Educational institutions are some of the busiest places around. Dozens of students and employees enter and leave the campus daily (and even hourly, if you run a college or university).
With classes and various activities happening every hour, it can be hard to stay on top of everything happening inside your campus.
The influx and outflow of different learning and teaching materials that students and instructors need, and of the supplies that are essential for having organized, clean, and safe premises, also make it challenging for anyone to manage a school.
If you have the important job of managing a school, using the right technology can help you track and simplify various activities and functions. As a result, you will be able to stay on top of everything happening in your campus.
RFID in Educational Institutions
The Radio Frequency Identification or RFID system is one of the most innovative and useful technological solutions implemented in the area of education.
An RFID counting system allows you to capture, identify, and categorize all school-related data.
The data is then entered in your centralized computer system with little or no human intervention since RFID uses radio waves to accomplish this.
An RFID system can have different uses in schools and provide several benefits, which include:
- Convenient Attendance Monitoring of Students
One of the most remarkable benefits of using an RFID system in educational institutions is the automatic recording of attendance.
Regardless of the level of the education, instructors will find it difficult to be accurate when manually taking attendance daily. This method can be time-consuming and prone to inaccuracies.
When students have IDs embedded with an RFID tag, their attendance will be marked automatically whenever they enter the campus. Faculty members wonāt have to do this manually, allowing them to devote more time to other important tasks.
This automatic attendance monitoring system plays a key role in enhancing the overall security and safety in your school.
When implemented correctly, an RFID attendance system provides security to the daily operations of your school and safety of the students. This is because all the information about each learner is recorded after they enter and leave the campus.
If you run a primary education institution, this added security feature will give the studentsā parents peace of mind that their children are safe inside your premises.
When you choose the right RFID system, the studentsā parents can also receive notifications through SMS or a mobile app whenever their children arrive and leave the campus.
This automatic attendance monitoring feature is something that faculty members, school administrators, and parents will find beneficial.
- Cost-Efficient Timekeeping System for Faculty and Non-Teaching Staff
When you have an RFID system, aside from using it for monitoring student attendance, it can also double as a timekeeping device for your employees.
RFID can be integrated with a timeclock system so that you can monitor the attendance of employees. You can also use this to track their hours for payroll and other purposes.
With this integration, you will have quick access to real-time and accurate data regarding employee hours anytime. You can then evaluate and improve your teamās productivity since you will be able to identify the workers who arrive on time or late, who leave early, and who are often absent.
Additionally, with this data, you can have a clear picture of employee issues, including unscheduled or excessive breaks.
Investing in an RFID system, is therefore, one of the most cost-efficient business decisions you can make to improve various processes in your educational institution and help you become a better manager and leader.
- Ease of Tracking
RFID systems can store data that you can keep and access for years. Moreover, they have a high capacity for storing loads of information.
Because of this, you and your team can find key information on any student when needed even years after they have left your school.
This feature makes it easier for clerks or administrators to process transcripts. It allows them to do away with the need to check different spreadsheets or records to collate the needed information.
Whether a student needs a full transcript or any specific information regarding their stay in your school, your RFID system can give you an accurate report that can be printed out within seconds.
- Better Library Experience for Students
An RFID system is also an excellent tool you can use to enhance the library experience for your students.
Instead of barcodes, you can have the books implanted with RFID tags. This facilitates faster tracking and data analysis of library resources.
Additionally, when integrated with the RFID tags of the studentsā IDs, you can give users a seamless experience in lending and returning books. This can prevent long queues and waiting times in the library.
This tech tool also allows students to search any book they need faster using the library or school management software.
Over time, your RFID system can also give you helpful reports on how students move around and which books are used within the library so you can gain insights on the behavior of your learners.
- Increased Efficiency in Cafeterias
With the cafeteria being one of the busiest places in your campus, you can also use an RFID system to make various operations here go faster and more efficiently.
You can use your RFID system to automate different operations in your cafeteria. With the right feature, you can have payments deducted automatically from the pre-funded electronic wallets of students and employees.
This will save your students and employees plenty of time whenever they are at the cafeteria. It will also help the management run the place more efficiently.
- Better Inventory Management
Managing the continuous influx and outflow of supplies in schools can be tough. You can help your team manage the inventory better with an RFID system.
Whenever new supplies arrive, your staff can attach an RFID tag to the product and scan it with the handheld RFID reader. The data will then be recorded in the inventory software, which identifies and catalogs the product.
With this system, users will be able to locate, verify and analyze the supplies as items are moved or used from the inventory.
With access to detailed and real-time information, you can minimize loss and theft of supplies. All items will be managed and used more efficiently as well.
When implemented correctly and used responsibly, an RFID system can be a valuable tool that will help you run a safe, well-organized school that students and employees will love attending every day.
