Throughout my time as a student I was always asked to “fill out this form” to apply for jobs, register events, reserve equipment, and much more. Most of my student employment at my undergraduate institution was applied for via an online form. Online forms, I believe, are effective ways to create processes and procedures that can be completed out of the office using a mobile phone and/or a tablet. Many institutions and offices have already adopted utilizing online forms for a variety of purposes, but there are still many who have not. In a previous institution I created an online form that created an easy method of tracking event attendance as well as collecting information to assist in determining what factors made the event successful or not.
Forms have many different functions that can assist student affairs professionals in creating procedures that increase efficiency. With forms, professionals may be able to save several minutes on administrative tasks and it adds up. If you are interested in using forms in your position, please see some of my reviews of form creating web apps and software in the section below.
Do you use something different? Tell me about it in the comments so I can expand this section of the website!
Shane Young, M.Ed 