Some schools are the size of small towns. They employ thousands of staff members and educate tens of thousands of students. Campuses can span thousands of acres and house thousands of freshmen students.

Unfortunately, many higher ed institutions have adopted an inconsistent, patchwork approach to incident management and investigations. Because of this, universities and colleges are losing data, missing deadlines, overlooking risks and facing lawsuits.

For a large institution, an enterprise-sized case management solution is necessary to support the never-ending functions, activities and problems that occur on campus. The benefits are endless, but these are the top five reasons to embrace a campus-wide case management solution.

Download this eBook to learn how case management software can break down information silos and manage risk campus-wide.

Ensure Compliance with Built-In Tools

When it comes to data privacy, higher education investigators are required to comply with numerous laws. Personal data is protected, in part, by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974.

A campus-wide case management software that provides a secure platform is a great solution for industries (like higher ed) that conduct sensitive investigations (like Title IX).

Visit our guide to learn how to prevent sexual harassment and assault in higher ed.

All files are stored securely in the cloud and the platform offers built-in compliance with strict data privacy laws. Plus, other built-in controls such as role-based access levels keep personal data out of the wrong hands.

Analyze & Report on Data Quickly

If a school has at least ten ongoing investigations at any time, imagine how many interviews are conducted each year. How many pieces of evidence collected each week? How many hands involved in incident-handling, risk analysis or report-writing?

Campus-wide case management software stores all important case-related data in one place. Combine this with an easy drag-and-drop report builder tool, and you’ve got instant flowcharts, pie charts, line graphs, bar graphs, heat maps and more.

Then, compile all these charts, graphs and maps into insightful reports. Ensure everyone stays informed by sharing these reports according to an automated schedule (e.g., a quarterly update to department chairs) or share them manually.

If you don't have case management software, you should at least use a template to help with investigation reports. Download ours for free here.

Improved Risk Management

On any given day, in the average university, the investigation to-do list might look like this:

• Human Resources is investigating a policy violation.
• The Title IX Coordinator is conducting interviews about a recent sexual assault.
• The Office of Institutional Equity just received allegations of discriminatory hiring practices.
• Campus safety is collecting evidence about a recent theft.
• The admissions office is conducting online research for a college admissions fraud case.
• The Dean’s office is creating a report about campus safety and student success.

A campus-wide case management solution improves risk management by providing an up-front look at the incidents, investigations and statistics for every department.

This detailed reporting allows universities and colleges to monitor the frequency, type, location and subject of incidents. With an increased oversight of incidents and investigations, you can respond more quickly, uncover trends and direct resources to the right areas.

Simplified Training & Onboarding

The majority of higher ed campuses still use hundreds (or even thousands) of different software programs, templates, applications and forms. This patchwork of tools makes it impossible for departments to communicate effectively and maintain consistency.

Campus-wide case management software means no more missing data or inconsistent labels. When everyone uses the same platform, everyone knows the same lingo, sees the same pages and follows the same process. This eliminates confusion that often arises when colleagues rely on different tools to conduct their work.

To simplify things more, most campus-wide solutions integrate seamlessly with administrative information systems (like Banner) to pull data directly from existing databases.

A Quick Return on Investment

Campus-wide case management software has upfront costs but the return on investment will quickly exceed those.

Thanks to controlled access to data, easy information sharing, simplified searches and AI case-linking, investigators spend less time on administrative work and more time on strategic work.

Higher ed institutions see vast improvements to campus life when there are more resources available for victim support programs, risk management efforts and improved campus safety.

Plus, when schools conduct investigations that not only stand up in court but are compliant with current laws, they will inevitably pay less in fines, fees and lawsuits.