7 Best University Student Information System Software (SIS)

Which SIS will actually make your university's student data safer, cleaner and easier to use, rather than just newer? These seven are the ones worth your time if you care about fit more than brand, each with the features that matter, the published pricing where there is any and the honest catch, starting with Full Fabric for business schools, specialist universities and professional education.

Picked for Fit, Not Fame

#1 Full Fabric

If data protection is high on your list, start here. Full Fabric states ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification across its whole platform, including its AI Console, and it is GDPR compliant. Data travels over TLS 1.2 or higher, is encrypted at rest and is hosted on AWS with replication across multiple zones.

The platform itself puts your CRM, admissions, commerce and SIS on one data model, so you hold one copy of each learner rather than several. You'll manage courses, calendars, grades, re-registration, transcripts and diplomas in the SIS, file HESA returns if you're in the UK and track stacked credentials from short courses.

Finance, HR and US financial aid sit outside the product. Its AI Console is off by default, so your data protection officer decides if and when it is used.

Key features:

ISO/IEC 27001:2022, GDPR, encryption at rest
One data model across CRM, admissions and SIS
SAML 2.0 single sign-on
Student-facing apps tested to WCAG AA

Pricing: platform access at €12,000 a year, metered module charges on top, implementation quoted separately.

#2 Tribal SITS

SITS follows the rhythm of a UK registry's year. Your HESA, OfS, SLC and Graduate Outcomes returns come out of it, Clearing runs through it, and degree apprenticeships are tracked from the ILR to the workplace.

Retention gets attention too: you can follow engagement and absence, and handle extenuating circumstances from first request to appeal.

Tribal claims SITS is in use at more than 60% of UK universities. Independent providers are sent to its EBS product, and beyond Britain SITS has little to offer. International students can at least pay fees in their own currency, and GPA can be reported next to traditional methods.

Key features:

UK statutory returns
Clearing and applicant ranking
Student finance to debt management
Readiness work for the 2027 Lifelong Learning Entitlement

Pricing: not published.

#3 Jenzabar One

For an American private college, Jenzabar One keeps records, aid, accounts and payroll in one cloud database, so you deal with a single supplier and a single set of data. That matters when your IT team is small and every extra integration needs someone to look after it.

It's designed with adult and part-time learners in mind, so you get flexible and recurring payment plans, omnichannel messaging and online learning support. Advancement and a Campus Marketplace sit in the same platform, so fundraising and campus commerce don't need separate suppliers either.

IDC named Jenzabar a Leader among North American higher education SIS vendors in 2024. You won't find UK or European reporting. Based in Boston, the company cites more than 40 years of experience, and its data analytics and automated workflows help small IT teams get more from one system without building extra integrations.

Key features:

Jenzabar Student, Financial Aid, Finance, HCM
Recurring payment plans
Analytics and automated workflows
Cloud deployment

Pricing: not published.

#4 Oracle Student and PeopleSoft Campus Solutions

Running PeopleSoft Campus Solutions 9.2 today? Oracle has mapped a route to its cloud product, Oracle Student, where student management and financial aid planning come as two linked modules. Oracle's 2022 blueprint suggests connecting the cloud financial aid module first, then moving the rest.

You'll find it handles awkward course structures well: different course lengths, grading schemes, credit types and credentials. Continuing education gets pay-to-enrol billing and invoices for sponsoring organisations, and students plan their studies with a course scheduler and academic plan templates.

Its documentation is written for US institutions, with FERPA references, and pricing isn't public. It makes most sense if Oracle Cloud ERP or HCM already runs your back office. Dynamic entities also let you set up consortia, joint degrees and exchanges without reimplementation, which helps if you share programmes with partner institutions.

Key features:

Curriculum registry and academic calendars
Continuing education billing
Consortia and joint degree support
Student Central self-service

Pricing: not published.

#5 Classter

If you run schools and colleges together, Classter lets you manage every level on one modular platform, choosing only the modules you need.

You'll get a gradebook, assessments and attendance tracking for day-to-day teaching, plus admissions, an LMS, billing and HR modules. More than 40 integrations, including Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Canvas, and a seven-language website help if you work across countries.

You won't find HESA or IPEDS reporting, so regulated universities should look carefully before committing. On the plus side, you can see the price model up front, support runs through a Freshdesk portal with a public changelog, and Classter sells migration, hosting and training services if your team is stretched.

Key features:

Modular SIS, LMS, CRM and ERP
Internship and thesis management
Open API
Mobile app

Pricing: charged per active student for each chosen module, with a worked example on Classter's site.

#6 Classe365

If you're a small college or training provider, Classe365 keeps everything in one product: records, attendance, report cards, an LMS, admissions, degree audit and fee payments.

You pay for the Core module by student numbers and for each add-on once, however many students use it. Renew annually and you'll save 10%.

National reporting isn't mentioned, so it suits providers that don't file statutory returns. Parents and students get their own portals and mobile apps, a public API lets you link other tools, and not-for-profits spending above a threshold receive a 15% discount. Current prices took effect on 1 January 2025.

Key features:

SIS, LMS and CRM in one
Degree audit
Parent and student portals
Public API

Pricing: base charge linked to enrolment, flat fee per optional module, enterprise terms for larger institutions.

#7 Thesis SM

Smaller institutions in Britain and Canada are its home ground. You get the UK's HESA, HESES, ILR and UniStats returns, UKVI sponsorship checks and Canadian T2202 slips in one product.

Your administrators build the workflows and reports themselves, and your developers can reach almost any record through open APIs or pull everything out as CSV. It was previously Unit4 Student Management, so some staff may know it by that name.

Plan for 12 to 24 months to implement, and build that window into your admissions calendar so your next intake isn't caught mid-migration. US colleges are offered Thesis Elements instead. Thesis says most other systems take about 30 months, and its G-Cloud listing shows clients ranging from about 1,000 to almost 40,000 students, so it is used by a wide spread of institution sizes.

Key features:

UK and Canadian compliance
Custom workflows with email automation
Flexible reporting
Student self-service portal

Pricing: not published.

Conclusion

If you want your student data held on one secure record from first enquiry to graduation, Full Fabric is the platform to pick, with stated ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification, GDPR compliance and a published fee. Large UK universities should look at Tribal SITS, US private colleges at Jenzabar One, Oracle institutions at Oracle Student, and smaller or mixed providers at Thesis SM, Classter or Classe365. Whichever you shortlist, involve admissions, registry and finance in the same demos so nobody's requirements are missed or discovered too late in the project, and ask each vendor for its security certifications and a full price, including implementation, before you book a second demo.