Lipscomb University in Tennessee has a reputation for excellence, earning a spot on Forbes’s list of America’s Top Colleges in 2025, among a host of other distinctions.
But not long ago, many critical processes relied on paper forms, numerous emails, and manual handoffs. This approach led to misplaced paperwork, poor visibility into tasks, error-prone manual data transfers, and general inefficiency. For a campus offering 200-plus majors to nearly 5,000 students, these workflows were unsustainable.
When Abby Bell, executive assistant and director of academic operations, joined the university in 2022, she began searching for ways to modernize administrative processes. She found Jotform and started experimenting with automation immediately, beginning with a time-consuming adjunct hiring workflow process.
Using the program’s automation features, Bell set up Jotform Workflows to route forms automatically to deans, chairs, and other reviewers. Submission data is easy to view and analyze, and Jotform integrations automatically send data to third-party cloud providers. This eliminates manual data entry, improves data accuracy, and provides nearly 300 full-time faculty members with access to vital information.
One workflow alone automates 80 percent of necessary tasks. Now Lipscomb has more than 100 automated workflows across campus. Bell also used a Jotform AI Agent to help facilitate knowledge checks for 700-plus incoming freshmen. In fact, Bell thinks Presentation Agents have the potential to change education.
“I love Jotform, and we’ve really become a Jotform campus. A lot of our academic processes and workflows — almost everything — have migrated to Jotform. It’s become our go-to tool in the provost’s office and in other areas across campus such as events, residence life, and student life,” she says.
Case study results at a glance
80% of adjunct hiring workflow automated
Lipscomb’s adjunct hiring workflow used to be a burden. With Jotform Workflows, it’s almost completely automated.
117 workflows save time
Workflows that automate communication, data transfer, notifications, and more save time across university departments.
752 freshmen learn from a Jotform AI Presentation Agent
A Jotform AI Agent performs a knowledge check for freshmen, offering a glimpse into the future of AI in education.
“This is taking years of my life”
When Bell started looking for digital solutions to replace paper processes in the provost’s office, her most pressing need was improving Lipscomb’s adjunct hiring workflow.
“It was taking me an hour and a half to two-and-a-half hours to go through the paperwork to hire one adjunct. We hire approximately 300 adjuncts a year, so it was taking too much time.
“And that was just one person; it was also touching the chair and the dean who needed to hire, and then our office would write the contracts for adjuncts and for faculty. At that time, we were in between people, so I was doing my job and somebody else’s job. I was like, ‘I can’t do this. I have to find a solution. This is taking years of my life.’ I was working ridiculous hours trying to get everything taken care of.”
Adjunct hiring was the initial concern, but an assortment of paper workflows across campus caused issues.
“There was just so much paper, and things were getting lost. People would say, ‘I sent my assistant over with five papers that needed to get signed.’ And I would say, ‘I don’t think we ever got those. Are you sure you actually did that?’
“So there were things that were falling through the cracks because we didn’t have a clear way to track what had actually been done.”
One of the things I love most about Jotform is the workflow on the back end. It makes my life 10,000 times easier. I love being able to see the submissions page or reports and being able to see where things are. I can open the inbox and see who hasn’t signed a form. That has been very, very helpful.
Abby Bell, Executive Assistant and Director of Academic Operations, Lipscomb University
Event approvals also needed immediate attention. The event form was completed on paper or sent via email, and submissions were difficult to track. “Things were falling through the cracks because they weren’t in one place,” Bell says.
“I wanted to upgrade everything. I needed things to be more streamlined and more efficient in general. And ultimately, I needed something that I could implement rather quickly.”
Becoming a Jotform campus
Bell signed up for a free Jotform account and started building online forms right away. Jotform’s ease of use — along with support from the Jotform team — helped her create exactly what she had in mind.
“It is so user-friendly and intuitive,” Bell says. “And anytime I needed help with anything, Jotform support was quick to help me figure out how to fix something or do it the way I thought it should be working.”
Bell advocated for a Jotform account that could serve all educators at Lipscomb, and the university upgraded to Jotform Enterprise, which offers
- Unlimited form and asset creation
- Team workspaces
- Role-based access
- A secure, local data residency center
- An Admin Console that provides a comprehensive view of users, forms, and more
With a scalable Jotform account at her fingertips, Bell began eliminating other paper workflows.
“I met with the events team and I was like, ‘Hey, I need you to use this tool.’ They quickly developed a series of forms that helps people get through the workflow. First, you need to identify what your event is, or if there are speakers.
“Also, do we need approval to do the event at the university? Do we need approval because we’re going to do sponsorships? Who does that need to touch as far as marketing or whatever else? Once events did it, everybody on campus started using it. Now, Jotform is touching almost everything.”
