The FAXCOM Server is used by Distance Learning institutions to increase the efficiency of processing homework assignments. FAXCOM was selected by the University of Southern California (USC) Distance Education Network (DEN) to offer students a simple and reliable way to submit completed assignments.

FAXCOM was selected by USC for their DEN program due to its reputation for reliability, and for the server’s document archiving feature. The student body has found the system to be a great improvement, as the server handles the inbound faxes much more efficiently than did fax machines. Professors print out the received faxes for grading, scan them back into FAXCOM, and then email them directly to their students. Whereas three fax machines were receiving 25,000 pieces of paper that had to be correctly collated and distributed, FAXCOM is currently processing about 2,500 electronic documents (each submission averages 10 pages) every 16 weeks.

In the past, DEN used fax machines to receive student papers. These proved to be costly (paper, toner, etc.) and inadequate, as the fax memory would get full after fax paper or toner was depleted, and student fax transmissions would be lost. “Most of the homework is faxed in since much of it is engineering drawings done by hand,” explained Jim Park, Document Support Manager for USC DEN. “The fax machines would reboot themselves when their memory became full, thereby losing the received assignments. We needed to find a better method to process incoming student paperwork, so we did our own homework and found FAXCOM.”

Integrating FAXCOM into USC’s DEN program gave Jim Park the opportunity to pursue forms automation with Reportée, a Biscom software partner. The Reportée SmartForms™ with Fax Capture™ solution works seamlessly with FAXCOM to extract application-ready data from received fax forms. For USC DEN, the resulting integration replaces the cover sheet form that was previously downloaded from the Web and faxed to facsimile machines with a Reportée SmartForm™ that is faxed to Biscom’s FAXCOM Servers. Reportée Fax Capture™ confirms that the pages faxed synch up with the pages received and sends receipts, or, in the case of transmission problems, error messages. Fax Capture™ uses Web services to enable accurate routing and automatic distribution of graded/upgraded work between instructors and students. For USC students, the result is reliable and timely document delivery.

By automating DEN’s workflow, USC’s School of Engineering realizes time and cost savings, and benefits from virtually error-free data processing. “Dealing with Biscom has been excellent; they were very helpful and the fax server installation went very smoothly,” stated Park. “We love the ease-of-use of the FAXCOM system, which required no training at all. The fact that all of our incoming faxes are automatically archived by the server is a great benefit as well. We are now looking forward to expanding the capabilities of the system even further with the fax/data capture and forwarding features.”