Question 1

What is a Student Information System (SIS)?

Accepted Answer

A Student Information System (SIS) is the software a university or college uses to manage student data across the whole student journey. It handles everything from application and enrolment to records, assessment, progression and awards, and it produces the statutory reports the sector has to file. Put simply, it holds everything about a student's time at the institution.

Question 2

What is the difference between an SIS and a student records system?

Accepted Answer

People often use the two terms to mean the same thing. A student records system usually does the narrower job: storing student data and keeping it up to date. A modern SIS goes further, handling admissions, enrolment, statutory reporting, finance and student self-service in one connected system. These days, when someone says student records system, they usually mean an SIS.

Question 3

Is Thesis SM designed for UK universities?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We built Thesis SM as a cloud-native SIS for higher education in the UK, Ireland and Canada. It handles the day-to-day operations and the reporting rules these sectors work under, including statutory returns. You configure Thesis SM to fit your own processes rather than paying for custom code, which keeps it simpler to run over time.

Question 4

Does Thesis SM support HESA reporting?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Thesis SM handles UK statutory reporting, and that reporting sits in the core product rather than bolted on afterwards. It keeps your student data accurate and connected, which is exactly what HESA returns rely on.

Question 5

What types of higher education institutions use Thesis SM?

Accepted Answer

Universities, colleges and specialist higher education providers across the UK, Ireland and Canada use Thesis SM. More than 35 institutions run on it today, supporting over 200,000 students a year. Our clients include Manchester Metropolitan University, the Royal College of Art, the Royal College of Music, University College Birmingham and Global Banking School.

Question 6

What can institutions manage with Thesis SM?

Accepted Answer

Thesis SM brings the core parts of the student journey into one system: admissions and enrolment; student records and administration; finance and funding; reporting, using an in-house tool to build reports and generate letters for staff and students; and student self-service, where students use a responsive portal to enrol online, check their account, make payments, view grades and transcripts, and submit forms.

theSIS at the Heart of Your Campus Ecosystem

Our goal is simple: every user should be able to say with confidence:

I love my Student Information System

Royal College of Music

Elly Taylor

Royal College of Art

Jennifer Brown

What we hear often

"It's easy to pick up."

"We can change it ourselves."

"Help is a phone call away."

"They're still here after go-live."