Doylestown, Pennsylvania
20,000 Students

Central Bucks School District (CBSD), the third largest district in Pennsylvania, needed a student information system (SIS) that offered full integration, efficient reporting and real-time communication. They also wanted a system capable of seamless upgrades, longitudinal data storage and Web-based data access. Infinite Campus was chosen to fill these data management needs. CBSD has found Infinite Campus to be a robust system that is scalable for future demands and provides a signifcant cost-savings for the district.

Challenges
CBSD had been with their former data management software provider for 25 years. The system required several software customizations to be implemented with each new release. There was no longitudinal capability because data remained in separate databases by school year. In addition, demographic and course data were stored inconsistently between schools.

“In 2006 we were at the end-of-life with the current SIS software version and decided to research other vendors,” said Laurel Podraza, CBSD IT Manager. “Our district committee evaluated a variety of systems and chose Infinite Campus.”

Solution
Timely and accurate state reporting is an important part of CBSD effective operations. Infinite Campus professional business analysts constantly monitor changing state and federal reporting requirements. They work closely with CBSD to ensure that their system is seamlessly kept in sync with state and federal mandates.

“Infinite Campus has allowed us to more easily access data that used to be difficult to get,” said Podraza. “It has given us new insights on measures for student success and achievement.”

With Campus Portal and Campus Messenger, communication between parents and the district are enhanced. Families are kept current on vital district notices without expensive mailings or time consuming meetings. Daily school notifications sent to parents via email are proactive announcements for attendance alerts and non-emergency messages with Campus Messenger.

Podraza stated, “With the size of our district, you can imagine the amount of paper we used for mailings for parents and students. That has all changed with Infinite Campus.”

Results
With the Campus Portal and Campus Messenger, CBSD has not only saved money but strengthened ties with parents and students. Parents have access to student’s progress, assignments, assessments, teacher comments as well as district calendar events.

“The use of the Campus Portal has been embraced by everyone in the district. Students refer to their unofficial transcript and credit summary as they approach graduation. Parents have become more involved with student progress. Students can complete course registration online. Families, teachers and staff love it,” said Podraza.

Training, service and support are the interface between the advanced technologies of Infinite Campus and the needs of the district. Because CBSD was the first customer in Pennsylvania, implementation was handled by the Infinite Campus headquarters. Ongoing training and support is handled by Custom Computer Specialists (Custom), the Infinite Campus Channel Partner in the Northeast region of the United States.

“We are accustomed to working with Custom’s representatives directly,” said Podraza. CBSD found Custom’s trainers, support manager and sales contacts always responsive to their questions and assists them in escalating issues when required.

“We enjoy the many ways that Infinite Campus provides solutions for our district,” said Podraza. “We look forward to years of benefits from the ongoing evolution of the company’s vision and technology.”