Form submissions are automatically routed to relevant stakeholders for approval, and automatic email notifications are sent when each step in the workflow is completed. The data is securely stored in Lipscomb’s Jotform Enterprise account and is easy to view and sort with Jotform Tables, Inbox, and Report Builder.
Changing education with Jotform AI
Recently, Bell used Jotform’s AI Presentation Agent to perform a knowledge check for 752 incoming freshmen at Lipscomb. She’s impressed by the Presentation Agent’s ability to engage with students and adapt to their knowledge level.
“The coolest thing about the Jotform AI Presentation Agent is its ability to adapt to the user. I was able to build the presentation, and then I had checks for knowledge built in to make sure [students] understood what was being taught.
“If something was too easy, the presentation agent can scaffold the learning. The learner can say, ‘I’ve got this. Can you skip ahead?’ Or, ‘Can you give me more information about X, Y, or Z?’ It can legitimately work as a tutor and teach the students based on their needs.”
Lipscomb also uses several AI Agents to answer frequently asked questions, saving educators even more time. Bell is at the forefront of the evolving AI landscape in education, and she’s excited about what the future holds.
“I just did a presentation at a ‘teaching with AI’ conference, and I shared the Jotform AI Presentation agent. I really think that the Presentation Agent is special; I think it’s going to change education, especially asynchronous learning.”
“One of the things I love most about Jotform is the workflow on the back end. It makes my life 10,000 times easier. I love being able to see the submissions page or reports and being able to see where things are. I can open the inbox and see who hasn’t signed a form. That has been very, very helpful.”
It is so user-friendly and intuitive. And anytime I needed help with anything, Jotform support was quick to help me figure out how to fix something or do it the way I thought it should be working.
Abby Bell, Executive Assistant and Director of Academic Operations, Lipscomb University
Recently, Lipscomb launched a workflow to streamline ranked tenure and promotions applications. These applications can be strenuous, and Bell credits Jotform for providing relief.
“It’s been great from my side of things because I can see whose applications are finished. We’ve continued to build on top of different workflows. We’ve found fun new ways to use Jotform.”
Lipscomb also relies on other popular EdTech tools, including Google Workspace. With Jotform’s Google integration, Bell can instantly transfer data to Lipscomb’s Google Drive. This integration eliminates manual data entry, saving time and improving data accuracy.
“It’s all there. I don’t have to move things around. Everything I need is in one place. Being able to put things directly into a Google Drive is really fabulous.”
In just a few years, Bell and her colleagues have built more than 100 automated workflows. Each workflow reduces their administrative burden — including Bell’s adjunct hiring workflow, which reduced the workload for that process by 80 percent.
Using Jotform for everything
While Bell’s adjunct hiring process used to be a full-time job, it now takes a fraction of the time to complete.
“It’s really opened up for the person who does that as her job. I would say maybe 15 to 20 percent of the job is the adjunct stuff — and 80 percent is dedicated to other things that we really need at the university. She’s our analyst, so she analyzes workload data and budgets and all kinds of other things. It’s been a game changer.”
We’ve really become a Jotform campus. A lot of our academic processes and workflows — almost everything — have migrated to Jotform. It’s become our go-to tool in the provost’s office and in other areas across campus such as events, residence life, and student life.
Abby Bell, Executive Assistant and Director of Academic Operations, Lipscomb University
And that’s just one workflow. So how many workflows are in place at Lipscomb? The Jotform Enterprise Admin Console provided the answer.
“According to the data, which I can look up because I have the admin analytics platform — which is fabulous — we have 117 workflows and 249 forms,” says Bell. “Almost all of our forms are associated with a workflow.”
Important work is getting done faster, but the work is being done better too. There is no more lost paperwork, and unclear approvals are things of the past. Educators enjoy real-time visibility into every step of the process. Data is captured once and stored centrally so it can be reused campus-wide.
“How much time we are saving is significant. We’ve been getting better data because before we were having to collect these forms and then manually enter information into a spreadsheet from a piece of paper. I mean, we’re using it for everything.”
Administration is the backbone of every educational institution. In just a few short years, Lipscomb University has significantly improved its processes with Jotform Enterprise. Bell and her colleagues can build these workflows without assistance from their technical team, providing versatile solutions quickly.
“I know how helpful Jotform has been for us,” Bell says. “It’s so user-friendly. I could not overemphasize how wonderful it is.”
Getting more done with Jotform
Bell showed that it’s possible to make significant operational improvements at scale with just one educator leading the charge. She wasn’t alone, however. Jotform Support was there whenever she needed an assist.
“Your team has been great about helping us when we’ve had any issues or questions, and it’s just been truly helpful in streamlining everything.”
The days of misplaced paper forms and broken workflows are long gone at Lipscomb University, and the university is just getting started. With Jotform Enterprise, there’s no limit to how much time can be saved, how many processes can be improved, or how many students can benefit when educators skip the busywork and focus on the real work: preparing students for a prosperous future.
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