Best Student Information System SIS Universities 2024, 2025: 8 Platforms That Shaped the Market

Picture yourself joining a university's systems team at the start of 2024. Your first job is to understand the student information system, or SIS: the software that holds every enrolment, grade, transcript and fee. Your second is to work out whether the institution should replace it.

By the end of 2025, that second job would have looked rather different. Ellucian had completed its purchase of Anthology's SIS and ERP business. Classe365 had introduced its first new pricing since 2013. Full Fabric had been recognised in a Gartner market guide for admissions platforms, and several vendors in this list were describing AI features for advising, curriculum planning and admissions. If you last looked at these systems a few years ago, some names have changed too: Unit4 Student Management is now Thesis SM, and Oracle Student Cloud is now simply Oracle Student.

This guide explains the eight platforms that defined those two years, in plain terms. It starts with Full Fabric, the strongest unified CRM and SIS of the group, and works through the enterprise suites and specialist systems that shaped how universities buy student software today.

Platform	Best for	Notable 2024 or 2025 development	Published pricing
Full Fabric	Unified CRM and SIS	Representative Vendor, 2025 Gartner Market Guide for Higher Education Recruitment and Admissions Platforms	€12,000 per year platform fee, modules on usage
TechnologyOne OneEducation	Student, finance and HR in one SaaS ERP	AWS partner of the year 2025	Not listed
Classe365	Smaller institutions on a budget	New pricing effective 1 January 2025	Modular, by students and add-ons
Thesis SM	Smaller UK and Canadian institutions	Not listed	Not listed
Tribal SITS	UK universities	Preparing customers for the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (January 2027)	Not listed
Oracle Student and PeopleSoft	Oracle ERP customers	Not listed	Not listed
Ellucian	Large North American institutions	Acquisition of Anthology's SIS and ERP business closed 31 December 2025	Not listed
Jenzabar One	US private colleges	Leader, IDC MarketScape North America Higher Education SaaS and Cloud Enabled SIS 2024	Not listed

Our Evaluation Criteria

Each platform was assessed using the details its vendor makes public, without hands-on testing. Four questions mattered most.

First, how much of the student journey does it cover? Some systems begin at enrolment. Others start at the first enquiry, which means recruitment, admissions and the student record share the same data.

Second, does it support the reporting a university must file? In the UK that includes HESA returns; in the US, financial aid rules matter most.

Third, what else does it connect to or replace? An SIS that runs on the same platform as HR and finance is a different purchase from one that connects to an existing CRM.

Fourth, how open is the vendor about cost? Most enterprise vendors share no prices at all, so publishing even a pricing model counted in a platform's favour.

Getting Real Value from a Student Information System

A new SIS rarely fails because of the software. More often, problems come from moving old habits and messy data into a new home.

Begin with a clear map of how your processes work today, from application to graduation. This shows which steps the new system should remove. Next, clean your data before migration: duplicate records and inconsistent course codes are much harder to fix later.

Consider a phased rollout. Some platforms let you start with admissions or the CRM and add the student record afterwards, which spreads the work and the risk.

Finally, plan your reporting calendar early. If your institution files statutory returns, test them in the new system well before the first deadline.

1) Full Fabric

Best for: universities, business schools and specialist institutions that want CRM, admissions and student records on one platform.

If you're new to these systems, a useful first question is whether you must switch everything over at once. With Full Fabric, you don't. Institutions can start with one piece, such as the Application Hub or the CRM, and add admissions or the SIS later without replacing the rest of their IT setup overnight.

What makes that possible is a single data model. In plain terms, the CRM, admissions, payments, and student record all read and write the same information, so nothing has to be copied between systems. The SIS covers courses, calendars, grades, transcripts, diplomas and stacked learner management, and it supports the UK's HESA reporting.

Founded in 2011, Full Fabric publishes a platform fee of €12,000 per year and holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification. Its student-facing apps are tested to WCAG AA accessibility standards. Connectors for Salesforce, HubSpot, and Microsoft Dynamics help it fit alongside the tools a university already uses.

Verdict: the most complete unified option here, though very large universities needing a full finance and HR ERP will need other systems alongside it.

2) TechnologyOne OneEducation

Best for: universities in Australia, New Zealand and the UK that want student, finance and HR software from one vendor.

An ERP, or enterprise resource planning system, runs an organisation's back office in one place. OneEducation is an ERP built for education, and in 2025 TechnologyOne was named AWS partner of the year. Its earlier purchase of CourseLoop added curriculum management to the suite.

