CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LOS ANGELES (CAL STATE LA)
“It used to take days to respond to a transcript request that was on our microfilm. We were pleasantly surprised with Digital ReeL’s search and retrieval speed. We now offer same-day turnaround for transcript requests that come into the office. Searches are now completed in minutes, not days.”
– Chelsey Seely | Assistant Registrar for Academic Records
OVERVIEW
The mission of the Cal State LA Registrar’s Office is to provide the most efficient academic services to students, faculty and alumni without compromising institutional or legal standards. Security and timeliness to accurate information guides the department’s actions.
The Registrar’s Office consists of a staff of 35 people, 10 who focus on records management. Overall responsibilities include student transcript record production and handling changes such as grades and majors.
Chelsey Seely, Assistant Registrar for Academic Records, states “When I started here in August 2015, the microfilm was hitting the 30 year old mark and we knew that digitally converting the records would be important for not only convenience, but also long-term retention.”
Seely continues, “Our campus utilizes OnBase for regular scanning and indexing of day-to-day forms. We went to that team for a bid, but the price came back too high. We discovered Digital ReeL at the PACRAO Conference; it met our requirements and happened to be about one tenth of the price.”
CHALLENGES
- Microfilm 30+ years old; degradation threatened viability of student transcript archive
- Inefficient for staff to access records, often taking days to respond to student transcript requests
BMI PRODUCTS & SERVICES
- 1,729 physical microfilm rolls converted at BMI’s document scanning facility in Sunnyvale, CA
- Student transcripts hosted at BMI’s secure data center for instant, online access
BENEFITS
- No Registrar IT staff required
- 200+ records accessed per month from Digital ReeL
- Secure, anytime and anywhere access to the student record archive (security parameters prevent off campus access)
- Full-text search and retrieval enables Registrar to offer same day turnaround on transcript requests