Grove City, Ohio
20,000 Students

The South-Western City School District is located in the southern gateway of Columbus, Ohio. With 119 square miles, it’s the sixth largest district in Ohio and has approximately 20,000 students enrolled in grades K-12. For more than seven years, South-Western used eSIS as its student information system (SIS). In 2010, Pearson purchased eSIS and announced it would no longer be maintained after July 2012. South-Western saw this as an opportunity to look for a new SIS with reliable support options, tools for improving district communications, and an integrated special education module to eliminate third-party systems.

Selection Process
While looking for a new SIS, South-Western heard about Infinite Campus from a neighboring eSIS district. The fully-integrated, Web-based functionality was very appealing, so they made sure Infinite Campus was on their list.

Once we chose our top SIS vendors, our district formed groups to evaluate and rank each system, stated Bryan Mulvany, South-Western Executive Director of Information Services. Every group across the board chose Infinite Campus. Our decision was crystal clear.”

Reliable Support
After implementing Infinite Campus in 2012, South-Western was appreciative of the multiple support options. If an issue arises, both phone and online support are available. With a 97 percent support satisfaction rating, calls are answered by a support team member within three rings.

According to Mulvany, “If we needed help with a new enhancement, we were not able to speak to someone directly. We had to communicate back and forth via email. This was very frustrating and time consuming. This is not the case with Infinite Campus. The personable support is invaluable.”

An extensive online support option, the Campus Community, is available 24/7. In the Campus Knowledge Base, South-Western staff can find comprehensive product information. They can also use the Campus Forums to connect with other users to ask for help or share solutions to problems.

“The materials on the Campus Community are far superior to anything we’ve ever seen,” said Mulvany. “There are options for every type of learner. You can read documents, watch a video, or interact with a simulation. Also, the Campus Community is organized exactly like in the Infinite Campus interface, so users can quickly find what they’re looking for.”

Improved Communication
South-Western maximized their investment by adding Campus Messenger with Voice to their Infinite Campus SIS. This optional premium product can be used for routine or emergency notifications. Telephone numbers and email addresses are extracted from Campus in real time, and messages are distributed. Since it’s fully-integrated with the core system, contact information is always accurate.

“Campus Messenger with Voice will be up-and-running by the 2013-14 school year,” explained Mulvany. “Our superintendent wanted to give parents and students the ability to choose how we communicate with them. Messenger with Voice will help us accomplish this. Different categories such as emergency, routine, homework and attendance will be displayed on the Campus Portal. Then, parents and students will be able to click on a category and choose their preferred method of contact such as phone, email or text message.”

Campus Special Education
South-Western is thrilled that Campus Special Education is included in the core SIS. The district can track, monitor and report students’ progress information in real time and provide individualized instruction for them. The individual education plans (IEPs) store a large variety of data and forms.

Mulvany stated, “Having Campus Special Education fully-integrated into the SIS is essential for IEPs and state reporting. The Campus Business Analysts are very knowledgeable. They ensure all forms comply with federal and state mandates so we don’t have to.”

Continuous Enhancements
More than 130 in-house developers consistently work to add functionality, respond to changing educational needs, and overall improve the comprehensive, Infinite Campus SIS. “Infinite Campus continues to improve its SIS so the most advanced technology is always available,” said Mulvany.

“We’ve had several enhancements, and Infinite Campus helped us every step of the way. I am very impressed with their responsiveness and dedication to the industry.”

Mulvany continued, “If we have any ideas for product enhancements, Infinite Campus listens and appreciates our participation. I am confident we made the right decision, and I know it will help us accomplish our goals this upcoming school year.”