It's a rock-solid application that you can count on. That in and of itself is a huge deal. It works, has minimal bugs, and is the backbone of how we manage our data. When other applications are having a problem or we have a data integrity question, we often say "What is it in Banner?" because we know it will be correct there.

It can be a little scary at first to new users, which I can speak to from experience. But the new interface is definitely helping with that. I would also love to see Ellucian develop a proper higher-education CRM tool. We had to go with another vendor because we needed something more comprehensive than what Banner could offer (Application Reviewing, Events Management, etc). I think Ellucian is missing out on a huge financial opportunity and could take a massive chunk out of the Higher Ed CRM market if they were to develop one.

Overall we are very satisfied with Ellucian. It provides our business and finance team books that are used for easy reporting and a clean UI interface.

I have been a user of Ellucian banner for over six years and have been through countless updates. The product keeps improving where I think things are already good, and is quick to address current issues. Our organization loves the fact that we can use a web based version as well. Additionally, the UI is very clean and I can understand what is affecting our balance sheet, income statement, ect., all at a quick glance. Finally, the reports that are generated from Ellucian are very helpful and make it so I can create accurate reconciliations.

The one problem we run into with Ellucian is that training to use the product is difficult. Many screens have specific acronyms to access them, which is hard for people to remember. However, they have introduced a search function that allows you to use words and it acts more like a google search, which is helpful to find what you need.

On top of clunky, unreliable system is a virtually non-existent customer service/support team. You can post/reference questions to/by other users, but other than that you basically just get the 900 page technical manual and have to figure it out yourself. If you have a home-grown system and are considering making the switch to Ellucian--don't! Just wait a couple years for another company, like Workday, to develop a SIS that makes sense. Ellucian is a dinosaur.

When Ellucian's products were first released--decades ago--they were cutting edge. Banner, their SIS (Student Information System) quickly became the industry standard for enterprise databases on college campuses which transformed the way higher education leaders use data to make informed decisions. Their products continue to be effective for large universities that have every module of Banner installed, i.e. have their entire campus from registrar to bursar to admissions running on an Ellucian solution. When used "out-of-the-box" it does its job, not easily or beautifully, but gets it done.

It's as if Ellucian (and their strongest competitor PeopleSoft) got comfortable once they dominated the market and just stopped trying to make the actual user experience better. They put on large, fancy conferences and have great branding, but using their systems is a NIGHTMARE. A different programmer designed every form/screen/section so they all function differently. Where two clicks should do, fourteen are required. The bugs far outweigh the features. Something breaks more often than it doesn't. It's awful, but they have us trapped because no one else can compete with them. Sometimes I think it would all be easier if we just used Excel to track student records! Since our school implemented Ellucian products 5 years ago, to the tune of millions of dollars, we've had to add 2 new positions in our office just to handle the tech components. And don't even get me started on what happens when you attempt to customize their products. Endless headaches.

The ability to update our Customer Relationship Management system with exported data-sets.

Since this uses Oracle and SQL, I like having the ability to write reports for assistance in extracting data from the data tables we use.

The software has many different modules and the last version of software released helped out with a more intuitive interface.

Ellucian has made it easy to consolidate all of our educational needs and resources, from billing to grades, in one easy to navigate space. Students are able to find what they need with ease.

It is beginning to look a little dated in comparison to other sites in general, but as a tool for higher ed it is still fully functional and acceptable.

Ellucian SIS is our source of truth for virtually every system. It comprises current and historical data for our entire user community. We've built many integrations over the years and use it daily for reporting and accreditation needs. It's the backbone of our organization and people have learned to use it effectively.

The solution is flexible enough that each of our functional departments can use it effectively to accomplish their objectives. Our two largest user groups are Financial Aid and Accounting, each of which uses it daily. What isn't available OOTB can typically be added via customizations, although customizations often present problems when upgrades happen.

In my opinion, the solution has a very poor design. It consists of many, many UI screens that are accessed by typing in acronyms. This may work well for power users that memorize all the acronyms but there's been several instances where users have had issues, only to discover a 'new' screen that can offer the information they need. Simply put, if you don't know the acronym, your life will be difficult.

I have had both good and bad experiences. However, I don't fuss about it like my colleagues because it is the only SIS I have ever used.

The product integrates with other software, i.e. Leepfrog (catalog and course inventory management system), Degreeworks (degree auditing/graduation software)

Speaks a foreign language that you have to learn. Quite the learning curve. The implementation process can be lengthy. Did not always feel supported by the implementation team.

We were in desperate need of an SIS and for the most part, it does serve our needs.

I like that we have a consortium we can share ideas and code with and have a single voice to Ellucian.

Banner INB is very clunky to use - even if you are good at using software in general. It is not a very intuitive product; however, the company is moving in the right direction.

I think it could be a great software for higher education/universities. However, there are flaws and it’s not the most user friendly.

Ellucian has a lot of different capabilities and options for multiple departments to use. I like that all offices across campus can see the same information for students once it is updated by another user. It’s a one stop shop for those who work at the university, instead of each department using their own software system.

Very complicated codes to search for pages, it takes a long time to memorize them and the training for ellucian wasn’t the greatest. We struggled to get questions answered in a timely manner or correctly.

The integration and partnership of Ellucian and Chrome River has been much needed.

Ellucian continues to find new ways to assist the universities with the many needs of the ever increasing technology needs.

Not always do you get the best "training" support, but they will always find a solution.

This product is for higher education institutions. Ellucian is behind many competitors in this space however, it has realized this and is making positive changes in the right places.

Customer service is very good. The vendor is always willing to listen and help where they can. In addition, there is a customer portal which allows the customer to communicate with one another on issues or ideas.

My dislike is the current roadmap is very slow to achieve goals. Often release dates will be pushed out and this causes much frustration within the business that has planned to upgrade certain services.

Ten years ago I moved from a non-Banner school to a Banner school. The transition to Ellucian’s Banner was a disappointment after using my previous institution’s software.

Ellucian’s Banner Student has the basic student records functions included. It will force higher ed administrators to change their business processes to fit the software.

I did not like the tool set (queries, printing, data loads) that come with the product.

It has a lot of great functions and features (when they work). Makes it easy to upload contacts into the CRM and it has a lot of customizable options.

It can very unreliable and dealing with support has been time consuming. The layout of the CRM is also unescarailly complex and is very difficult to learn for new users, it can costly to setup training of the CRM tool with our support team as well.

Functional SIS solution, but requires full time developers to support.

Powerful, a lot of functionality out of the box allows smaller institutions to hit the ground running.

Pricing for individual modules is complicated and expensive, user facing interface is very dated and in need of an overhaul.

Online platform available - the ability to store a lot of information in many different ways, and report customization.

A little clunky in how many clicks it takes to find the information you are looking for.

As a Colleague Support and User, the number one thing I loke about this particular software was the ease of use. It flowed easy for both users and students.

As an Admin using this software, I found that the update process was very complex and time-consuming.

I like that you can see a lot of different types of information and don't necessarily need additional software to get the job done.

It can be difficult to navigate through the different windows until you are really well versed.

Lots of stuff! Love the new self service!! The innovation of Ellucian is amazing!!! They are helpful !!

Sometimes the cost are high for new products and innovations, but I understand they allot of work is done on their behalf.