iGradePlus

1. Instant Setup (No Consultation Required)

• iGradePlus is designed for quick and easy self-service setup.

• Schools or individual teachers can sign up directly on the website without needing to go through a sales or consultation process.

2. Free Trial Period

• A 14-day free trial is available for schools and districts to explore the full Enterprise School Management System.

• During this period, users can test all features, including gradebooks, attendance, communication tools, and reporting.

3. Account Creation

• Teachers and administrators receive individual login accounts.

• Students and parents are also provided with portal accounts (up to 4 guardians per student).

4. Data Entry and Customization

• Schools can begin entering student, staff, and class data immediately.
• The system supports custom grading scales, behavior tracking, and attendance statuses.

• No data limits are imposed, and the platform is highly customizable.

5. Support and Tutorials

• iGradePlus offers online tutorials and a support portal for staff members.

• Customer support is responsive, typically replying within minutes to a few hours, depending on urgency and time of day.

Implementation Timeline

• Initial setup: Can be completed in minutes to a few hours.
• Full deployment (including data entry, customization, and training): Typically takes a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on the size of the school and complexity of needs.
• No downtime: The platform is web-based and accessible 24/7, with a strong uptime record since 2011.

iGradePlus is highly customizable, making it suitable for a wide range of educational institutions and instructional styles.

Customization Capabilities:

• Gradebook Settings: Teachers can define custom grading scales, assignment categories, and grade weighting.
• Report Generation: Schools can create custom report cards and progress reports with logos, headers, and footers.
• Behavior and Attendance Tracking: User-defined statuses and incident types allow schools to tailor tracking to their policies.
• Communication Tools: Bulk email, event calendars, and bulletin boards can be customized per class or school.
• Portal Access: Each student and up to four guardians can have personalized portal accounts.
• Document Sharing: Teachers and admins can upload and share documents with specific access controls.
• School Profiles: Multi-school support includes custom calendars, directories, and school-specific options.

The platform is designed to be flexible for K–12 schools, trade schools, colleges, and homeschool co-ops, and users can request new features via the community forums.

iGradePlus is known for its transparent and affordable pricing, with minimal additional costs.

Pricing Structure:

• Free Version: Available for individual teachers with core gradebook and communication features.
• Enterprise Version:
  • Starts at $80/year for 10 students.
  • Scales based on student count (e.g., $6200/year for 1000 students).

  • Includes unlimited teacher and administrator accounts.

Additional Costs:

• Setup Fees: None. The platform offers instant setup with no consultation or onboarding fees.
• Maintenance Fees: None explicitly listed. Maintenance is included in the subscription.

• Support Charges: None. Customer support is free and responsive, typically replying within minutes to a few hours.

Trial and Flexibility:

• 14-Day Free Trial for schools and districts.
• No commitment required—users can let the trial expire without penalty.

iGradePlus provides a comprehensive support system designed to help users get started quickly and resolve issues efficiently.

Training Resources:

• Help Desk Platform: Includes forums, a knowledge base, and announcements for updates and feature roadmaps.
• Community Site: Users can request new features, vote on planned updates, and participate in discussions.
• Tutorials and Guides: Available for staff, students, and parents, covering setup, gradebook use, attendance tracking, and more.

• Self-Service Setup: The platform is designed for easy onboarding without needing formal training or consultation.

Support Channels:

• Email Support: Fast response times—typically within minutes to a few hours, depending on urgency and time of day.
• Dedicated Support Pages: Separate help sections for staff, students, and parents.
• Responsive Customer Service: Frequently praised in user reviews for being helpful and timely.

iGradePlus takes data protection seriously and implements several key security features:

Security Features:

• SSL Encryption: All data transfers are encrypted to prevent unauthorized access.
• Encrypted Student Data: Sensitive information is stored securely using encryption protocols.
• Account Activity Logs: Tracks user actions for auditing and accountability.
• FERPA Compliance: Adheres to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, ensuring student data privacy.
• Role-Based Access Control: Staff members have privileges based on their roles, limiting access to confidential data.
• Custom Confidential Fields: Certain profile fields can be flagged as confidential and restricted to authorized users.

These measures make iGradePlus a secure and reliable platform for managing educational data.

iGradePlus follows a continuous improvement model with regular updates based on user feedback and internal development goals.

Update Frequency and Management:

• Ongoing Feature Development: The platform maintains a Planned Features forum where users can view upcoming updates and vote on new features.
• Community-Driven Enhancements: Users can submit feature requests and feedback directly through the community site.
• Transparent Roadmap: Updates and announcements are posted on the iGradePlus Community Site, which includes forums and a knowledge base.
• Recent Updates: Examples include enhancements to student/guardian profile fields and bulk class update tools.
• No Downtime: Updates are deployed seamlessly without interrupting service. The platform has maintained 24/7 availability since 2011, with only two major outages due to extreme weather.

iGradePlus provides strong support for data ownership and portability, ensuring users retain control over their information.

Data Ownership:

• User-Controlled Data: Teachers and administrators own their data and can manage it independently.

• Custom Fields: Users can define and manage custom fields for students, guardians, and classes.

Data Portability:

• Export Options: Users can export all gradebook data to text-based files for:
  • Personal backups
  • Sharing with others

  • External analysis

• Downloadable Reports: Gradebooks, attendance logs, and behavior records can be printed or exported in bulk.

• Account Data Archiving: Nightly backups are preserved for 30 days, allowing recovery of deleted data.

Privacy Compliance:

• FERPA-Compliant: iGradePlus complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), ensuring student data privacy.

iGradePlus offers flexible scaling options designed to accommodate schools of all sizes.

Scaling Terms:

• Per-Student Pricing: The Enterprise version is priced based on the number of students (e.g., $80/year for 10 students, $6200/year for 1000 students).
• Unlimited Staff Accounts: Regardless of student count, schools can create unlimited teacher and administrator accounts.
• No Setup Fees: Scaling up or down does not incur setup charges.
• Custom Quotes: Larger institutions can request tailored pricing based on their specific needs.
• Instant Adjustments: Schools can upgrade or downgrade their subscription at any time through the admin portal.

This model allows institutions to scale dynamically without contractual penalties or delays.

iGradePlus operates under a subscription-based model with transparent cancellation and renewal policies.

Contract Terms:

• No Long-Term Contracts: Subscriptions are annual and can be renewed or canceled without penalty.
• Free Trial: A 14-day trial is available for schools to test the platform before committing.
• Cancellation: Users can cancel at any time. There are no cancellation fees, but refunds are not guaranteed unless specified in writing.
• Renewal: Renewal is manual unless auto-renewal is enabled. Users are encouraged to review terms periodically as updates may occur.

The platform emphasizes user control and flexibility, making it easy to opt in or out as needed.

iGradePlus is designed to meet key educational data protection standards.

Compliance Highlights:

• FERPA Compliance: Fully adheres to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), ensuring student data privacy.
• SSL Encryption: All data transfers are encrypted using Secure Socket Layer (SSL).
• Encrypted Data Storage: Sensitive student data is encrypted at rest and decrypted only when accessed.
• Account Activity Logs: Tracks all user actions for auditing and security.
• Nightly Backups: Data is backed up daily to both onsite and offsite servers, with 30-day retention.
• Account Lockout and Identity Verification: Protects against brute-force attacks and unauthorized access.

These measures ensure that iGradePlus is a secure and compliant platform for educational institutions.