Transforming Student Success

Challenge: Meeting Every Learner’s Definition of Success

For the Alabama Community College System (ACCS), student success isn’t one-size-fits-all. Across 24 colleges serving both rural and urban communities, ACCS supports learners pursuing everything from GED completion to university transfer and immediate workforce entry.

“Our number one goal is to make sure that we're providing the resources, the education, and the support needed for any of our citizens for the state of Alabama,” said Karen Becker, Deputy CIO, ACCS.

From helping students re-skill to preparing future university graduates, ACCS aims to meet learners where they are — day or night.

“Student success looks like something different to every student. Everything from ‘I need help getting my GED,’ to ‘I need to upskill because I want that job down the street,’ to ‘I want to stay at home, go to school, and then transfer later.’ I’ve seen a shift in what students are expecting — they’re expecting their school to be there night and day,” said Karen.

However, managing a statewide network of institutions required more efficient systems, seamless student access, and a modernization path that could support continuous innovation.

Solution: Modernizing with Ellucian SaaS and Experience

To meet evolving student and staff expectations, ACCS partnered with Ellucian to move its Banner environment to SaaS and implement Ellucian Experience as the unified digital hub for learners and employees.

“With the way Ellucian is set up in our environment, we have the opportunity to allow students to register at multiple institutions. Those kinds of technologies help faculty and staff with their daily lives and improve their efficiency across the board,” said Bruce Tenison, Enterprise Architect, ACCS.

By migrating to SaaS, ACCS reduces manual database administration and frees IT teams to focus on innovation rather than maintenance. This shift allows the system to reimagine how staff contribute to technology development across campuses.

“We want our employees to spend time doing development that’s unique for all our schools, and SaaS gives us that opportunity,” said Karen.

At the same time, Ellucian Experience provides a single, modern portal that centralizes tools and resources for students and faculty. “What I valued about Banner was the comprehensive solution. We see Ellucian Experience being the one portal, the one solution for everything,” said Bruce.

Results: Streamlined Operations and Enhanced Access

The transition to Ellucian’s SaaS solutions is enabling ACCS to modernize operations, improve staff efficiency, and strengthen its student engagement.

Key Results

• Modernized infrastructure: Moving to Ellucian SaaS eliminates back-end maintenance, freeing IT staff for high-value development work.
• Unified student experience: Ellucian Experience creates a single, personalized portal for all academic and administrative needs.
• Increased staff efficiency: Less manual database work allows teams to focus on innovation and user-focused tools.
• Multi-institution flexibility: Students can seamlessly register across multiple colleges statewide.
• Future-ready workforce: Staff are evolving from legacy programming to modern languages like JavaScript and React.
• Trusted partnership: Ellucian’s expertise and higher ed focus provide ongoing guidance throughout the transition.

“Ellucian is providing support through this whole transition to SaaS by helping us build every component. Their years of being in higher ed really helps the credibility for the software,” said Karen.

“Working with Ellucian with regards to our SaaS implementation has been a wonderful experience,” said Bruce.

Conclusion

Through its partnership with Ellucian, the Alabama Community College System is redefining what accessible, flexible education means for today’s learners. With Ellucian SaaS and Experience, ACCS is streamlining operations, empowering staff, and meeting students where they are — paving the way for the next generation of workforce-ready Alabamians.