Registrar Microfilm Conversion Solution, BMI Imaging’s Digital ReeL, Selected by Cal State LA

Registrar microfilm conversion solution offers secure, anytime and anywhere access to the student record archive; full-text search and retrieval enables Registrar to offer same day turnaround on transcript requests

Sunnyvale, California – August 16, 2017 – BMI Imaging announced today that California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) has successfully deployed Digital ReeL as its registrar student record microfilm conversion solution.

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.”

The Cal State LA Registrar’s Office is utilizing the Digital ReeL Cloud Option. BMI not only scanned the physical microfilm rolls but currently stores the digital images at its secure data center, which Cal State LA staff accesses via Digital ReeL’s web browser. Security is a big concern to Cal State LA. Although Digital ReeL is web-based, BMI worked with the Registrar team to restrict the web access to systems on campus only.

Seely states, “The Registrar maintains the license keys and we are sharing these log-ins with the Admissions and Alumni Departments.” The Admissions Department, for example, will pull legacy transcripts from Digital ReeL when attempting to readmit students who studied at Cal State LA in the past. The Alumni Department leverages the records as part of donation efforts and verification of degrees.

With Digital ReeL, the Cal State LA Registrar’s Office now offers same day student transcript service. Seely continues, “In the past, 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.”

Read the complete registrar student record microfilm conversion solution case study here.

About BMI Imaging

BMI Imaging Systems, Inc. has been at the forefront of the document management industry since 1958, first with microfilm and now with scanned images. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with an additional production and sales facility in Sacramento, BMI serves over 500 commercial companies and government agencies, converting an average of 3 million images per month. BMI consists of 60 production specialists and support staff, many having worked for the company for ten years or more.

BMI has developed a wealth of experience in several vertical markets (e.g. healthcare, government, education) and offers customized document management solutions in a competitive and changing marketplace.  Scanning paper documents or physical microfilm is usually the most visible task in achieving a full document solution. Identifying record types, determining indexing methods and leveraging content in existing legacy systems are all skills needed to modernize an agency’s document management systems and processes. BMI’s systems integration team has decades of experience to achieve this goal. Internally developed software tools, over 400 to date, are regularly employed to solve complex image and data challenges. Jobs that require analysis, data extraction, multiple service offerings and custom development are those that separate BMI from other providers.