Higher Education Case Study: How Hondros College of Nursing Reduced Costs Significantly while Supporting Increased Remote Student and Faculty Interaction
Since 2020, Foxit eSign has supported Hondros College of Nursing as they rose to the challenge of expanding a rapidly growing need for remote learning and communication. In this case study, we’ll discuss the unique challenges that our client faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and how Foxit eSign accommodates their changing needs with efficient, performative, and budget-friendly solutions so they can continue training our future healthcare superheroes.
Hondros College of Nursing has been expertly teaching, guiding, and graduating highly skilled and dedicated nurses since 2006 from their seven campuses located across Ohio and Indiana.
As a fully accredited college, Hondros offers a full scope of degrees, including a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing, an Associates Degree in Nursing program, a Practical Nursing Diploma, and an Associate of Applied Science degree program in Medical Laboratory Technology. Not only does Hondros set themselves apart with their superior educational programs, but they also have a unique Learn and Earn Ladder approach that allows students to work and earn money after they complete just one program.
A Sudden Change
In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, higher education institutions like Hondros College were faced with the sudden need to migrate most of their communication, teaching, testing, and enrollment efforts from in-person to remote.
Electronic signatures and documents were something Hondros College of Nursing always used as a necessity for accreditation. But with 2020’s pandemic and more things moving online, it became necessary to expand the use of e-signatures in a cost-effective manner to more efficiently accommodate communication and the gathering of important documents needed for faster placement, testing, and various authorization releases.
Why Foxit eSign Was Approached by Hondros College of Nursing
When Hondros College of Nursing found themselves thrust into a sudden need for rapid expansion of digital communication and remote learning, finding the right electronic signature software became an immediate priority. The eSignature solution utilized by the college at the time was limited in its usage and incapable of cost-efficiently supporting increased signing demands. Hondros needed more out of their signature software – this is where Foxit eSign came in.
Hondros College’s CEO, Wilkins Harry, and its VP of Technology, Joe Schiska, approached Foxit eSign while in the process of seeking an electronic signature solution that could strategically partner with them to provide critical solutions the staff and students needed. It was communicated to Foxit eSign that the primary goals Hondros had for their new eSignature software were:
Communication Improvement:
Hondros had an increased need for document completion with multiple signatories. For this reason, a better electronic signature solution was needed to easily allow essential admissions, testing, authorization forms, and more to be completed quickly by all those involved.
Ease of Use:
With a wide variety of students, parents, faculty, and departments utilizing electronic signatures to complete vital paperwork, it was important for Hondros to offer a solution that minimized implementation efforts and was easy to manage.
SOX-Supportive Compliance:
As a publicly-traded private college institution, Hondros College is required to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act of 2002 that imposes securities regulations to prevent financial fraud. Electronic signature usage falls under sections 404 and 802 pertaining to digital content; these sections require publicly traded companies to actively prevent and detect errors and fraud through the adequate placement of controls, meaning adequate compliance support is a must for Hondros.
Cost Efficiency:
Even with more processes moving remotely, Hondros College didn’t slow down one bit. In fact, their digital document needs rose tremendously, which meant more documents being sent. To support budgetary requirements, Hondros College needed an electronic signature solution that could grow with them while remaining cost-efficient.
Why Hondros College Chose Foxit eSign
User-Friendly Design:
Foxit eSign’s user-friendly and streamlined design immediately appealed to Hondros College since trainability and scalability were needed to ensure maximum usage.
Cost Savings:
The pricing offered by Foxit eSign would not only allow Hondros to take care of signing needs without breaking the bank, but they found they would have enough room left in the budget to tackle other goals.
Following the decision by Hondros College to make the switch, their VP of Technology, Joe Schiska, worked closely with Foxit eSign’s customer support to ensure they didn’t miss a beat with their document needs.
What Hondros Says About Foxit eSign Pricing
“It’s [Foxit eSign] definitely reduced costs so that we are able to do what we need to do more cost-effectively. It’s actually opened up uses because there are some things we probably would not have done before had they not been this cost-effective. But this price is so attractive, it really enables us to do a lot of things that we might not have even considered otherwise.” Joe Schiska, VP of Technology for Hondros College of Nursing
How Foxit eSign Has Helped Hondros College Successfully Meet Its Goals
Following successful implementation of Foxit eSign into its paperwork process, it wasn’t long before Hondros began seeing impactful and positive results:
Increased productivity
Increased productivity with minimized implementation efforts through a user-friendly system that was easy to manage and that allows easy completion of paperwork by multiple signatories with minimal instruction or training.
Reduced document cost
Reduced document cost that allowed for cost savings while simultaneously supporting increased usage.
Enhanced data security
Enhanced data security and usability to better support SOX compliance requirements; this means providing a tamper-proof, visibility-controlled, clear, and easy-to-use method of signing digital documents. This was performed effectively by Foxit eSign through the providing of signature certificates, detailed audit history, SOC 2 Type 2 compliance, efficient visibility controls, and a user-friendly interface.
Faster document completion
Faster document completion that supported Hondros College’s lightning fast admission time of 6-8 weeks.
Expanded capability
The expanded capability of consistently gathering important documents needed for job placement, testing, permissions, admissions, and more.
While working to support the increased needs of students and staff during transition to more remote interactions, Hondros College was able to utilize Foxit eSign to support its goals and streamline continued growth and improvement in several meaningful ways. Not only did remote functionality improve while using Foxit eSign, but Hondros also found themselves in a position where significant document cost savings allowed for spending in other worthwhile areas.
Plans for the Future
Continued digital growth is most certainly in the future for Hondros College of Nursing as they continue to lead in education and forge a path to best support their students and faculty and meet the demands of a changing industry. Hondros College plans to utilize Foxit eSign to support their efforts in:
Encouraging a streamlined onboarding process
Encouraging a streamlined onboarding process by easily providing training as more employees are hired while using Foxit eSign’s continuously expanding Knowledge Base with helpful support documentation.
Enhancing the experience
Enhancing the experience of faculty and staff with broader implementation of electronic signature usage to quickly complete paperwork and other processes from anywhere.
Continuing to improve CRM
Continuing to improve CRM usage by Integrating eSignatures with SalesForce with the support of Foxit eSign’s intuitive and unrestrictive API.
When asked about their experience with Foxit eSign
“Very good. It’s very intuitive, to begin with. Whenever I’ve needed to reach out to someone, like today’s call with Lisa. Lisa was always great. But when I just need to make sure that I’m not going down an incorrect path that I’m going to have to fix later, I just reach out and touch base and get the direction I need.” Joe Schiska, VP of Technology for Hondros College of Nursing.
