Imagine it is the end of 2025, and your registrar asks you for a one-page summary of two years of student information system demos. You have sat through presentations from enterprise suites, UK specialists and small all-in-one platforms, and the notes are a blur of acronyms.
The first job is to translate. A student information system, or SIS, is the software that holds a university's official student records: who is enrolled, on which courses, with what grades and fees. Some vendors stop there. Others also run recruitment and admissions, or connect the SIS to HR and finance.
The second job is to sort. This guide does that for six platforms that stood out across 2024 and 2025, explaining each in plain terms and starting with Full Fabric, the strongest fit for business schools and specialist institutions.
Quick picks
Platform |
Best for |
Full Fabric |
Business schools and specialist institutions |
Thesis SM |
Smaller UK and Canadian universities |
Ellucian |
Large North American institutions |
Workday Student |
Universities already on Workday |
Between accepting an offer and arriving on campus, a new student often falls into a gap: admissions has finished with them, but the registry hasn't started. Full Fabric fills that gap with a pre-arrival hub, part of an admissions module that also handles evaluations, interviews, offers, deposits and payment plans.
Because admissions and the SIS share one data model, the same record then carries straight into enrolment, grades, transcripts and diplomas. HESA reporting is included for UK institutions, and the platform holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022, an international information security standard. What it does not include is HR or payroll software, so universities wanting a single vendor for everything will need another system alongside it. Commerce tools such as a course catalogue and company group registrations make it especially useful for schools that sell short programmes to employers.
Key features:
Pricing: €12,000 per year platform fee, with Commerce, Admissions and SIS charged on usage; implementation is a separate one-off fee.
Thesis SM, previously sold as Unit4 Student Management, is built for small and mid-sized universities and colleges in the UK and Canada. If those terms are new: HESA and ILR are UK data returns, UKVI rules cover international student sponsorship, and T2202 is a Canadian tax form. Thesis SM handles all of them.
The system lets staff build their own workflows and reports, and its open APIs let other software read and update records. Moving to Thesis SM takes 12 to 24 months, so it is a project to plan well ahead. Its G-Cloud listing shows clients from about 1,000 to almost 40,000 students, and US colleges are offered a separate product called Thesis Elements.
Key features:
Pricing: not published; demos on request.
Ellucian is a higher education specialist with three student systems: Banner, Colleague and Anthology Student, which it acquired at the end of 2025. Banner's SaaS version upgrades itself automatically.
For US institutions, student aid processing and AI scholarship matching are key strengths. The trade-off is choice: Ellucian has not said how the three lines will develop together. The company reports about 3,000 customers in 50 countries, and Gartner has named it a Leader for higher education SaaS SIS two years in a row.
Key features:
Pricing: not published; demo and ROI calculator available.
Workday Student makes the most sense if your university already uses Workday for HR and finance. Everything runs on one platform, so leaders can see student, staff and budget data together.
Students use a mobile-first self-service app, and advisors get AI tools that flag learners who may be struggling. Workday notes on its Canada page that some unreleased features may change. Named users include Deakin University and the University of Queensland in Australia, and its overview pages do not mention UK reporting.
Key features:
Pricing: not published; contact sales.
Classter is a modular platform used by schools, colleges and training providers. "Modular" means you choose the parts you need, such as admissions, an online classroom or billing, and pay per active student for each.
It connects to more than 40 other tools and runs in seven languages, but it does not mention national higher education reporting. That makes it a better fit for groups running schools and colleges together than for universities with strict government returns. Modules for internships and theses help colleges with placements and dissertations.
Key features:
Pricing: per active student, by module; the published example lists Core at €8.50 per active student.
Jenzabar One brings a student system, financial aid, finance and HR software together for US colleges. It pays special attention to adult and part-time learners, with flexible payment plans and messaging across several channels.
The analyst firm IDC named Jenzabar a Leader in its 2024 review of North American higher education SIS providers. UK and European reporting is not mentioned, so it is mainly a choice for American private colleges that want one vendor for students, money and staff.
Key features:
Pricing: not published.
Platform |
Main strength |
Regions |
Published pricing |
Full Fabric |
One record from enquiry to graduation |
UK, EU, US support |
Platform fee of €12,000 per year |
Thesis SM |
UK and Canadian compliance |
UK, Canada |
Not listed |
Ellucian |
Broad higher education portfolio |
Five regional sites |
Not listed |
Workday Student |
Shared Workday platform |
ANZ, Canada, US |
Not listed |
Classter |
Modular, multilingual |
Multilingual |
Per active student |
Jenzabar One |
US all-in-one |
US |
Not listed |
Step one is to describe your institution honestly. Is it a business school with many short courses, a large university with thousands of staff, or a small college? Each description points to a different part of this list.
Step two is to list the reports you send to government bodies. If you are in the UK, HESA support is essential, which points to Full Fabric or Thesis SM here. US institutions should look at financial aid support.
Step three is to note the software you already own. If you run Workday for HR, Workday Student deserves a look; if your CRM is Salesforce or HubSpot, check for ready-made connectors.
Step four is to ask every vendor for a full price, including setup. Only Full Fabric and Classter in this group publish pricing details, so for the others you will need a sales conversation. Ask how long implementation usually takes for an institution like yours, too.
After two years of change, the clearest choice for business schools and specialist institutions is Full Fabric, because it keeps admissions and student records on one record and publishes its platform fee. Smaller UK and Canadian universities should look at Thesis SM, large North American institutions at Ellucian, and Workday customers at Workday Student. Classter suits groups that run schools and colleges together, while Jenzabar One serves American private colleges.