Mount Alvernia College

Mount Alvernia College, renowned for its commitment to education for young women, has positioned itself as a pioneer in leveraging technology to prioritise student and parent experience, as well as safeguarding its students. In this case study, Charmaine Ferguson, Head of Sport at Mount Alvernia College, discusses the challenges faced in her career over 17 years in managing extracurricular activities before adopting Clipboard, an extracurricular management system. She highlights the transformative impact of implementing Clipboard and how it has streamlined administrative tasks, improved communication, and ensured data security.

‍

Challenges Before Implementing Clipboard:

Before the adoption of Clipboard, Mount Alvernia College faced several challenges in managing extracurricular activities. These challenges included:

• Resource and booking constraints 
• Lack of visibility into hall usage by other departments
• Difficulties in managing coaching payments
• Difficulties in maintaining up-to-date information about training sessions and match locations
• Keeping track of team roles and changes due to factors like sickness or absence

‍

Impact of Clipboard Implementation:

The implementation of Clipboard significantly transformed the management of extracurricular activities at Mount Alvernia College. Charmaine Ferguson explains that having all relevant information consolidated in one platform and accessible via mobile devices has been incredibly convenient for staff on the move. The visibility provided to coaches and other staff members within the college allows them to stay informed about any changes or updates, thus improving coordination. 

‍

“From the sports side of things, I find it handy to have everything all in one place. And when you're on the move, just to have that access from your phone as well. So you get a phone call from someone, and you can make changes on the spot in real-time.”

‍

Clipboard's incident reporting feature proved to be an invaluable tool for coaches, enabling them to report incidents on the spot, eliminating the need for paperwork and improving the overall efficiency of the process. ‍

The platform also automated coaching payment reminders, ensuring coaches receive timely notifications to submit their time records. These features, among others, have been particularly praised by Mount Alvernia College for simplifying administrative tasks, logging hours, and enhancing overall operational effectiveness.

‍

“It’s also handy for our coaches to have that incident reporting at their fingertips so that it can be done on the spot, not having to come back and fill in paperwork after the fact.”

‍

Transitioning to Clipboard at Mount Alvernia College:

Charmaine Ferguson discusses her experience transitioning from a school that was in the early stages of trialling Clipboard to Mount Alvernia College, which had already fully implemented the platform. Despite being new to the system, she found the user-friendly nature of Clipboard made the transition seamless.

‍

“I started to use it [Clipboard] from the implementation… all was new to me but very user-friendly, and I'm not a tech-savvy person.”

‍

The support received from the Clipboard team during the onboarding and post-implementation phases was highly commendable, with prompt responses to queries and efficient assistance. The Clipboard team promptly addressed her queries and provided same-day responses, ensuring a smooth transition to the platform. The ease of navigating through the program allowed for flexible adjustments and improvements to activity selection and team management.

‍

‍Time and Efficiency Savings:

Clipboard brought substantial time savings to Mount Alvernia College's administrative processes. Previously, the school relied heavily on manual spreadsheets, which were prone to human errors and missed information. With Clipboard, the transparency and accessibility of records reduced the need for backtracking through emails, ensuring accurate information about team changes, refunds, and student participation. 

Timesheets, which were previously challenging to manage, became significantly easier to handle, Charmaine Ferguson acknowledges that the program has become an indispensable tool for their operations, providing real-time updates, facilitating communication, and improving safety and compliance.

‍

“I would say, timesheets have been our biggest time-saving. It really is just a tick and flick type of activity rather than working out penalty rates and all of these things, we can have that set up all in our system and align them to a pay scale.

‍

Future Integration Plans:

Mount Alvernia College recognises the importance of student engagement in extracurricular activities and the impact it has on the overall educational experience. The integration of Clipboard with a Schoolbox program is in the pipeline to enhance communication with students and parents. The integration will enable seamless information sharing about training sessions, cancellations, and game schedules, and even provides detailed maps for match locations. This integration promotes a higher level of engagement, ensuring students and parents stay informed and connected.

‍

“We are looking at a Schoolbox program that integrates with Clipboard so they can talk to each other and send information to parents. I definitely know that will lift the level of communication to our students and parents, and just make it that much easier for them to know when training is and if training is being cancelled”

‍

Positioning Clipboard to Other Schools:

Having experienced the benefits of Clipboard firsthand, Charmaine Ferguson confidently recommends the platform to other schools. She highlights the administrative relief it brings to a role that has become increasingly burdened with compliance and risk management. Clipboard's accessibility and mobility enable staff members to access critical information on the go, reducing the likelihood of privacy breaches and ensuring the security of confidential student data. From a safety and compliance perspective, Clipboard has proven to be an essential tool.

Mount Alvernia College's embrace of Clipboard as an innovative EdTech solution has revolutionised the management of extracurricular activities, prioritising student and parent experiences while safeguarding student data. The platform's user-friendly interface, real-time updates, efficient communication channels, and automation of administrative tasks have significantly improved operational effectiveness, time management, and safety compliance. 

‍