# What Claude (Anthropic) with web search answered for student information systems (colleges) on 2026-10-16

## In short

On 2026-10-16, Claude (Anthropic) with web search was asked "best student information systems for colleges". It named 21 brands; the first six, in order, were Fedena, Infinite Campus, Alma, K-12, Ellucian and Ellucian Banner.

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Question | best student information systems for colleges |
| Asked on | 2026-10-16 |
| Engine | Claude (Anthropic) with web search |
| Model | claude-opus-5 |
| Brands named | 21 |
| Sources cited | 13 |
| Audience | colleges |
| Coverage | Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included. |
| Last verified | 2026-10-16 |

Page: https://bikoosh.com/answers/s/student-information-systems-colleges-2026-10-16
Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.

## The answer, as recorded

Asked on 2026-10-16 through Claude (Anthropic) with web search (model claude-opus-5).

> ## Important framing first
> 
> A lot of "best SIS 2026" listicles rank things like openSIS, Fedena, Infinite Campus and Alma at the top ([itechguides](https://www.itechguides.com/best/student-information-systems/), [Software Advice](https://www.softwareadvice.com/student-information-system/)). Those are mostly **K-12** products - they don't handle financial aid packaging, Title IV, degree audit, or SEVIS, so ignore them for a college. The real higher-ed market is a short list of maybe eight vendors, and the right answer depends mostly on your size and whether you're willing to be an early-ish adopter.
> 
> ## The ones I'd actually name
> 
> **1. Ellucian Banner** - the default answer for mid-size and large institutions. It's the market leader at ~24% share in North America, and notably its growth now comes from *upgrades and migrations in* (from Colleague and PowerCampus) rather than new logos ([ListEdTech](https://listedtech.com/blog/north-american-sis-highered-market-share-january-2025-update/)). Deepest functional coverage, biggest consultant and peer ecosystem, nobody gets fired for choosing it. The live issue in 2026 is the Banner SaaS transition: Ellucian drops support for locally devel

## Brands named, in the order the engine gave

| Position | Brand | How it was named |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fedena | mentioned |
| 2 | Infinite Campus | mentioned |
| 3 | Alma | mentioned |
| 4 | K-12 | mentioned |
| 5 | Ellucian | mentioned |
| 6 | Ellucian Banner | mentioned |
| 7 | Banner | mentioned |
| 8 | Colleague | mentioned |
| 9 | Oracle | mentioned |
| 10 | PostgreSQL | mentioned |
| 11 | Ellucian Colleague | mentioned |
| 12 | Workday | recommended |
| 13 | Workday Student | recommended |
| 14 | Jenzabar | mentioned |
| 15 | multi-year | mentioned |
| 16 | Oracle PeopleSoft Campus Solutions | mentioned |
| 17 | Anthology | compared |
| 18 | Anthology Student | compared |
| 19 | Peer | mentioned |
| 20 | Jenzabar One | compared |
| 21 | Populi | recommended |

## Sources the engine cited

- https://www.itechguides.com/best/student-information-systems/ (other)
- https://www.softwareadvice.com/student-information-system/ (review)
- https://listedtech.com/blog/north-american-sis-highered-market-share-january-2025-update/ (other)
- https://inside.southernct.edu/information-technology/banner-saas-transition (reference)
- https://source.washu.edu/2024/10/workday-student-deployment-year-begins/ (reference)
- https://projectone.uasys.edu/ (reference)
- https://miamioh.edu/workday-info/faqs.html (reference)
- https://www.depauw.edu/it/workday/project-timeline/ (reference)
- https://hub.williams.edu/workday/ (reference)
- https://www.gartner.com/reviews/product/anthology-student (review)
- https://www.rfp.wiki/education-training/higher-education-student-information-system-saas/jenzabar-one/anthology (other)
- https://www.capterra.com/p/89408/Populi/ (review)
- https://abcloudz.com/newsletter/march-2026/ (other)

The question page: https://bikoosh.com/answers/q/student-information-systems/colleges

Alerts and membership: Answer Watch Pro, 79 USD per month: https://bikoosh.com/answers. Bikoosh is monitoring assistance, not complete protection.

Answer Watch records what one AI answer engine said on one date, nothing more. Each page names the engine and the model, carries the date the question was asked, and lists the brands that appeared in the answer in the order the engine gave them, with the sources it cited. It is a measurement, not a ranking, not a recommendation and not a claim about the world. Brands that did not appear in an answer are not named on any public page. Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.