Gartner defines the student information system (SIS) as the core system of record for higher education institutions that serves as the central hub for storing, organizing and processing student academic and administrative activities. The SIS supports student, faculty and staff-facing functionality, including management of information assets, while also supporting back-end administrative functionality. Current market offerings vary in size, scope, regionalization, functional capability and delivery options. Serving the students, faculty and administrative staff, the SIS provides a chronology of individual business transactions, academic activity, advising interactions and educational outcomes. Additionally, it manages vital student assets, including course offerings, course catalogs, course registrations, financial aid, grades and transcripts throughout the student life cycle. Offerings can range from individual components to enterprise wide integrated solutions, or they may be part of a larger administrative ERP application suite.
The student information system of the typical K-12 organization continues to sit at the center of nearly all its data management. It provides back-office administrator functionality, as well as student-, parent- and faculty-facing functionality to manage key organizational information assets. Such assets include not only demographic data, enrollment, grades, and transcripts, but also state or other governmental agency reporting capabilities. Systems vary widely in size; scope; state, regional or national markets; and functional capability — and they range from individual components to enterprise-wide integrated solutions. They also function as the system of record for several other critical applications, including the LMS, demanding interoperability.