Aiken County Public School District’s Assistive Technology Department Can Now Focus on Student Needs Instead of Looking for Assets

Summary

Aiken County Public School District is based in South Carolina and comprised of 42 schools, including 3 charter schools and 1 career + technology center. The large district serves over 24,000 students and has more than 3,000 staff members, which means there are thousands upon thousands of devices to track.

For Aiken County Public School District’s Assistive Technology (AT) Department, it is paramount to provide devices and services for students served by special programs that require certain adaptations. This not only means closely tracking students’ IT assets but also keeping track of the necessary modifications for each student and maintaining these devices.

To effectively manage this important data in one unified solution, Aiken County Public Schools’ Assistive Technology Department signed on with Asset Panda in April 2018.

The Challenge

Prior to implementing Asset Panda, the Assistive Technology team at Aiken County Public Schools struggled to track and manage their many assets through Excel spreadsheets. “Initially, we were using an Excel spreadsheet to track all of our equipment and important information like its location, who was using it, if it was working, if it was lost. It was a nightmare,” Assistive Technology Lead LeAnn Reinholt said.

Their spreadsheet-tracking methods posed a few main challenges:

Inaccurate data: Like many departments or schools that try to manage their assets through spreadsheets, the AT team struggled with out-of-date or missing data. With a growing asset inventory and devices moving around frequently, it was very difficult for the team to manually keep track of this data through Excel in a timely and accurate manner. For charter schools, where budgets are often tighter and IT teams are smaller, the ability to maintain accurate records without significant administrative burden is critical in ensuring resources stay where they’re needed most.
Lost or damaged devices: With a lack of accurate device data available, keeping up with their IT asset inventory became a challenge for the AT department. The team faced unexpected damage or missing assets and struggled to hold the right people accountable without a clear paper trail.
Operational inefficiencies: With little insight into the current state of their asset inventory, the Aiken County AT team and their students weren’t working as efficiently as possible. Missing data led the team to spend hours searching for devices, taking away from their time to manage their asset inventory and, more importantly, assist their students.

The Solution

To combat their spreadsheet-tracking challenges, Aiken County Public Schools’ Assistive Technology team sought out a more robust solution. “Once we determined we needed a better and more accurate way to keep up with our constantly moving and growing inventory of AT equipment, we found Asset Panda.”

Just a few short months after replacing Excel with Asset Panda, the AT team realized huge improvements in their asset tracking abilities:

Comprehensive asset tracking: Since making the switch to Asset Panda, the Assistive Technology Department has clear visibility into up-to-date asset information. Whether managing thousands of assets across a large district or tracking resources within a single charter school campus, Asset Panda easily scales to meet the needs of any school. With assets frequently switching hands or locations, Asset Panda makes it easy for the team to quickly check devices in and out from their computers or their mobile phones. “The mobile app has been especially convenient as we move equipment from school to school. The data is up to date from the moment it’s entered, and we can access it any time, from anywhere,” Reinholt said.
Increased efficiency: Asset Panda's robust software has not only helped the AT team maintain accurate asset data but has also helped them increase efficiency. “We are saving lots of time throughout the week and that’s time we can give back to our students/faculty instead of searching for a missing item,” Reinholt said. “It’s been very easy to use Asset Panda from our own phone or mobile device, offering a quick way to check equipment in and out.”
Improved accountability: By seamlessly assigning devices to different students or locations in real time, the AT team was able to enhance accountability across their schools. “The added capabilities of being able to take pictures of our equipment and attach it to our assets provide more accountability for all involved. Barcodes affixed to assets allow us to link them to any student, teacher or school in our district,” Reinholt said. “Accountability is much more evident, and guesswork is a thing of the past.”
Cost savings: With increased accountability and clear asset data, the AT team has saved assets from potentially going missing or needing unexpected repairs. While these improvements have provided great cost savings for the team, Asset Panda also helps the department make the most of their budget with long-term maintenance management. “There are significant costs to add the equipment and its upkeep, and we have to be cognizant of our spending on everything,” Reinholt said.

Conclusion

Since replacing their Excel spreadsheets with Asset Panda, Aiken County Public Schools’ Assistive Technology team has vastly improved their workflows and productivity. “In just a few short months, we already feel more efficient with our AT inventory and more comfortable that it is not getting lost in the system,” Reinholt said.

Although there was a bit of a learning curve compared to their spreadsheet-tracking methods, Reinholt said their team has already seen cost savings and ROI with Asset Panda. “While learning Asset Panda took a little more time for the “non-tech” people, they have embraced the platform and realize the value and savings it’s bringing to our department and the district as a whole.”

If your school is struggling to track assets through Excel spreadsheets, Asset Panda can help. Schools of all types—public, private, and charter—can rely on Asset Panda’s flexibility to manage assets at scale, maximize budgets, and reduce time spent tracking down equipment. Whether you’re managing assets across one school or a large district, Asset Panda ensures your assets are where they need to be, when they need to be there.

Our customizable solution helps you manage all your assets and workflows in one convenient place so you can increase accountability and provide a high-quality education. Watch our on-demand demo to see our platform in action or request a personalized demo to get in touch with our team.