Most SIS replacements fail in the same place: not the new software, but the migration. The student record is tangled with fee balances, historical results, sponsor billing and a decade of workarounds. If you cannot prove those numbers before cutover, registry and finance will never trust the new system.
Why colleges look at a move
Most conversations start with one of a handful of pressures. None of them is a criticism of Banner, SITS, Quercus or Colleague. They are the questions any college asks when a long contract comes up for renewal.
- Cost: licence, hosting and change requests adding up faster than a smaller college can justify.
- Fit: Irish fee structures, QQI returns, instalment plans and sponsor billing handled through workarounds.
- Distance: a large supplier, a ticket queue and a release cycle that does not move with the academic year.
- Integration: Moodle, CRM, timetabling and finance each holding their own copy of the student.
- Reporting: management asking questions that need a developer or an export to Excel.
How a SIS migration actually works
Every move from Banner, SITS, Quercus or Colleague follows the same shape. Your current system stays the source of truth until cutover, and the numbers are proved before anyone switches off the old login.
Discovery
Export assessment, data grades, fixed price and a go-live window timed to your academic calendar.
Data grading
Students, programmes, enrolments, results and fees mapped, with every transformation logged.
Parallel run
Reconciliation reports your registry and finance teams can check side by side.
Cutover
Timed between intakes, with a written rollback plan.
Day one
Moodle, CRM, finance and identity reconnected through the Integration Hub.
Discovery, data grading, parallel run and cutover: the stages every SIS migration goes through.
Start with discovery, not a demo
A fixed-price discovery should tell you three things before you commit: how clean the export is, what the migration will cost, and when you can go live against the academic calendar. We grade every table or spreadsheet from A to G so nobody is guessing.
The first two weeks are where risk is reduced. We grade the export before anyone commits to a price or a go-live date.
What discovery gives you
- Export assessment from Banner, SITS, Quercus or Colleague
- Data grades for students, programmes, modules, enrolments, results and fees
- A fixed migration price and a go-live window before you commit
- A clear list of what will migrate cleanly and what needs a decision
- A rollback plan, written before the parallel run starts
Keep the old system as source of truth until cutover
Whether you are leaving Ellucian Banner, Tribal SITS, Quercus, Unit4 Student Management or Ellucian Colleague, the pattern is the same. Import into Innealla, run both systems in parallel, reconcile enrolments and fees with reports your teams can check, then cut over between intakes with a written rollback plan.
“If you cannot prove those numbers before cutover, registry and finance will never trust the new system.”
Parallel run, then cutover
Registry and finance check the numbers side by side before the old login is switched off. Cutover is timed between intakes, and the connectors that keep Moodle and CRM in step are part of day one, not a later project.
- Reconciliation reports your teams can sign off
- Cutover window agreed in discovery, usually between intakes
- Written rollback plan if something does not match
- Moodle enrolments and CRM applications reconnected through the Integration Hub
- Finance, identity and messaging brought across with the student record
Reconnect Moodle and CRM on day one
A new SIS that sits alone is just another silo. Enrolments should flow to Moodle, applications should flow from Salesforce or Zoho, and identity should use the accounts staff and students already have. That is what the Integration Hub is for.
Who this kind of migration suits
A move is usually the right shape of project when the student operation is a few hundred to several thousand students, and the college wants a system that fits Ireland and the UK, with Moodle and CRM connected from day one.
- Private and professional colleges leaving a large enterprise SIS
- Institutions renewing Banner, SITS, Quercus or Colleague contracts
- Groups that want one platform with a separate instance per campus or brand
- Colleges already on Moodle or Salesforce who want the student record connected
What to do next
If you are weighing a move off Banner, SITS, Quercus or Colleague, start with discovery. You get a graded view of your data, a fixed price and a go-live window before anything is committed.
If you are comparing options, read the pages for Banner, SITS, Quercus, Unit4 and Colleague, or the overview of SIS migration. Or book an Innealla Discovery, and we will grade your export before anyone asks you to sign a multi-year licence.
Book an Innealla Discovery
Your export graded A to G, a fixed migration price and a go-live window, before you commit.
