[cindycarey]

We are a K-12 school and would like to take our applications online.
I would like to hear from other schools who have already done this.
I am interested in knowing what software is being used, cost if known, pros & cons, etc.

Thanks in advance.

Cindy

[CChesler]

Cindy -
We are going to implment Blackbaud's NetInquiry at the end of the month, and have plans to work with Blackbaud to go the route of the "customized" online application as part of Online Campus Community. Our target date for launching the custom application is November.
While I can't exactly answer your question - I can tell you a little bit about our decision process.
I started this negotiation for Online Campus Community in March. I was rather surprised, and continue to voice this concern with Blackbaud, that the Application process takes so much customization - which comes with a large price tag. I still think there should be a way for new "sign-ups" in Online Campus Community - just like in Events with NetCommunity. But that' s a different soap box.
SO - I talked with some local consultants about writing us a custom application that would appear on our web page and allow us to generate a csv file from the entries on the application, that I would then import in to Education Edge. I also talked with reps from two companies that provide a web-based application service that can interface with school databases. (infosnap was one of them - can't remember the other name)
In the end - we decided that it would be better for us in the long run to partner with Blackbaud for the online application. We are guaranteed that the application fields will map to the appropriate fields in Education Edge without a lot of extra reformatting work on my part. Plus - if Blackbaud makes any structural changes to Education Edge that would require a change in the online application - we won't have to go back to the third party to make changes. Much easier to manage if I'm working in a (fairly) consistent platform.