Student management covers recruitment through to alumni, alongside HR, payroll, timetabling and exam management. Students use the DxP Student portal, and a single data model connects the student, HR, payroll and financial records, so staff see the same figures across departments.

The SaaS+ fee includes implementation, support and upgrades, which makes total cost easier to predict. Its regional presence is limited to the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and the SIS comes as part of a full ERP suite.

Verdict: a strong choice for consolidating back-office systems in its home regions.

3) Classe365

Best for: smaller colleges and training providers that want published, modular pricing.

Modular pricing means you pay for the base system plus only the add-ons you switch on. Classe365 changed its pricing from 1 January 2025, its first change since 2013. The Core module is priced by student numbers, while add-ons cost a flat amount per activation, regardless of how many students use them.

The product combines SIS records, an LMS, CRM, admissions forms, degree audit and online payments. Parent and student portals and mobile apps are included, and a public API lets technical teams connect other tools.

Annual renewals receive a 10% discount, and not-for-profit discounts are available. National reporting such as HESA is not mentioned, so universities with statutory returns should check carefully.

Verdict: an accessible all-in-one option for smaller institutions without statutory reporting needs.

4) Thesis SM

Best for: small and mid-sized universities and colleges in the UK and Canada.

Implementation is the project of setting up and moving onto a new system. Thesis says its implementations take 12 to 24 months depending on size, and claims most other systems take 30 months.

For UK institutions, Thesis SM handles HESA and HESES, ILR, UniStats and UKVI requirements. Canadian institutions get T2202 tax forms. Open APIs and full CSV export make data easy to move, and custom workflows let each institution set its own business rules.

The product began life as Unit4 Student Management. US institutions need Thesis Elements instead.

Verdict: UK and Canadian compliance without the weight of an enterprise suite.

5) Tribal SITS

Best for: UK universities with heavy statutory reporting.

Tribal is preparing SITS customers for the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, due in January 2027. That forward planning matters because UK universities depend on their SIS to file returns.

SITS covers HESA, OfS, SLC and Graduate Outcomes. It also manages Clearing, retention tracking, absence management and student finance from fees to debt, and students get an Award Predictor tool.

Tribal describes SITS as trusted by over 60% of UK universities. Tribal points independent higher education providers to its EBS product instead.

Verdict: the UK specialist for large registries and complex returns.

6) Oracle Student and PeopleSoft Campus Solutions

Best for: institutions already using Oracle Cloud ERP or HCM.

Oracle launched its cloud SIS as Oracle Student Cloud in 2014; current documents call it Oracle Student. It has two parts: Student Management and Student Financial Planning, which handles financial aid.

Many universities still run Oracle's older system, PeopleSoft Campus Solutions 9.2, and Oracle describes a migration path to the cloud product.

Its continuing education billing, with pay-to-enrol options and invoices for sponsoring organisations, is a standout, as is support for consortia and multi-institution degrees. Its documentation is US-focused, with references to FERPA.

Verdict: the logical next step for PeopleSoft and Oracle ERP institutions.

7) Ellucian

Best for: large North American institutions that want student records, HR, and finance from one supplier.

Ellucian finished buying Anthology's student and ERP operations on 31 December 2025, bringing more than 260 customers into its base. It says it will keep delivering and maintaining Anthology's existing systems.

That makes three SIS lines under one brand: Banner, Colleague and Anthology Student. Ellucian HCM and Ellucian Finance share the platform, so a university can buy student, staff and finance systems from one company that works only in higher education.

Ellucian also holds Leader status in Gartner's SaaS SIS Magic Quadrant for higher education, for a second year running.

Verdict: the broadest higher education portfolio, with a convergence plan still to be published.

8) Jenzabar One

Best for: small and mid-sized US private colleges.

In 2024, IDC named Jenzabar a Leader in its MarketScape for North America Higher Education SaaS and Cloud Enabled SIS. Jenzabar One combines a cloud SIS with financial aid, finance, and HCM.

The platform puts particular weight on nontraditional students, such as adults returning to study, with flexible payment plans and omnichannel messaging.

It is US-focused, and no UK or European reporting is mentioned.

Verdict: a well-rounded ERP and SIS for US private colleges.

Which One Fits Your Institution?

Choose Full Fabric if you want recruitment, admissions and student records joined on one data model, especially at a business school or specialist institution.

Choose TechnologyOne OneEducation if you're in Australia, New Zealand or the UK and want to replace student, finance and HR systems together.

Choose Classe365 if you're a smaller institution that values published, modular pricing.

Choose Tribal SITS if UK statutory returns dominate your registry's year.

Choose Ellucian if you're a large North American institution that wants one higher education vendor for students, staff, and finance.