Why manual user management puts exam season at risk

It’s no secret that exam season is one of the highest-pressure periods in the school calendar.  

Aside from the obvious nerves and anticipation around assessments, the pressure is on to make sure access to accounts, resources and timetables remains reliable and uninterrupted.  

Even the smallest of errors – such as a missed timetable change, an inactive account or a student being added to the wrong group – have huge consequences when exam dates are looming.  

It’s no surprise that more schools and trusts are turning to automation when it comes to identity management.  

Automation removes the risk, reduces the workload and ensures every student and staff member has the right level of access, exactly when they need it.  

Below, we discuss how automation lifts some of the weight for SLT and IT teams at this busy time of year.  

The pressure of exam season in schools  

School IT teams are already under pressure to manage complex digital infrastructures throughout the academic year – and exam season just adds to the load. Both students and staff need seamless access to learning resources, timetables and communication channels. IT teams are expected to keep everything running smoothly while juggling timetable changes, leavers, temporary accounts and last-minute MIS updates. 

Student access to revision and learning resources 

Students need access to learning tools year-round. But it becomes even more vital in the build-up to exam season.  

Smooth access to revision materials and past papers, and easy communication with teachers, are all part of supporting students to achieve their best grades.  

Without automated identity management, there’s a higher chance of unnecessary disruption – students being added to the wrong group or unable to access tools like Microsoft 365 and Google Classroom altogether. 

Reliable and precise exam timetables

During exam periods, timetables shift. Students and staff need accurate, up-to-the-minute information about exam subjects, rooms and location, times and seat information.  

Manual management of this increases the risk of students being given wrong or outdated information, which could lead to unnecessary confusion and stress, or – worst case scenario – a missed exam. 

Secure management of school leavers

Many students taking exams will be preparing to leave the school or move on to another organisation, such as Sixth Form, College or Further Education.  

This only adds more pressure to IT teams prepping for the academic year rollover.  

School leavers must be properly managed to reduce cybersecurity risk while allowing access to accounts, grades, and resources for those who need it.  

Creation of temporary exam user accounts

Sometimes, temporary accounts need to be created and managed for certain staff members and students during exam season.  

Not only does provisioning these accounts take up a lot of IT time and resource, but there’s an added risk when it comes to security.  

Ensuring only the right people have access to the right information – even if the accounts are only temporary – is essential.  

How automated identity management reduces the stress of exam season

With Salamander, your identity management is synced with your MIS data, automatically provisioning user accounts and giving students and staff access to everything they need – resources, timetables, EdTech tools and more.  

Smooth access to revision and learning resources 

Teachers and students have instant access to everything they need to teach and learn.  

Your network users, groups and permissions are automatically aligned with your MIS data.  

When your MIS is up to date, your network is too. Staff and students have the access they need across Microsoft 365, Exchange, Google Workspace, Paxton Net2 and the wide range of systems Salamander Integration Suite connects to. 

Easy to access timetables 

Exam timetables can be synced to a sub-calendar, so events are kept separate from a student’s default calendar events. This keeps students informed of information without their calendars being cluttered and confusing and increasing the potential to miss something.  

Synced exam information and timetables 

All timetables are updated in Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or Exchange – with the event title, exam start, end and duration, plus seat information (if your MIS supports this).  

Exam user accounts 

Temporary exam user accounts can easily be created and managed with stripped down group membership and access to only allow the right level of access to users who need it.  

Secure management of school leavers 

When exam season is over and school leavers no longer need access to their accounts, we automatically disable and archive their accounts based on the information in your MIS.  

During an already stressful time period – exam season – automating user account management takes away hours of manual work, freeing up your time to work on other projects and more digital innovation.