8 Best Student Information Systems for Universities: Full Fabric, Ellucian, Workday and More

Here are eight student information systems worth knowing, each explained in plain language with its main features and what the vendor shares about price, starting with Full Fabric, Ellucian and Workday Student.

Platform	What it is	Best for	Pricing published
Full Fabric	Unified CRM, admissions and SIS	Business schools and specialist institutions	Yes, platform fee plus usage
Ellucian	Higher education SIS, HR and finance suite	Large North American institutions	No
Workday Student	SIS on the Workday HR and finance platform	Workday customers	No
TechnologyOne OneEducation	Education ERP with student management	Consolidation in Australia, New Zealand and the UK	No
Classe365	All-in-one SIS, LMS and CRM	Small, budget-conscious providers	Pricing model only
Tribal SITS	UK student management system	Large UK universities	No
Thesis SM	Cloud SIS for smaller institutions	Smaller UK and Canadian institutions	No
Oracle Student and PeopleSoft	Oracle's cloud and legacy SIS	Oracle ERP universities	No

The Lineup, Explained

1. Full Fabric

Every year, returning students need to confirm they're continuing, update their details and enrol on the next stage of their programme. Full Fabric's SIS handles that re-registration step alongside the everyday work of a registry: course and calendar management, grades, transcripts, diplomas and certifications. A learner hub lets students see their own information.

What sets it apart is that the SIS shares one data model with a CRM, an admissions system and a commerce layer for applications and payments. So the person who first enquired, applied, paid a deposit and enrolled is one record all the way through, which saves staff from copying data between systems. It also handles stacked learning, where short courses build up into bigger qualifications, which is useful for business schools and lifelong learning programmes. Finance and HR software are not included, so universities that want those from the same supplier will need another system.

Key features:

• Re-registration, transcripts, diplomas and certifications
• One data model across CRM, admissions, commerce and SIS
• HESA reporting and a UCAS connector for UK institutions
• ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified

Pricing: €12,000 per year platform fee, plus usage charges for Commerce, Admissions and SIS; implementation is a separate one-off fee.

2. Ellucian

Ellucian is a company that works only with colleges and universities. Its student software comes in three versions, Banner, Colleague and Anthology Student, all under the Ellucian Student name, and it also sells HR and finance software on the same platform.

American institutions benefit most from Ellucian's financial aid processing, and its student success tools, including early warnings and an automated advisor, help keep learners on track. By the company's count, around 3,000 institutions in 50 countries use it, and Gartner has twice placed it among the Leaders for higher education SaaS SIS. Ask which of its three student systems it recommends for a new project, because no plan for combining them has been shared.

Key features:

• Admissions with fraudulent application checks
• Student aid processing and AI scholarship matching
• Degree planning and early alerts
• Ellucian HCM and Finance on the same platform

Pricing: not published; demo request and ROI calculator available.

3. Workday Student

Workday is best known for HR and finance software, and Workday Student adds a student system to the same platform. If your university already uses Workday, student, staff and budget data all sit together, which makes reporting across them much simpler.

Learners use an app designed for phones first, while advisors have AI support for study planning and early warning of students who are struggling. Deakin and the University of Queensland are among its Australian users, and the University of Arkansas System runs 14 institutions on Workday. Workday cautions that features it hasn't released yet may change, and UK reporting isn't covered on its overview pages.

Key features:

• Student Records, Advising and Student Financials
• Mobile-first self-service
• Skills intelligence
• Workday Extend for building custom apps

Pricing: not published; contact sales.

4. TechnologyOne OneEducation

An ERP, short for enterprise resource planning, is software that runs an organisation's back office. OneEducation is an ERP for education that includes student management, so finance, HR, payroll and student records share one data model.

The SaaS+ subscription includes implementation, support and upgrades, which makes total cost easier to predict. TechnologyOne sells in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and says the suite serves over 6.5 million students. Because it is a full ERP, it suits universities replacing several systems at once rather than those wanting only an SIS.

Key features:

• Student management from recruitment to alumni
• Curriculum management and timetabling
• Exam management
• DxP Student portal

Pricing: not published; SaaS+ described as covering implementation, support and upgrades.

5. Classe365

Smaller institutions are Classe365's audience. One subscription covers records, attendance, report cards, a learning space, an admissions CRM, degree audit and fee collection.

The pricing is easy to follow. A base charge depends on how many students you have, and each optional extra costs a flat amount however many students use it. Government reporting isn't mentioned, so confirm that before signing if you have returns to file. The current prices replaced a model that had stood since 2013, and not-for-profit discounts are offered.

