Private K-12 schools devote every available resource to student success. Even during the summer, administrators busy themselves helping new families onboard, readying classrooms, getting finances sorted, and strategizing for the next academic year.
Though technology promises to give some of this time back to staff, any long, drawn-out implementation promises to get things off to a bad start. Having to add account setup, data migration, team training, and more to full plates often makes teams across a private school feel frustration if vendor support lags.
To get an idea of what schools should look for when adopting private school software, we sat down with Bryan Black, Vice President of Partner Success at VenturEd Solutions®. Having led thousands of adoptions for our many products at private schools across the country, Black and his team have learned how to best get schools the shortest time-to-value for their new software.
RELATED: Choosing Private School Administrative Software: A Decision-Making Guide
Implementation Overview
First, we asked for a bird’s-eye view of the implementation process from beginning to end.
When does the Implementation team enter the picture?
Planning for Implementation often begins before the deal is signed as we work closely with Sales to understand unique requirements or timelines to customize our approach to the needs of each customer. After signature, we reach out to the school to welcome them to our onboarding process and provide them with next steps. We currently have calls with all new customers, aside from those with only our financial aid and payments solutions. Their onboarding is so lightweight it only requires an email with next steps.
What’s a general timeline look like for an average school? How easy is each stage to complete from the school end?
Our onboarding process usually entails:
- Project Initiation: As mentioned, we coordinate with a school to get the ball rolling. This takes about one week on average and is largely dependent on school availability.
- Welcome Email: Within 24 hours, the school receives an email requesting additional information specific to the new product and school. We also like to schedule a formal project overview/kickoff.
- Kickoff/Discovery Call: This is sometimes completed in the same week, but most often in the second week, or when the school has availability. This call takes roughly 45 minutes, and we begin setup at the same time. On this call, we discuss the overall process and determine if there are any unique school needs to address for the implementation.
- Initial Build/Configuration: This is where we first build the environment for the school. Here, we set up role-based access, connect integrations with other platforms, and tailor settings to organizational needs. The timeline varies, but we prioritize a completed initial setup within a week for all products.
- Training: Staff training varies based on product and how custom the implementation is.
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- TADS®: Only 2-3 hours of training are needed. There’s comparatively little to train teams on, so schools can either complete all training at once, or have a self-paced plan. Some schools choose to have Admissions open at one time, Contracts and Deposits another, and then Tuition and Billing at another time. Some choose to have all three launched at the same time.
- Ravenna Admissions®: There are four 90-minute sessions, typically scheduled once a week. If preferred, we also conduct sessions twice a week for expedited processing. These training sessions must be completed prior to full launch of Ravenna, but there are also three additional sessions that occur months later. This ensures teams get the hang of Ravenna before we show them more advanced workflows.
- Educate®: For Educate, a more involving product, we have four 60-minute live sessions scheduled for administrative users. There are also pre-recorded trainings for teachers to learn the platform at their own pace, or at the school’s preference.
- Ravenna Financial Aid®: Schools only have to complete an annual settings form and send it back to us. We then spend 30-60 minutes training and getting them live on the system. [Side note: It’s almost as easy as our ten-minute family financial aid application.]
- CampusPay®:Users learn how to create forms and process payments in 60 minutes.
- Go-Live: Once the framework is complete, we will review the product with the customer and then move them to live. This is typically 1-2 hours, after which the school is free to use the product as they need.
- Post Go-Live: We work with the schools to make sure that they have all of their questions answered, and we transition them to the Support team. For Ravenna and Educate, there are specific trainings and work done post go-live.
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- Ravenna: Additional training on committees, workflows, and decisions.
- Educate:Report Cards and Transcripts are completed in advance of the first report cards being released.
- Data Migration: While most private schools do not require data migration, our team does offer it for an additional fee with Educate and Ravenna. The data migration process occurs after the product goes live. These custom projects need to be scoped to determine if we have the capability of bringing historical data into the product.
How do timelines differ by product?
A typical implementation, if all goes smoothly, follows these timelines.
- TADS: 4-5 weeks
- Ravenna Admissions: 4-5 weeks to launch, plus an additional four weeks of post-go-live training that can be completed at the school’s preference
- Ravenna Financial Aid: Less than a week
- Educate: 5-6 weeks to launch, plus an additional 4-5 weeks prior to their first report cards being released
- CampusPay:About one week.
How do timelines differ by school size?
With our solutions, implementation timelines are not impacted by school size or location. Once the school is configured, the software can handle any number of students. There are sometimes issues when the school has bad data, but that is separate from our quoted timelines. One of the reasons we typically will only import current data is to prevent this problem.
Are there other key factors that affect implementation timelines?
