Currently, all forms (inquiry, admissions, enrollment, emergency contact, etc) have hard-coded form controls for data input. Fields like prefixes and suffixes which should logically be controlled by drop-downs are hard-coded as text fields, allowing for incorrect or ill-formatted inputs (Mr. as a suffix, DR instead of Dr.). There is no way to validate vital contact information like phone numbers and email addresses because those also come in as unregulated text boxes.

Especially for schools that connect their Core data to another database like Raiser's Edge, that bad data travels downstream and requires constant, substantial clean up. The initial clean up required for our use of the Connect Raiser's Edge plug-in took more than 100 hours and could be undone at any moment by a rogue inquiry form from an existing family.

Allowing for more control of data input types would reduce the amount of clean up needed regularly by ensuring that good data is easier to acquire at the onset of contact with the school and easier to maintain as students move through the school.