A grantee of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), educational technology startup Edusuite projected robust business as more schools adopt efficient integrated management systems to maximize revenues and stay afloat in a time of pandemic and beyond.
Niel Dagondon, Edusuite co-founder and president, said in a webinar that even as the number of enrollees declined, he saw a silver lining as more schools would be in need of their digital solutions to drive down cost.
“Our business is affected by the reduced enrollment in our schools, but we are committed to grow with them so we charge less during hard times,” Dagondon said. Edusuite clients only pay based on the number of students enrolled for the year or semester, a major concern for schools that project much fewer enrollees this year for economic reasons, including students being unable to study remotely.
“But we see a silver lining in the current situation with more schools seeking our service after they realize the need to digitalize,” he said adding that Edusuite is the only management system solution that optimizes revenue for schools.
According to Dagondon, their software drives efficiency in being able to predict school requirements resulting in lower costs.
While schools should always aim to improve their processes and efficiency, Dagondon
said Edusuite is one product that will always be beneficial to schools, with or without the
pandemic.
In fact, Dagondon said their schools showed an increase of 24.9 percent in revenue per student. At present, there are 10 schools using the Edusuite management system.
For now, other than credit and debit card payments, they partnered with banks for payments of tuition payments, Dragonpay and 7-11 stores. This off-campus mode of payment saves parents from the hassle of going to school to pay for the tuition.
Edusuite is also purely a campus management solution. It does not have e-learning tool.
Dagondon said there are already lots of available e-learning tool in the market, but they partner with them as the system automatically creates a space for e-learning partners.
Established in 2017, the company's software analyzes data that schools from K-12 to colleges can use in their planning and operations. Utilizing smart algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI), the first in the country, the software helps administrators, faculty, and students optimize their school’s available resources.
Edusuite offers a school management system that moves operations to the cloud so schools can manage student information and grading, scheduling, online enrollment, statement of accounts, faculty load, and clearances, among many others.
“This year, we’ve achieved our target to help over 25,000 students across 10 schools or more. However, because of the COVID-19 situation, many more schools are in need of our solution,” Dagondon said.
Using data analytics, Edusuite's cloud computing solutions enable automatic student advising, online enlistment and enrollment, forecasting of class demand, and automated scheduling and computation of assessments.
The software also allows students to easily pick relevant subjects as real-time availability is reflected on the school's portal. The automated system also reduces processing time of student registration and payments of school fees.
Using an automated school management system has become more relevant today with government-imposed movement restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19. Now that educational institutions encourage hybrid learning, the use of automation becomes essential to school management.
Edusuite recently signed up the Sacred Heart Academy in Pasig City, University of San Agustin in Iloilo City, and Joji Ilagan Bian Career Foundation Center in Davao City and General Santos City.
These schools join Edusuite’s partners Ateneo High School, CIIT College of Arts and Technology, Benedictine International School, International British Academy, King’s College of the Philippines, Sumulong College of Arts and Sciences, and Batangas Eastern Colleges.