Signing documents for acknowledgement or agreement is commonplace in various organisations worldwide. However, physical signing is one of those curious productivity traps that still takes far too long in many settings.
That’s why modern educational institutions need to embrace digital solutions like Adobe Acrobat Sign to expedite the document signing process, boost transparency, reduce errors, and eliminate the need for manual data re-entry.
One such modern educational leader, the University of Pretoria (UP), implemented Acrobat Sign, a key component of the Adobe Document Cloud product offering. This dramatically improved the efficiency and experience of enrolling postgraduate students through a seamless contract-signing experience.
The Digital Shift in Higher Education
The world of education is constantly evolving, and with it, there is a need for adaptability and resilience. Many academic institutions embrace change and are facing a digital transformation.
UP’s adoption of Acrobat Sign for managing student contracts is evidence of the education sector’s move toward streamlined, digital experiences that align with security standards and reduce administrative burdens.
Case Study: Adobe Acrobat Sign at the University of Pretoria
Adobe Acrobat Sign has expedited the contract signing process at the university and improved transparency and accuracy.
Verona Demas, Manager of Applications, Contracts, and Electronic Document Services, attests that the successful integration has led to a marked reduction in enrolment errors, eliminated the need for manual data re-entry, and reduced costs related to printing and physical storage.
We’ll tell you more about what they did in the following sections.
The Challenge
Historically, UP faced significant challenges with the manual processing of student contracts. This laborious approach led to misplaced documents, data entry errors, and substantial time spent on verification and paperwork handling.
Furthermore, the physical contracts’ storage presented logistical and cost concerns.
The Requirements
Key staff at UP wanted to explore the possibility of giving their postgraduate students over 25 the option to sign their enrolment contracts electronically instead of manually signing them and returning the document to the university.
The contract consisted of 8 pages that needed to be filled in, initialled, and signed, and it was to be returned by post, courier, or hand-delivered to the student service centre for processing.
The Solution
This manual process was tedious, with signed contracts needing to be manually captured, processed, and archived in physical filing cabinets. Enter Adobe Acrobat Sign, a tool that allows students to receive contracts by email and insert a legally binding signature in minutes!
Bishen Gosai, an Adobe Acrobat Sign Specialist from Learning Curve, worked tirelessly with Verona Demas to streamline the efficiency of this process and ensure that the template included all the relevant details required for the contracts department.
The Results
For the 2023 academic year, over 2600 students were admitted, and this number increased to at least 4000 in the following year.
The electronic version of the admissions contract was set up as a template on the University of Pretoria’s Acrobat Sign dashboard that was accessible to anyone within the contracts department to send out the contract using Acrobat Sign.
This could be sent to students ad hoc as and when required or sent in bulk.
This simple yet powerful process eliminated errors previously encountered due to illegible forms and missing information and, most importantly, no longer required manual re-capturing of the forms since the form data was made electronically available to the contracts department.
In addition, replacing a paper-centric signing workflow with a paperless one has equated to cost savings for both the student and the university since the printing and delivery cost was eliminated for the student, and the tedious capturing time was eliminated for the university.
This ultimately led to a higher completion percentage for their enrolment processes. Additionally, the previously manual system that took 3-5 days for contract processing could now be completed in less than a day.
The introduction of Adobe Acrobat Sign at UP has also significantly increased enrolment completion rates. Other significant wins include less re-work, improved student satisfaction, and operational efficiency.
Adobe Acrobat Sign allowed UP to manage a growing volume of contracts without additional resources, setting it up for future success.
Benefits for the Educational Sector
Adopting Adobe Document Cloud solutions at UP has brought a new era of efficiency and digital flexibility. There are many benefits: cost savings, enhanced student experience, reduced administrative workload, and environmental sustainability.
The University of Pretoria’s experience with Adobe products confirms the power of Adobe’s software. It demonstrates how technology can improve business productivity, teaching, learning, and research outcomes. Any institution in a similar position can reap these benefits by adopting Adobe technology.
UP’s experience emphasises the importance of a smooth transition to digital solutions.
With the support of Learning Curve, a Platinum Adobe Reseller and peerless educational software company, UP successfully navigated the challenges of staff training and software implementation, ensuring an effortless transition with minimal disruption.
The Bottom Line
The case of UP shows that the broader shift within the educational sector towards digitalisation need not hold any fears. Products like Adobe Acrobat Sign are redefining the standards of operational efficiency and student services.
As more institutions like UP embrace these technologies, the future of educational administration is ready to be more agile, cost-effective, and in tune with the changing digital landscape.