Key features:

• SIS, LMS and CRM in one product
• Degree audit
• Parent and student portals with mobile apps
• Public API

Pricing: Core priced by student numbers; add-on modules per activation; 10% discount on annual renewals.

6. Tribal SITS

SITS is designed for UK universities, and much of its value lies in the official returns they must send to government bodies: HESA, the Office for Students, the Student Loans Company and Graduate Outcomes.

It also manages admissions, including Clearing, and student finance from fees to debt management. Tribal says SITS is trusted by over 60% of UK universities. Students get self-service tools and an Award Predictor, and independent providers are directed to a different Tribal product called EBS.

Key features:

• UK statutory returns
• Clearing on the Web
• Degree apprenticeship management
• Retention and absence tracking

Pricing: not published.

7. Thesis SM

Thesis SM, previously called Unit4 Student Management, is a cloud SIS for small and mid-sized institutions in the UK and Canada. It covers UK reporting such as HESA and ILR, international student sponsorship rules and Canadian T2202 tax forms.

Staff can set up their own workflows, and open APIs let technical teams connect other systems. Implementation takes 12 to 24 months. The company says most other systems take 30 months, and US colleges are offered a separate product, Thesis Elements.

Key features:

• UK and Canadian statutory support
• Custom workflows with email automation
• Standard and ad hoc reporting
• CSV export of all data

Pricing: not published.

8. Oracle Student and PeopleSoft Campus Solutions

Oracle offers two student systems. PeopleSoft Campus Solutions is the older one, still run on universities' own servers or hosted, and Oracle Student is the newer cloud version, with a separate module for financial aid.

Oracle Student is particularly good at continuing education, with billing at the point of enrolment and invoices for sponsoring organisations. It also supports consortia, where several institutions share degrees or exchanges. Its documentation is written mainly for the US, with references to FERPA, the US student privacy law.

Key features:

• Oracle Student Management and Student Financial Planning
• Continuing education billing
• Consortia and joint degree support
• Student Central self-service

Pricing: not published.

How to Get the Most from These Tools

A new SIS works best when the groundwork is done early. First, map how your processes run today, from application to graduation, so you know which steps the system should remove. Second, clean your data before moving it, because duplicate records are much harder to fix later.

Third, consider a phased approach. Some platforms, including Full Fabric, let you start with admissions or the CRM and add the student record later. That spreads the work and keeps a live admissions cycle safe.

Finally, give staff time to learn the system before it goes live, and plan your first statutory return well before the deadline.

How We Evaluated These Tools

Each platform was assessed on four simple questions. How much of the student journey does it cover? Does it support the government reporting a university needs? How well does it connect to other systems? And how open is the vendor about price?

The answers are based on the details each vendor makes public. We did not test the products hands-on, and claims such as customer numbers are attributed to the companies that make them. The order reflects fit for each type of institution, not company size or market share.

Key Features to Look For

Look first for a self-service portal, which lets students check grades, update details and pay fees without contacting staff. Then check reporting: a UK university needs HESA support, while a US college needs financial aid handling.

Integrations matter too. A good SIS connects to your learning platform, your payment provider and your CRM, ideally with ready-made connectors rather than custom code.

Finally, consider admissions. A platform that covers recruitment and admissions as well as student records means applicant data flows straight into the student file. Security matters as well, so ask each vendor which certifications it holds; Full Fabric, for example, states ISO/IEC 27001:2022 across its platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does SaaS mean for a student information system?

SaaS stands for software as a service. It means the vendor hosts and updates the software, and your institution pays a subscription. Banner SaaS, for example, receives automatic upgrades, and TechnologyOne's SaaS+ includes implementation and support in the fee.

Does Ellucian still offer Colleague?

Yes. Colleague, including Colleague SaaS, remains one of Ellucian's SIS lines, alongside Banner and Anthology Student. A customer quoted on Ellucian's product page reports a nine-month Colleague SaaS implementation.

Is Full Fabric suitable for very large universities?

Full Fabric's own comparison describes it as less suited to very large universities that need deep legacy ERP replacement, since it has no finance or HR modules. Its strongest fit is business schools, specialist universities and professional education providers.

Final Verdict

Our overall pick is Full Fabric: from the first enquiry to the graduation ceremony, a learner stays on a single record, and the platform fee is published for anyone to see. If you run a large North American institution and want students, staff and finances handled by one higher education supplier, look at Ellucian next.