytics can lead to proper and effective management tracking every information related to their data, finding efficient patterns, and shifting the admission process to go smoothly. 

  • Program and courses management 

Managing programs and courses in an institution is also vital, institutions must opt for tools and technologies that can help in selecting programs and courses using data analytics. Selection of the right course within the right time along with all the data makes students more focused. This improves students in the subject and indicates to whom and when specific learning content should be delivered. 

  • Effective management of fee operations 

Fee management is also one of the crucial tasks that include multiple bill payments, transactions, and more. In modern education institutions, it is important to accelerate online payments and create a systematic fee payment procedure. Data analytics with an ERP can facilitate complete fee management having multiple features including online payments, mobile notifications, and access to all other features. It can differentiate between generating receipts, canceling the transaction, creating receipts for backdating, and more. 

  • Advanced attendance management 

Attendance is considered one of the most necessary tasks for any educational institution, but with manual intervention, this process becomes critical and sometimes creates chaos and confusion among faculty members, students, and even higher authorities. An ERP integrated with data analytics can provide complete data management of attendance along with biometric integration of each student’s attendance. Graphic presentation of attendance becomes easier for all students and faculty members creating a systematic loop of daily attendance. 

  • Enhanced data security 

Data security is often the most important concern for any educational institution. Institutions should opt for tools and techniques that can provide enhanced security. What is better than an education ERP? It deals with complete data security having data analytics and system usage analysis to track all the data and information from any resource. It gives security to students and faculty members in providing and managing confidential information related to any subject matter in the institution. 

  • Complete student lifecycle management 

Students are the ultimate stakeholders of any institution and almost every operation in the institution remains associated with students. Right from admission to alumni of the student, multiple tasks need to be performed by the institution along with providing a better user experience to students. Using analytics, institutions can attain a robust student lifecycle management providing perfect catchup to exact details of students. Students also get the authority to have quick responses to their requests whether it is related to admission enquiry, examination, or any other query.

Administrative management using analytics 

  • Hostel management 

The hostel is often a section that needs separate care and involvement from the institutional authorities. Having a perfect system that can trigger automation of all the basic operations like the number of students in the hostel, the number of amenities, availability, and attendance of students, and related things. Analytics used effectively can make all these simpler and more organized. 

  • Transport management 

Another crucial activity in an educational institution is transportation! It involves a huge amount of manpower, money, and resources. Institutions need to understand that using automation they can make this process more aligned and systematic. GPS trackers and cameras are added to the analytics through which counting of each student, their bills, their attendance, and all other things can be measured and analyzed. With all these, tracking and maintenance of drivers and helpers’ activity add to the feather with students’ safety. 

  • Library management 

Libraries dole out a vital role in the education industry. It can be called the brain system of any stakeholder in the institute. With the enhancement in the digital content, it is initial to manage the catalog of the educational institutions with a scalable and reliable library management system having feature-rich analytics and reporting dashboard. It will support each requirement related to the library and its management virtually. 

How can analytics bring a differentiation to your institution?

With the emerging EdTech trends, analytics is playing a vital role in the educational ecosystem. It can help institutions achieve automation and digital transformation by opting for software like an ERP/SIS. 

Analytics can simply create differentiation in your institution creating a data log of each activity whether it is for students, faculty members, parents, or higher authorities. It can be considered a breakthrough point of success for your institution. 

Conclusion

Hope you liked the article and got to understand how data analytics improves the efficiency of educational institutes? Want to know more about analytics and reporting dashboards, contact us now, and one of the experts will get connected to you to help you with the best. 

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