The Reality of Email Archiving for the Education Sector

In our last blog post we discussed a fictional TV lawsuit involving email archiving and a college. The example we used provided a good picture of how a lawsuit could be affected by email archiving.

But that was TV; let’s look at the facts, and how email archiving can help educators in legal situations.

Email Archiving can Help Lower Legal Costs

In reality, schools are very aware of the potential for legal issues to arise. A recent Harris Poll found that 65% of K12 school principles fear that their decisions might be legally challenged. Nearly the same percentage, 55%, think the threat of legal challenges is on the increase.

An increase in legal costs would be crippling for a lot of school districts. Schools already foot huge legal bills, for example the Los Angeles Unified School District alone spent over $183 million on lawsuits over a four-year period.

Effective email archiving won’t solve this problem, but it could reduce that legal bill.

Email Archiving Makes eDiscovery Easier for Schools

In all businesses, email has become a common and important way of recording information. Within most schools faculty communication is conducted via email, as well as a lot of contact with students and parents. Email archiving ensures these records are safe and accessible.

Access is the key issue here. Within the discovery process, there is a responsibility for both parties to disclose electronic information early in proceedings. Email archiving allows for quick and easy access to email records, which can facilitate smooth communication between both parties.

Responsibility for early disclosure isn’t the only requirement for email records. Another key requirement is the form email evidence takes. It is important email evidence is provided in it’s original form. Any change raises the potential for accusations of evidence tampering. Email archiving prevents this issue as the original email can be found quickly and easily.

The reality is schools are under threat of legal action, due to the unique nature of their industry. And in modern legal cases email evidence can be vital. With email archiving, lawsuits are easier to deal with and that’s a fact.

If you are in the education sector it is the perfect time to research an email archiving solution and protect your institution in time for the start of the new school year. Download our white paper “Email Archiving for the Education Sector” now.