Meaning
An attendance management system is a built-in feature provided by a school LMS. LMS full form is a learning management system. It is very important in almost every educational institution. Students and teachers interact every day, whether it is about education or other extracurricular activities, using a learning management system.
Similarly, an attendance management system works automatically in every classroom. the main feature is to track student attendance, but it also performs other activities such as keeping track, sending notifications to teachers about the number of absent students, taking out percentages of student attendance, and so on.
Attendance management system types
A lesser-known fact is that attendance management systems use both hardware and software. It depends on the choice of a school, along with the variations of features installed. The objective of most systems is the same, with few differences in the tools, software, or hardware, as per the institution’s preference. Let’s have a look at the different types of attendance management systems available;
Biometric
A biometric system uses the biological traits of students or teachers to record attendance by using some form of hardware. It guarantees complete precision because teachers and students cannot give a proxy for anyone else since fingerprints or an eye scan is unique to one individual only. It is one of the most accurate systems used in multinational companies large corporations and firms. Educational institutions are also adopting it for making the management of attendance truly automatic.
The data is already stored in the hardware which is read and reread regularly by the system to mark individuals present. It is an expensive means and most schools cannot afford it since they have other priorities. The reason for its high expenses is the excellent verification form through ID and hi-tech biometric consoles.
Radio frequency identification (RFID)
A radio frequency identification-based system uses tags and towers. These tags which are also known as data tags in real time access the data from the towers. The data has to be processed by tapping the card on a console, the console has embedded RFID tags. For a simpler understanding, imagine using an ATM card but instead, the card tracks the attendance of students, teachers, or other staff members of the institution.
Some advanced RFID towers can automatically record and store data from the tag as soon as the members enter a classroom and pass by the system at the door.
It is expensive to maintain an RFID-based attendance management system. It is also not entirely reliable if the school faces frequent power cut-offs and there is not an efficient enough generator system. Yet if an institution decides to switch over to RFID for recording attendance, it does not need to worry about all the other costs on teachers and staff members who used to previously maintain records. In case the school is looking for the right trader between technology and traditional means of attendance systems, radio frequency identification is the right choice.
Key elements of the attendance management system
Whether a school decides to adopt a radio frequency identification system or a biometric-based one depends on the priority or goals of the institution. However, they should look for the following elements which guarantee excellence in the maintenance of attendance and other functions;
- The incorporation of leave management features also confirms prescriptions of students and teachers as a reason for leave.
- Integration of calendars, timetables, schedules, and other holidays.
- Creation of reports on percentages of attendance poured by each student and teacher in every classroom.
- Management of payrolls through calculation of staff attendance percentage for those members who are not salaried.
Conclusion
In choosing attendance management systems, an institution seeks to meet three objectives. First, it should be within the budget, second, it should satisfy all the goals or objectives of the institution, and third, the teachers and students should be comfortable using it. Ultimately, institutions should choose carefully since this is a one-time investment that lasts for at least a decade.
