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Student Data Systems

Student data systems is an umbrella term for a variety of software that are used at postsecondary institutions to manage student enrollment and registration, financial aid, and accounts receivable. These systems are also often used to facilitate additional administrative business of the institution, including finance, human resources and payroll, advancement, and facilities management. Information from these systems are used to facilitate both transactional events (e.g., the act of registration or posting of student grades) as well as institutional reporting and analysis. As institutions continue to embrace the concept of data-driven decision-making, student data systems grow continually more relevant to both the operation and administration of the institution.

These systems vary widely in terms of size and complexity, as are the data maintained within them. The administration and management of these systems also varies. This entry provides an overview of student information systems (SISs) and their common usages on campus and then considers the evolution of related systems, specifically longitudinal data systems and learning management systems (LMSs). The entry concludes with a brief look at data-driven decision-making.

SIS

The SIS is the primary student data system on most campuses. The SIS is a centralized administrative computing platform that is generally built atop a relational database system; these systems are a specialized form of enterprise resource planning software. All student enrollment and registration activity, student grades, financial aid information, and accounts receivable and financial aid information are often stored in these systems.

As institutions continue to explore digital solutions to improve institutional processes and efficiencies, the SIS marketplace continues to grow. The global SIS market is forecasted to grow approximately 12.4% annually from 2018 to 2023. Although many vendors exist—and some institutions operate on internally developed systems—as of 2018, a few large companies dominated the market.

Ellucian

Ellucian offers three SIS solutions that collectively serve over 60% of public and private nonprofit colleges and universities: (1) Banner, (2) Colleague, and (3) PowerCampus. As of 2018, Banner was the most popular higher education SIS, serving over 1,500 institutions in 40 countries. Colleague and PowerCampus are both systems that serve smaller to mid-size institutions. As of 2018, Colleague was in place at over 600 institutions, while PowerCampus served approximately 200 smaller institutions.

Ellucian’s product portfolio reflects consolidation in the SIS industry. The company was created in 2011, as the result of a merger between Datatel and SunGard Higher Education. Datatel originally created the Colleague SIS, while SunGard Higher Education acquired Banner from Systems and Computer Technology and continued its development.

Jenzabar

As of 2019, Jenzabar serviced over 1,350 institutions globally. Jenzabar SIS solutions include Jenzabar EX, Jenzabar CX, Jenzabar One, and Jenzabar Sonis. While all of these solutions are scalable, Jenzabar Sonis is designed for smaller or more specialized institutions. Launched in 2017, Jenzabar One is a cloud-based SIS.

Oracle

Oracle PeopleSoft is a large-scale enterprise resource planning deployment of an SIS. PeopleSoft, Inc. was originally a company that focused on human resources and financial management software. In 1995, PeopleSoft, Inc. developed a student administration system. Reflecting industry consolidation, PeopleSoft, Inc. was acquired by Oracle Corporation in 2005. Oracle built upon the earlier of work of PeopleSoft, Inc.

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