Australia wide Student Management System (SMS) Review
An extensive review finalised by S1 Consulting & Software Services (S1) in November 2007, provides significant ‘insight’ into the strengths and weaknesses of well known Student Management Systems (SMS) currently functioning within the Australian Higher Education sector. Findings from this SMS Review are of considerable benefit to both SMS suppliers and educational institutions.
S1, as an independent player in the Australian Higher Education market over the past 4 years, has reviewed the major SMS's used throughout Australia. Given S1’s experience with ALL the commercial SMS’s in the market, and their knowledge of the higher education sector, the SMS review also captures past successes and failures of SMS vendors in the Australian SMS sector.
Information was obtained by undertaking site visits and workshops at a number of universities in conjunction with vendor demonstrations. The topics covered during the site visits focused on two streams; (1) the business processes and functionality of the software (core business and future requirements), and (2) the systems support behind the software.
The review looked at identifying significant gaps and issues of the major software vendors. In addition, S1 undertook a separate evaluation considering how the various software vendors are managing the ever changing priorities being demanded from the Higher Education market, namely, international competition, student centric education, and compliance and reform.
S1 evaluated software vendors on the following areas:
- The End to End Solution
- The Technology and Integration possibilities
- Ability to Deliver and Support
- Implementation Approach
- Vendor Culture
- Local Presence
- Working Relationship
Findings of the review are provided in S1’s ‘SMS Review’ paper. SMS suppliers wanting reliable, objective information of their product will find S1’s ‘SMS Review’ paper beneficial in providing information that may assist in better positioning themselves in the Australian marketplace. .
Educational institutions wanting honest, factual information on software solutions (provided by a strong sample of active users of various SMS software), will find the ‘SMS Review’ paper provides reliable feedback on the functional fit, merits and concerns of various products currently available on the Australian market.
Looking ahead, educational institutions looking for continual improvement in terms of service expectations and improvements to operating efficiencies can now use the ‘SMS Review’ paper to assist in providing expertise in identifying the key drivers in ensuring a successful implementation of SMS solution.
What is it that determines the ability of SMS vendors to partner with educational institutions to ensure a successful implementation?
To learn more about the SMS Review and to receive a quotation please click here.
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