Student information system

A student information system (SIS) is a software application for educational establishments to manage student data. Student information systems provide capabilities for entering student test and other assessment scores through an electronic grade book, building student schedules, tracking student attendance, and managing many other student-related data needs in a school, college or university. Also known as student information management system (SIMS, SIM), student records system (SRS), student management system (SMS) or school management system (SMS).

Diagram showing the importance and result of well thought out Student Data Management.

The SIS is equivalent to an Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP system for a corporate customer. As such, many of the issues with ERP System Selection Methodology, implementation, and operation of an ERP system apply to schools and their SIS systems.

These systems vary in size, scope and capability, from packages that are implemented in relatively small organizations to cover student records alone, to enterprise-wide solutions that aim to cover most aspects of running large multi-campus organizations with significant local responsibility. Many systems can be scaled to different levels of functionality by purchasing add-on "modules" and can typically be configured by their home institutions to meet local needs.

Until recently, the common functions of a student records system are to support the maintenance of personal and study information relating to:

• Handling inquiries from prospective students
• Handling the admissions process
• Enrolling new students and storing teaching option choices
• Automatically creating class & teacher schedules
• Handling records of examinations, assessments, marks and grades and academic progression
• Maintaining records of absences and attendance
• Recording communications with students
• Maintaining discipline records
• Providing statistical reports
• Maintenance boarding house details
• Communicating student details to parents through a parent portal
• Special Education / Individual Education Plan (IEP) services
• Human resources services
• Accounting and budgeting services
• Student health records

In larger enterprise solutions that have student data at their core, further functions include financial aid management and more may be customized by the developer. Where national or government systems exist for student finance or statistical return purposes, student records system often provide functionality that caters for this, by way of modules or core elements that handle the production of required files, or deal with the formatted transfer of information. examples are the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) process in the United States, the United Kingdom's Student Loans Company processes (SSAR, SSAC and ATFEE file processing), the UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) in the United Kingdom, or the HESA and HESES student statistical returns in the United Kingdom.

In the past, universities and large school districts in particular have created their own bespoke student record systems. One such example is the ROSI system at University of Toronto. With growing complexity in the business of educational establishments, most organizations now choose to buy customizable software, and increasing numbers are buying software as a service (SAAS) such as Orbund and Renweb. Most student information systems in use today are server-based, with the application residing on a central computer server, and being accessed by client applications at various places within and even outside the school. But student information systems have been moving to the web since the late 1990s and that trend is accelerating as institutions replace older systems.

Integrated Systems / Hosted Service

In recent years, several forces have been driving an evolution of student information systems and, as a result, leading many institutions to replace theirs. Those forces are:

• Demand for 24x7 web-based access to information by students, instructors, and (in primary and secondary education, or K-12) parents
• Increasing demands in the amount and frequency of data reporting for accountability and other purposes (so-called "vertical reporting" up to state, provincial, and national agencies)
• Importance of integrating student information systems with other tools, especially relating to instruction (IMS systems like Orbund, SchoolNet and SchoolCity in the US), courses (CMS systems like Blackboard, Angel, Sakai, Moodle), and learning (LMS systems and on-line course ware like APEX).
  • SIF (Schools Interoperability Framework) Compliance.

Most student information systems and school administration software that have been around for a while have an outdated code base and have intermixed presentation, business logic, and data access layers to such an extent that modifying them to keep up with these demands has proven expensive or impossible. As a result, some systems with widespread use, like SASI for K-12 in the United States, will no longer be supported. Institutions using such legacy systems will be forced to switch at some point, and will likely choose from a new generation of student information systems built on a modern code base; with online accessibility; with modern databases; with relatively clean separation between presentation, business logic, and data access layers; with solid data architectures, and with a well-defined set of business processes so that their integration with other applications can be better understood and executed.

Modern use also implies that smaller K-12 schools can benefit from the reducing cost of technology; this has made it possible for even these organizations to implement such school software that not only encompass the management of student information but also provide the means for parents or guardians to connect with the teaching staff through parent portals

Upgrade Pitfalls

Unlike an upgrade to a web browser or a word processor, changes and upgrades to these systems tend to have significant impact on the day-to-day operations of every school employee. These systems typically touch every aspect of school operations even when only the base modules are used.

For these reasons, care should be taken to consider the impact on:

• Workflow: Since these programs are tightly tied to a school's business workflow and processes, a change to a SIS system can force changes to workflow. This can have a significant impact on daily operations if not considered carefully prior to implementation.
• Data Conversion: Data conversion of historic data (transcripts, attendance, health records, etc.) for both current and past students can also be a significant issue to transitioning to a new SIS. Since most schools are required to keep historical data on past students, considerations should be given to what information will be converted and what will be archived.
• Customized Reports: Since there is little standardization in what and how student information is stored, most schools have their own processes and procedures (e.g. formatting and layout of data reports) for student grade printouts or attendance records. As most SISs are not perfectly compatible with the previous SIS, upgrading can be a long, and tedious process.
• Training: Some new SIS programs have a tendency to include some unnecessary features, primary for the use of power users, so training employees to use the new SIS program will most likely be a costly and time-consuming process.

Like with an ERP system, schools should consider processes similar to the ERP System Selection Methodology when selecting a SIS system.

See also

• Fedena
• Moodle
• Blackbaud
• Spiral Universe
• Learning management system

References

RANA INFORMATION SYSTEM