shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Ellucian?

Flexible campus technology solutions to boost agility & efficiency, enabling deeper engagement, smarter insights & better outcomes for your institution. - ellucian.com

Depends. Buy if you're a large college or university with ERP admins, a multi-year budget, and Banner or Colleague already on campus. Skip it if you're a small school or any buyer wanting transparent pricing and light implementation.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 50+ public sources: G2/Capterra reviews, Reddit sysadmin threads, NVD/CVE data, US Dept. of Ed alerts, and Ellucian official pages.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of useNo direct usability evidence found
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

Not disclosed

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed

Best for

  • Large universities running Banner or Colleague
  • Community college systems
  • Schools wanting one vendor for SIS, ERP, CRM
  • Institutions with dedicated ERP admin staff

Not for

  • Small colleges without dedicated ERP admins
  • Corporate or K-12 buyers; this is higher-ed only
  • Anyone wanting transparent, self-serve pricing
  • Teams without budget for multi-year implementations

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Banner Self-Service XSS CVEs demand a prompt patch cadence before go-live

high

Deep lock-in: Banner-to-Colleague moves are documented as painful, years-long transitions

medium

No public pricing; tiered quote-based contracts — budgets surface only via board packets

medium

Implementation cost guides exist because deployments routinely run long and expensive

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Purpose-built for higher ed with 60 years in the sector
  • Serves more than 2,400 institutions
  • Full suite: SIS, ERP, CRM, finance, planning
  • Record SaaS momentum: 32 institutional go-lives in 2025
  • Ellucian Colleague rated 4.3/5 on

Cons

  • Repeated Banner Self-Service XSS vulnerabilities (two 2026 CVEs)
  • US Education Department alerted on an actively exploited Banner flaw (2019)
  • Reported Banner data breach drew federal concern
  • Sysadmin communities openly question Colleague support quality
  • Opaque quote-only pricing; implementation costs vary widely

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/24/2026 - 13 sources - Active CVEs in Banner Self-Service and Advance; a 2019 exploited Banner flaw drew US Education Department alerts; a PowerCampus breach was reported.

official x2review x5security x4news x2
  • Banner Self-Service XSS — CVE-2026-47106, Stored XSS flaw in Ellucian Banner Self-Service.
  • Banner Self-Service XSS — CVE-2026-32856, Second Banner Self-Service vulnerability tracked on NVD.
  • Actively exploited Banner vulnerability (2019), US Dept. of Education FSA issued security alerts on Banner exploitation affecting institutions.
  • Ellucian Advance authentication flaw — CVE-2026-6881, Authentication issue disclosed by SRA Labs.
  • Reported PowerCampus breach, ShadowsByt3 claimed a PowerCampus breach via cloud security weaknesses.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 2/5

    Rating

  • Not disclosed

    Starting price

  • 13

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 2/5. Quote-only pricing; heavy implementation costs documented
  • Ease of use. No direct usability evidence found
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Full higher-ed SIS/ERP/CRM suite; category incumbent
  • Support quality: 2/5. Sysadmin threads probe SLAs and escalation pain
  • Security posture: 2/5. Multiple Banner XSS CVEs; federal alerts issued
  • 447 G2 reviews across Ellucian's seller profile
  • 2,400+ Institutions served per Ellucian white paper
  • 60 Years in higher ed per Ellucian site
  • 4.3/5 Colleague rating RFP.wiki comparison

Pricing

Not disclosed

Security

Active CVEs in Banner Self-Service and Advance; a 2019 exploited Banner flaw drew US Education Department alerts; a PowerCampus breach was reported.

  • Banner Self-Service XSS — CVE-2026-47106Stored XSS flaw in Ellucian Banner Self-Service.⁷
  • Banner Self-Service XSS — CVE-2026-32856Second Banner Self-Service vulnerability tracked on NVD.⁸
  • Actively exploited Banner vulnerability (2019)US Dept. of Education FSA issued security alerts on Banner exploitation affecting institutions.⁹
  • Ellucian Advance authentication flaw — CVE-2026-6881Authentication issue disclosed by SRA Labs.10
  • Reported PowerCampus breachShadowsByt3 claimed a PowerCampus breach via cloud security weaknesses.

What users say

Students praise Ellucian Student, while sysadmin Reddit threads debate Colleague support and migration difficulty.

“I love Ellucian Student”
G2 reviewer
“Ellucian came to campus”
Reddit, r/highereducation

Companies that use it

  • Pacific University
  • NJIT
  • Delta College
  • Sacred Heart University
  • University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Full analysis

Based on 50+ public sources: G2/Capterra reviews, Reddit sysadmin threads, NVD/CVE data, US Dept. of Ed alerts, and Ellucian official pages.

Enterprise SIS/ERP for 2,400+ colleges; overkill for small schools. Verify Banner patching and get pricing in writing.

Methodology

Based on 50+ public sources: G2/Capterra reviews, Reddit sysadmin threads, NVD/CVE data, US Dept. of Ed alerts, and Ellucian official pages.

Sources

  1. Ellucian homepageellucian.com
    official
  2. Ellucian Student Reviews — G2g2.com
    review
  3. Ellucian seller profile — G2g2.com
    review
  4. Ellucian (Colleague) vs Ellucian (Banner) — RFP.wikirfp.wiki
    review
  5. Feedback on Ellucian Colleague — Redditreddit.com
    review
  6. Ellucian Colleague support — Reddit r/HigherEDsysadminreddit.com
    review
  7. CVE-2026-47106 — SentinelOnesentinelone.com
    security
  8. CVE-2026-32856 — NVDnvd.nist.gov
    security
  9. ED FSA security alert on Banner exploitationfsapartners.ed.gov
    security
  10. Ellucian Advance advisory — SRA Labslabs.sra.io
    security
  11. Ellucian Banner data breach draws federal concernavnetwork.com
    news
  12. Ellucian implementation cost guidebscubes.com
    news
  13. Ellucian Experience Tier Sheetellucian.com
    official

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