The biggest factor to staying on track comes on the school side. Engaged, available schools will receive a ready-to-use product with a fully trained staff in time to get the fastest time-to-value, whether that’s for admissions season, year-round payments, or financial aid deadlines.
School Requirements
How many hours should a typical project lead expect to dedicate each week?
It depends on the school’s timeline. If they are looking for a faster implementation, they will need to dedicate more time, but on average it’s 3-4 hours per week.
Which departments need to be involved, and at what stages?
It depends on the school and their size. Typically, they are involved in the modules that they will be using. Small schools may have people that perform multiple functions. In terms of workload, trainings are at a maximum of 3-4 hours a week, often only two.
- Admissions: Ravenna Admissions (20-28 total hours)
- Registrars: TADS Enrollment (18 hours) and Educate (37 hours)
- Billing/Accounting: TADS Tuition Management (18 hours)
- Financial Aid: Ravenna Financial Aid (7 hours)
What are the most common causes of delays from the school side?
Honestly, delays from the school side come from factors they can’t really control. Things like a new school not opening on schedule, staff changes, and illness. When this happens, we work with schools to remain on schedule.
Data Migration and School Rollout
How does your team deal with super-complex data structures?
We typically do not deal with super-complex data. Advanced data migration is an additional cost and requires full scoping. Our typical configuration includes current and recently enrolled student and family data, so most schools do not feel a need to further complicate the process with historical data.
What happens during the first 90 days after go-live?
After implementation is complete, the customer can still reach out to the Implementation Specialist for another 2-4 weeks. We do not hold this to customers, but we also begin to transition them to Support, so they can get faster responses from a larger team.
How is success measured, and when is implementation considered complete?
Implementation is considered complete once all training has been delivered to the customer. We also measure when they are live on the product, in addition to the following metrics:
- Time to Value: The time it takes for a customer to realize meaningful benefits
- Budget Hours vs. Spent Hours: How effective was the onboarding process with this school? Did it take longer than promised?
- Utilization: How actively personnel use the software
The VenturEd Impact
What difference does VenturEd Solutions’ white glove standard make compared to vendors that don’t prioritize smooth onboarding?
Each implementation at VenturEd Solutions is unique. We work around the needs of the school and adjust our implementation for them. At this time, we treat each implementation as a fixed fee project, and do not charge schools extra based on the time worked.
When is the best time for a school to switch providers?
It depends on the school. For schools that have rolling admissions, we can implement at any point. However, for most schools, we recommend Admissions teams plan to complete a full onboarding before they begin accepting new applicants for a school year.
The same principle goes for all the modules and products. We recommend the timing based on when they have the bandwidth, and the timing of when they will need to start using the product.
Get the Full VenturEd White Glove Experience
Making a change from status quo would make any private school leader hesitant, but the right partner provides the resources to make sure your team sees value as soon as possible, rather than dragging out a long-term data migration.
VenturEd Solutions prides itself on a white-glove customer experience, with responsive, knowledgeable experts ready to help your school grow and thrive.
Frequently Asked Questions
How involved is the setup process for VenturEd Solutions?
All VenturEd Solutions products typically launch within six weeks of signing. For some products, there is additional staff training once systems are live.
- TADS: 4-5 weeks
- Ravenna Admissions: 4-5 weeks to launch, plus additional training
- Ravenna Financial Aid: Less than a week
- Educate: 5-6 weeks to launch, plus additional training
- CampusPay: About one week
Is VenturEd Solutions implementation onsite or virtual?
VenturEd implementation is 100 percent remote, giving schools the flexibility to have solution environments set up and train their staff without having to coordinate in-person logistics.
Do schools with small or no IT departments have a harder time with VenturEd Solutions implementation?
Neither student nor staff size play a role in implementation timelines, only the solution purchased and staff responsiveness. Only product administrators and end users need to be trained on product features and workflows.
Will VenturEd Solutions accommodate my private school’s complex data structure during a migration?
While VenturEd Solutions does offer complex data migration, historical data is often not necessary to product success. This process comes at an extra fee, requires additional project scoping, and will lengthen the implementation process for your school.
What happens once the implementation is completed?
At the conclusion of implementation, schools are transitioned to VenturEd Solutions’ Customer Support team, where questions and issues can be addressed in a faster manner.
Contributor
Chad Vincent
As the Director of Program Management at VenturEd Solutions, Chad Vincent partners with schools to deliver a seamless implementation experience that accelerates time-to-value and sets the foundation for long-term success. Leveraging proven implementation methodologies, industry best practices, and collaborative project management, he guides schools from kickoff through go-live with transparency, confidence, and a relentless focus on achieving their strategic goals.
