Questions to Ask Before Replacing Your Student Information System

Considering a replacement for your Student Information System (SIS) is no small decision. It isn’t just a technology project; it touches every policy, every administrative process, every student record, and nearly every person on campus. That’s why most SIS implementations take years, require significant investment, and still struggle to deliver a better experience for students and staff.

But there’s a part people don’t always say out loud: many higher education institutions that start SIS evaluations aren’t actually trying to solve a data or student information problem—they’re trying to solve an experience problem. Students want clarity. Advisors want usable tools. Leaders want timely, valuable insights. Traditional student information system software was built as systems of record, focused on managing student data rather than enabling meaningful engagement.

So before your institution commits to a multi-year transformation, it’s worth stepping back to explore the real question: What problem are we trying to solve and what’s the smartest path to solving it? The answer isn’t always a full student information system replacement. The right decision depends on your institution’s goals, constraints, and timeline for impact.

Here are seven key considerations you and your colleagues can evaluate before making the call.

Most student information system replacement conversations begin from a place of pain: students can’t find what they need, administrative processes are clunky, reporting takes too long, and leadership wants better access for data driven decision making. Before jumping to a solution, clarify the real problem. Are you solving for usability, workflow gaps, reporting/analytics, scalability, financial aid compliance, or institutional agility?

Some questions you and your colleagues might ask:

• Are our core frustrations rooted in the Student Information System itself, the way student information is surfaced, or how people interact with it?
• Is the biggest pain felt by students, staff, or leadership—and why?
• What would actually change for end users if we replaced our SIS tomorrow?
• Are our most time-consuming administrative tasks tied to the SIS, or to external processes?

Student information system implementations are among the most complex and costly initiatives in higher education. Independent analyses have estimated that large universities can spend $5M–$100M in the first five years of a new student information system rollout when software, implementation services, retraining, data conversion, and integration work are included (Tambellini Group via University Business). That number also doesn’t account for institutional cost, the thousands of internal hours pulled from institutional research, the registrar’s office, academic affairs, and IT.

Some questions to ask:

• What hidden costs are we likely underestimating (consultants, retraining, parallel systems)?
• How will we measure the return on investment from a new SIS over 1, 5, and 10 years?

Most student management systems or SIS migrations deliver benefits on the far side of a multi-year implementation. Students, advisors, and school administrators often wait several terms before seeing improvements. During that time, critical student information systems are in flux, and adoption may lag.

Some questions to ask:

• What parts of the student experience could improve this academic year?
• Are we willing to wait 2+ years for results, or do we need quicker wins?
• How does this timeline affect enrollment, advising, and retention goals?

IT teams and functional leaders are already stretched thin. Student information system implementation demands sustained attention across offices like academic advising, registrar, enrollment, and IT. Without careful planning, adoption stalls and change fatigue sets in.

Some questions to ask:

• Which offices will carry the burden of implementation and adoption?
• What kind of comprehensive training programs would be required to support staff and student adoption?
• Do we have the capacity to manage a full SIS replacement on top of everything else?

Student data—including transcripts, degree audits, and historical records—carry institutional memory. Rebuilding transfer credit rules, degree exceptions, historical catalogs, and audit trails introduces risk especially when paired with tight go-live deadlines. If your real pain is related to how students and staff interact with the student information system, then replacing the system of record may create more risk than it does value. The integrity and accessibility of student data should remain a top priority in any transition.

Key questions:

• Can we preserve the integrity of our academic records in a new student information system?
• What institutional risk is introduced by full migration?
  Could we improve outcomes by modernizing first instead?
• Would a new SIS improve our attendance management and record management, or introduce new complexity?

The student information system sits at the center of dozens of systems—LMS, CRM, advising, scheduling, and financial aid. A full replacement means revisiting each of those connections and student information at once.

Questions to ask:

• What systems rely on our SIS for student data or critical workflows?
• How disruptive would redoing every integration be?
• How will integrations with financial aid and payment systems be impacted by an SIS replacement?

Replacing an SIS platform won’t automatically improve how people experience it. Even modern SIS vendors prioritize data infrastructure over engagement and usability.

That’s why many institutions still invest in complementary platforms post-implementation.

Questions to ask:

• What tools do students and advisors actually use daily?
• Does our current system make course registration easy and intuitive for students?
• If we changed nothing in the student information system, could we still improve the experience layer?
• How can we ensure our student information system strategy supports continuous improvement across departments?

After working through these seven considerations, one thing often becomes clear: the core challenge isn’t always the SIS itself. It’s often how students, advisors, and staff experience it—and how quickly an institution can adapt to meet new expectations.

That’s why many institutions are now pausing before signing onto a full SIS replacement. Instead, they’re asking: What if we could improve the experience now—without disrupting key workflows around student information, financial aid, and enterprise resource planning.

Replacing your student information system is a major undertaking. It typically requires 2–5 years of focused work, comes with significant risk during data migration and integration rebuilds, and delays visible benefits for students and staff until late in the process. For some institutions, especially those facing compliance or support issues with their existing SIS, this route may still make sense.

But for many others, there’s a more pragmatic alternative.

Modernizing the experience layer—without replacing the system of record—can deliver measurable improvements within months, not years. It allows institutions to focus on what matters most to students and advisors while minimizing operational disruption and reducing institutional risk. It also provides a consistent user experience for students and staff while your institution assesses its long-term SIS requirements or path.

Stellic doesn’t replace your SIS. It layers on top of it to transform the student and advisor experience—whether you're on PeopleSoft, Banner, Colleague, a Homegrown SIS, or even in transition to a modern cloud-based solution.

Instead of waiting years for students to see better planning tools or advisors to get a more holistic view, institutions using Stellic can:

• Give students intuitive planning, registration, and progress tools within months
• Equip advisors with caseload visibility, proactive alerts, and exception handling
• Let leadership see degree velocity, policy impacts, and planning bottlenecks in real-time
• Improve student outcomes and satisfaction without massive disruption

Stellic’s platform integrates with your existing SIS and student data infrastructure, and evolves with you. That means if you decide to pursue a SIS replacement later, you already have a consistent user experience in place—minimizing risk and change fatigue.

Replacing your student information system is still the right call for some institutions—especially those with compliance risks, stability concerns, or vendor support issues. But for many, the more urgent priority is to improve the student experience, advisor effectiveness, and operational insight now—not years from now.

If that’s true for your institution, you don’t have to wait.

Stellic helps higher education institutions modernize the student experience without waiting for a full replacement to your student information system—and ensures continuity if you decide to pursue one later.

Get in touch to learn more about modernizing with Stellic at your institution.