JP Tutoring Achieves 300% ROI with KODAK Info Input Solution

The Kodak Alaris professional services team and DocTech created a modern IDP solution that optimized the mock exam experience and automated marking and reporting.

Summary

JP Tutoring was struggling to grow their business because manual processes and rigid legacy software prevented them from providing accurate exam results in a timely, cost-effective manner. By implementing Kodak Info Input Solution —intelligent document processing automation software that simplifies the journey from document arrival to usage in business systems—JP Tutoring was able to reduce exam result turnaround time by 90% and achieve an ROI of more than 300%.

JP Tutoring: A Specialised Tutoring Service

JP Tutoring provides specialised tutoring services in the UK, as well as examination preparation, master classes, and summer school courses. The organization, founded and run by Jane Powell, has consistently achieved a pass rate of 92%.

Problematic Legacy Software and an Unrealistic Exam Experience

Mock 11+ examinations, both online and in classroom environments, are a key component of the tutoring services provided. JP Tutoring favours paper-based examinations as they better reflect the real-life experience of the actual exam. For example, a student can skip or miss a question on a paper exam and leave it blank, but online, they would be prompted to complete it which means the result in an online mock exam may not reflect the mark achieved in a physical test environment.

Manually marking hundreds of paper-based exam papers was a time-intensive process that also carries the risk of human error. During peak mock examination time, JP Tutoring’s students typically generate up to 480 papers each day – all of which need to be marked and the results shared with parents and students in a timely manner.

Marking, checking, and inputting results and feedback into the system was both time- and cost-intensive, from a staffing perspective.

To mitigate some of this overhead and streamline the process, JP Tutoring had previously adopted a specialist software solution that, unfortunately, created new problems. The platform demanded working within strict pre-defined, inflexible parameters for answer papers, and in one instance when the system failed, JP Tutoring had to revert to manual marking, which came at a significant added cost.

With goals to further grow the business, expand reach, support more students, and better manage parents’ expectations, JP Tutoring decided to explore digital marking solutions.

The Game Changer: KODAK Info Input Solution and Professional Services by Kodak Alaris

JP Tutoring approached Kodak Alaris to recommend a solution to digitally transform the process, improve efficiency and accuracy, and reduce cost. Kodak Alaris collaborated with its partner DocTech to propose and deliver a solution to meet JP Tutoring’s requirements.

Kodak Alaris recommended its intelligent document processing (IDP) automation software, Info Input Solution, along with the Kodak S2085 Scanner. To address JP Tutoring’s specific needs, the solution also included professional services from Kodak Alaris. The IDP experts customised the solution to include a mark detection feature which registers student answers and automatically validates them against a database of correct ones. To ensure accuracy wherever there were duplicate or missing answers, the papers were automatically flagged for manual review.

As part of the customisation, Info Input Solution provides custom scoring and reporting that streamlines and improves student outcomes. This enabled JP Tutoring to create bespoke exam marking sheets, rather than having to work with rigid pre-defined templates that were causing headaches in the legacy software solution.

300% ROI and Previously Impossible Growth

The intelligent document processing solution from Kodak Alaris has supported Jane’s goal to grow and expand the business in several ways. With less time required to manually mark and deliver feedback on examination results, Jane has been able to strategically focus on business development and achieve a better work-life balance.

JP Tutoring has been able to increase the number of students it supports and continue to offer them the opportunity to sit accurate, real-life mock examinations, which provides invaluable experience.

“This package from Kodak Alaris has truly changed my business. They took their time to understand everything I was looking for, and then worked side-by-side with me to create it,” Jane said. “Together, using my ideas and their technical expertise, we created an amazing solution that is far superior to anything else out there.”

The fully digital solution has eliminated the need for manual marking, resulting in more than 300% ROI in the first year alone. The new workflow has also revolutionised the company’s efficiency and nearly eliminated the risk of human error. Importantly, by digitising the process and removing reliance on manual methods, JP Tutoring has been able to increase student numbers without an associated rise in the cost to serve them.

Leveraging the scanner from Kodak Alaris, JP Tutoring can quickly and efficiently capture student answer sheets in minutes. Kodak Info Input Solution automatically recognises, classifies, extracts, and validates the relevant data with near perfect accuracy, and with minimal human intervention.

As Jane explains: “We’ve taken this from nothing to this amazing system. I can make my own feedback sheet in exactly the way I like and populate it exactly as I want it from the results.”

Leveraging Info Input Solution’s near endless integration capabilities, the students’ exam answers are automatically validated against a database of correct answers. Any outliers—such as blank answers or multiple responses to a single question—are automatically flagged for review.

Called “Human in the Loop”, this part of the intelligent automation process is one of the ways the solution shines above other IDP software; in JP Tutoring’s case, it ensures 100% accuracy. The software automatically calculates the custom results—both overall and a breakdown of sectional/category answers—enabling parents, students, and tutors to easily identify strengths and areas of improvement.

After processing, the digital answer sheets are automatically routed to a dedicated file location, stored for future review, collated with the results, and shared with parents. It's precisely the modernisation that JP Tutoring needed.

One of the biggest benefits has been the speed with which JP Tutoring is able to provide results and feedback to parents. For example, it used to take a few days for exam results to be recorded and available to view; now, parents can view exam results in the parent portal within 2 hours of exam completion. That’s a 90% reduction in exam turnaround time for families!

“I now use my own-styled answer sheets which I can easily tweak for each different paper. I create my own feedback sheets exactly the way I want and provide accurately marked papers to parents in a fraction of the time it took before. Saving both time and money, I can focus on helping my pupils improve, growing the business and diversifying,” Jane stated.

Looking ahead, Jane is looking at how she can utilise the solution in other ways, for example introducing standardised tutor tests as part of the service offering as JP Tutoring is no longer tied to inflexible answer sheet options.

“The team at Kodak Alaris have been fantastic to work with and have often gone above and beyond to support me; something I greatly appreciate. I have extremely high standards, and I shopped around extensively before I found Kodak Alaris. Their expertise and professionalism make me glad that I chose to partner with them on this project,” Jane concluded.