Shredding Benefits to Learning Institutions

Shredding benefits to learning institutions

Learning institutions deal with a lot of paperwork. Some of the paperwork holds very sensitive information, which if released to the wrong hands could lead to problems. With the volumes of sensitive and private data involved, learning institutions must devise a way to dispose of the education records, financial records, employee information, and other sensitive documents.

Hiring a shredding company is one sure fire way a learning institution can prevent sensitive information from getting in the wrong hands, ensure proper disposal of documents, prevent problems with the law, ensure an environment friendly way of getting rid of paper waste etc.

Why hiring a shredding company is beneficial to learning institutions

1. Comply with information disposal laws- Shredding an institutions documents is an effective way of complying with information disposal laws and privacy requirements, in particular, FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). FERPA is a law that protects the privacy of student’s documents. Shredding helps an institution comply with FERPA. By shredding students records, an institution protects their students information and complies with the act in regard to having a proper document destruction policy for documents. The act requires that students records be destroyed when students no longer need or when the documents retire to avoid unwanted disclosure. Hiring a shredding company to get rid of all the old students records can help an institution comply with FERPA. Not complying with FERPA could make the learning institution loose funding from the department of education, a penalty that may end crippling the institution.

2. Proper waste management- Compared to burning or disposing documents in a landfill, shredding and recycling offers one of the best secure waste destruction solutions. This is because shredding specialists not only shred the documents but also collect the shred remnants and then securely recycle them to make eco-friendly paper and materials. Instead of filling landfills with tons of paper, why not shred it and use the shreddings to make more paper and save our trees and environment as a whole.

3. Environmental friendly disposal of documents- Some institutions throw their paper waste with the rest of their waste. This can be very harmful to the environment since paper takes time and space before decomposing. By hiring a shredding company to properly dispose of the documents, the documents are destroyed and recycled. This not only prevents environment pollution but helps save our trees since lesser trees will be cut to provide new paper. Shredding thus helps the environment in two ways: By preventing pollution and providing eco-friendly paper solutions

4. Safe and secure shredding- A shredding company has the equipment and know the best shredding techniques for shredding large amounts of documents. A reliable shredding company will get rid of all the documents safely and recycle the remnants. As an institution you can rest assured that no one would ever put the pieces back together in the future. Unlike disposing of the document in a landfill, shredding is the most secure method of getting rid of documents. In addition, the company has the right tools and technologies for safe shredding of the different documents in the institution. Hiring a shredding company also helps save time and resources that the institution would have otherwise needed, to dispose of confidential administrative and student documents.

5. Regular shredding practice- Hiring a reliable shredding company means that you can form a regular shredding procedure. Normally a shredding company provides containers or secure consoles to keep the documents and files secure. Then your service provider will help you set up an efficient schedule for regular visits to your the institution to shred all material in the locked containers. Working with a reliable shredding company gives you peace of mind that all the documents will be destroyed at a particular time and help get rid of all old documents and private files on a regular schedule. Teaming up with a reputable shredding company like PROSHRED is one of the best ways of ensuring that all confidential information is disposed of properly and to safeguard the student’sand all employees identity and privacy.

6. Shredded documents are unrecoverable- A shredding company normally will shred the records into tiny pieces and mix it with other shredded paper, which makes it impossible to recover the documents. This means that no one can ever recover your student’s sensitive information in the future and use it for their selfish reasons. Paper shredding is the most effective way of getting rid of sensitive information permanently.

7. Prevent identity theft and safeguard your institution’s integrity- A learning institution should take measures to protect the identity of their students and employees. One of the most effective ways of making sure that private documents are destroyed such that no one can have access to confidential information any time in the future is hiring a shredding company to get rid of documents and students records. By caring about and protecting the students identity an institution safeguards its integrity and keeps its reputation intact

8. Prevent crime- A learning institution has materials such as thesis, reports and other finished works that cheaters might access and plagiarize. Shredding such materials prevents criminals from using other people’s works without their permission.

9. Choose the best shredding solution for your institution- You can have your documents shredded offsite or onsite. In offsite shredding, the shredding company transports all the documents from the institution and shreds them offsite. However the chain of custody is not complete until the actual material is destroyed! In onsite shredding, the company does all the work onsite, therefore completing the chain of custody and providing the highest level of security available and you can view them being destroyed to verify destruction before the trucks transports the shredded remnants to the secure recycle center. The level of security is your choice.

10. Save space- As mentioned above, learning institutions deal with a lot of documents. Storing unnecessary files and documents can take a lot of space that might otherwise be used in a more valuable manner tha storing obsolete or out dated information. Shredding helps get rid of old, outdated, and unnecessary files. In addition, paper becomes drier if stored for long time. This presents a great hazard, paper is highly flammable, and the slightest fire can lead to disaster.

Hiring a reliable paper shredding company such as PROSHRED^® Security can help destroy an institution’s sensitive information and prevent sensitive data from getting in the wrong hands. From protecting student’s records, employee confidential information and sensitive financial information, hiring a document shredding company such a PROSHRED^® Security presents many benefits to a learning institution.

At PROSHRED^®, we offer additional information destruction solutions. Our services include scheduled document shredding, one time purge service, hard drive shredding, secure electronics recycling, and obsolete inventory destruction. We are the only on site shredding company in North America that has achieved both the NAID AAA and ISO 9001 certifications. Our ultimate objective is to provide you with an effective document management solution that keeps your institution efficient, organized and more importantly, compliant. For shredding services in South East Texas/ Houston Metro area, call our local office @ 832-947-5700 or 1-87-PROSHRED for the nearest PROSHRED^® location in your area.

PROSHRED^® Security: Document and Hard Drive destruction at your door. We are the information destruction experts.

Written By: Brock E. Bruce, President, PROSHRED^® of Houston

Brock Bruce