The Benefits of Online Enrollment
By Arly Communications on July 14, 2022
How many spots does your youth program have left to fill? How many (and which) kiddos are allergic to nuts? What is the roster looking like overall? How will your teachers know where to send each kid at dismissal?
These are a few of the questions online enrollment can help your team answer with ease.
We’ve heard from many programs who do a combination of Google forms and paper, and the workload of keeping all of that information together is a massive undertaking. Not to mention every additional step allows room for mistakes and missed or conflicting information. The perks of online enrollment extend well beyond creating a digital roster. Here are a few ways the Arly helps our partners to boost their registration and create a better experience for their staff and families.
Simple Sign-ups for Families
Presenting parents with easy enrollment is one of the best ways to ensure their interest in your program leads to registration. Online enrollment is accessible - you can promote click-through links in your email outreach, social posts, and more. It also means families can access registration on their own time, and from a mobile device when a computer isn’t available, which allows a wide and more diverse audience.
When enrollment is done through a family portal, information is maintained, which makes repeat signups a breeze. It also gives families the ability to update their information throughout the program, in the event any medical, transportation, or contact details change.
Increased Accuracy & Efficiency
For organizations themselves, there’s no better way to add efficiency and accuracy to your enrollment process than utilizing a platform where enrollment is connected to the rest of your systems, like attendance and communications. Here’s why:
Seamless Submissions
A major perk for programs who opt for online enrollment is that by having guardians enroll online, your team doesn’t have to enter the data! Seems obvious, but with online enrollment your team can track submissions as soon as they come in and have immediate access to the documents, waivers, and information that was entered during enrollment. Goodbye to paper collection, re-keying of information, and preparing spreadsheets for import; hello to more accurate data and loads of time given back to whomever had to key that information in last year.
Another perk is that by accepting documents and waivers through your online enrollment, you can ensure all required information is present before officially enrolling kids into your program.
Centralized Repository
Those who’ve managed a program or two immediately understand the benefit of having important participant information centrally located and available for instant access. It makes it very easy to find needed items - like for the first day when it’s time to apply sunscreen to only those who’ve submitted the form, at lunch for a quick check on food allergies, or to prove all required medical information is on file if being audited.
With a platform where your enrollment is integrated with your roster and attendance functionality, as soon as applications are submitted that information carries through to other aspects of your program. It helps roster creation, simplifies scholar grouping, and enables your administrators to manage application, enrollment, and participant data across programs and over time. Not to mention when a child is next enrolled, parents can simply update any changed information and you see the program participation history of each child.
Student Safety
It’s safety for the win when it comes to online enrollment - for families and staff alike! Quick access to key information entered during enrollment, like guardian phone numbers, emergency contacts, transportation plans, days attending, known allergies, and medical information, allows your staff to react swiftly and accurately in various situations. Enabling families to update their personal information as-needed is a great way to ensure it remains up-to-date.
Driven by Data Management
Enrollment data flowing directly into your program management solution allows for more visibility all around. It can drive accurate metrics, like attendance, enrollment tracking, and participant retention; daily logistics like meal planning, field trip coordination, and more; and family engagement insights. A quick roll-call (at the class or program level) each morning makes it easy for administrators to see - program-wide - what attendance looks like for the day and how it’s tracking. Sharing that daily attendance helps your lunch staff know how many meals to prepare and the number of snacks to send to room 2. Daily updates can go out via the family app to those whose contact information was entered, and current guardians should be the first you reach out to with recruitment efforts for your upcoming programs.
Arly Online Enrollment
With Arly online enrollment data works with you from the start. From the moment a child is registered through the Family Portal, you have a global view into enrollment and attendance, participant information, and more - all in one centralized and reliable system.
Schedule a demo to learn how parents can apply, administrators can enroll, and staff can take attendance utilizing Arly.