STARS
Last Updated
Overview
STARS streamlines student management for post-secondary schools, integrating attendance, grading, compliance, and financial tracking in one platform. While setup may take time for legacy schools, its customizable dashboards and reporting tools simplify daily operations. Ideal for institutions seeking efficiency and accuracy, STARS ensures staff can manage records confidently and effectively.
STARS Specifications
- Activity Dashboard
- Asynchronous Learning
- Activity Tracking
- Access Controls/Permissions
What Is STARS?
STARS is a comprehensive Student Information System designed for postsecondary institutions, combining academic, financial, and compliance management in one platform. It streamlines admissions, tracks student progress, supports communication, and ensures regulatory reporting. With tools like automated GPA monitoring, online payments, and customizable reporting, STARS helps schools improve efficiency, maintain accuracy, and provide a seamless experience for students, staff, and administrators across multiple areas of campus operations.
STARS Pricing
STARS Integrations
The software supports integration with multiple systems and platforms in the education industry, such as:
- Virtual Adviser
- LIRN
- Campus IVY
Who Is STARS For?
STARS is ideal for post-secondary institutions in the education industry.
Is STARS Right For You?
It is ideal for career colleges and training schools needing reliable tools to handle student records, compliance, and financial processes in one system. Institutions that benefit most are those managing diverse programs where attendance tracking, externship management, and financial aid monitoring are critical. With STARS features supporting communication, reporting, and integration, it provides a practical solution for schools seeking smooth operations and stronger student outcomes.
Still doubtful if STARS is the right fit for you? Connect with our customer support staff at (661) 384-7070 for further guidance.
STARS Features
STARS LMS
This feature helps schools manage instruction by connecting the learning system directly to student portals. Students access coursework without duplicate logins, while administrators avoid double entry of grades and attendance. It also enables consistent data flow between learning activities and academic records, ensuring accuracy and saving administrative time.
General Ledger
Businesses can use this tool to manage accounting within the same system as student records. Standard reports such as trial balances, balance sheets, and expense tracking are fully integrated with student ledgers. This integration reduces reconciliation errors, supports regulatory compliance, and ensures financial data remains accurate across all operations.
Vendor And Student Payable
The payable system allows schools to process vendor payments and student refunds within the platform. It prints checks, manages reconciliation, and ensures transparent recordkeeping. This feature helps finance teams streamline transactions, avoid manual errors, and maintain a clear history of payments, improving both accountability and operational efficiency.
Content Management System (CMS)
Admissions teams can rely on this CRM to capture and manage leads in real time. It integrates directly with websites and third-party sources, while alerts notify representatives of new inquiries. Standard reports track the full enrollment pipeline, and packaging reports provide insight into start rates, helping optimize recruitment performance.
Mass Email And Texting
Institutions can use this feature to communicate effectively with students, leads, and graduates. Integrated tracking keeps a record of all messages, while individual delivery avoids spam filters. It also enables mass email and text outreach, making it easier to manage campaigns, announcements, and updates while staying Can-Spam compliant.
SAP Alerts
Custom alerts notify staff about student progress or potential issues. These alerts remain on task lists until addressed, ensuring no problem goes unnoticed. Alert history is stored on the student record, helping staff track interventions. This feature helps maintain compliance while supporting retention and early identification of at-risk students.
Pros And Cons of STARS
Pros
Unified attendance, grading, compliance, reporting, and communication
System offers flexible customization for institution-specific operational needs
Provides robust query tools for building customized reports
Cons
Requires extensive setup for institutions transitioning from legacy systems
Some core functions require multiple steps, making workflows inefficient
STARS Reviews
Total 11 reviews
4.4
All reviews are from verified customers
Rating Distribution
5
Stars55%
4
Stars36%
3
Stars0%
2
Stars9%
1
Stars0%
Share your experience
Not Specified, N/A employees
Less than a year
“Stellar compliance”
Pros
With regulations and compliance requirements changing constantly, STARS has become really important for keeping up. We've been using it for almost two years and we've noticed improvements across a lot of day to day operations such as attendance tracking, financial aid setup, grading, student communication, lead conversion, compliance management, annual reporting and more. What I like most is that the platform can be customized to match what each institution actually needs, plus the support team behind it has been a big part of why adoption has gone smoothly.
Cons
If your school has been running for years before bringing STARS on board, expect some initial groundwork to get everything configured. That said it hasn't been a deal-breaker because the team steps in to help and guide you through the process. One other thing occasionally it takes a bit of digging to locate a specific report or function in the system though you could also look at that as a trade-off since there's a lot packed into STARS.
Rating Distribution
Ease of use
9
Value for money
10
Customer Support
7
Functionality
7
Enterprise, 500+ employees
“Fast database response, excellent for student recruitment”
Pros
The database response time is great. This software helps greatly in student recruitment.
Cons
The document management feature isn't the easiest to use.
Rating Distribution
Ease of use
7
Value for money
9
Customer Support
9
Functionality
7
Not Specified, N/A employees
Less than a year
“Frustrating workflow”
Pros
It's capable of storing and searching leads without much hassle. You can attach notes and documents directly to student profiles and it also supports student ID badges. There's a student portal as well.
Cons
The biggest problem is how confusing it seems overall as most tasks end up taking around 10 steps just to get where you need to go. Customer service has been a letdown too as they make frequent promises about turning requests around quickly but we've still been waiting for months to get even simple changes done and the way we were spoken to wasn't very professional. A lot of their features are also pretty time-consuming and don't seem very effective, like building phases, updating attendance, entering financial information and even adding new users which requires a helpdesk ticket every single time, not to mention password resets when an account gets locked out.
Rating Distribution
Ease of use
2
Value for money
2
Customer Support
3
Functionality
3
Frequently Asked Questions
Does STARS have a mobile app?
Yes, it does for both iOS and Android.
What other apps does STARS integrate with?
Supports integration with education platforms like Virtual Adviser, LIRN, and Campus IVY.
What language does STARS support?
It only supports English.
Who are the typical users of STARS?
STARS software is designed for post-secondary educational institutions.
What types of pricing plans does STARS offer?
STARS Price plans are customized by school size. Contact us to get a tailored STARS cost estimate.
Does STARS offer an API?
Yes, it offers API access.
What level of support does STARS offer?
It offers support through phone, a training team, and a knowledge base.