Institutions recognised across four categories for exploring new horizons in higher education technology.
RESTON, VA and ORLANDO, FL – Ellucian, the leading higher education technology solutions provider, announced the winners of its seventh annual Impact Awards at Ellucian Live, the industry's premier global technology conference. The refreshed identity reflects Ellucian's unmatched expertise in serving colleges and universities and its leadership in AI, data-informed insights, and advanced Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions.
"This year's Impact Award winners and finalists have demonstrated remarkable ingenuity and dedication to transforming institutional operations and initiatives," said Laura Ipsen, President and CEO, Ellucian. "The innovative applications of Ellucian solutions demonstrated by our award winners are making a significant impact on students, faculty, staff, and overall institutional resiliency. Their achievements underscore the profound impact that technology can have on higher education, and we are proud to celebrate their success."
2025 Ellucian Impact Award-winning institutions will each receive a $25,000 award recognising achievements across categories, including Students First, Unlocking the Power of Data, Excellence in SaaS Modernisation, and Institutional Agility.
The four 2025 Ellucian Impact Award Winners are:
Students First
Fayetteville State University — Fayetteville, N.C.
Fayetteville State University (FSU), a prominent Historically Black College and University (HBCU) dedicated to promoting student financial success, has introduced a range of solutions aimed at optimising the financial aid process. The university went beyond standard student award emails by adding enrolment resources and ensuring adherence to College Cost Transparency Initiative standards. In just three months, FSU achieved a 62% open rate for the 2025 aid year, logged 493 uses of the net price calculator, and handled 462 Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeals, which contributed to a deeper understanding of prospective students' needs and interests. With Ellucian, FSU streamlined its operations, enhanced data accuracy, and improved communication with students, resulting in the issuance of, as of November 2024, 2,948 aid letters. This integration also fostered better faculty engagement, ultimately leading to improved enrolment, retention, and completion rates.
Unlocking the Power of Data
Muskegon Community College — Muskegon, Mich.
Leveraging data from Ellucian solutions, Muskegon Community College (MCC) created the JayHawk Hub to address challenges in resource allocation and support to aid underserved students. JayHawk addresses critical non-academic barriers preventing student success, such as food insecurity, housing challenges, and financial instability. What makes this initiative unique is the use of real-time engagement tracking enabled by Ellucian Colleague SaaS and Ellucian CRM Advise. Using these tools, MCC can identify at-risk students based on key indicators such as financial aid status, academic performance, and attendance patterns. Data from measuring student interaction with JayHawk Hub resources enabled MCC to provide support based on student demands, reinforce their reputation as a student-centered college, secure additional funding, and strengthen community partnerships. For many students, the JayHawk Hub was a deciding factor in staying enrolled and it has contributed to higher retention, persistence, and course success rates across the College.
Excellence in SaaS Modernisation
Kaskaskia College — Centralia, Ill.
Kaskaskia College (KC) is recognised for excellence in SaaS modernisation through its transition from their on-premises system to Colleague SaaS. After migrating to SaaS, the college successfully automated manual processes and eliminated hardware, leading to significant cost savings and increased productivity among staff and faculty. No longer needing to spend time on patches, updates, security fixes, and supporting the software bridges of third-party systems, KC's IT department is saving 40-60 hours a week and can now focus on strategic mission initiatives including deployment of new solutions to enhance the campus experience. Kaskaskia saved $471,000 annually in infrastructure costs by eliminating on-premises servers, software licenses, and disaster recovery software. Additionally, their strategic use of analytics through Ellucian Insights has allowed for more effective data-driven decision-making, enabling KC to refine course and programme offerings, aligning them with student interests and market demands.
Institutional Agility
Montgomery College — Rockville, Md.
As a Hispanic-serving institution, Montgomery College has demonstrated institutional agility by modernising to Banner SaaS. This transition is expected to help the college navigate evolving challenges in higher education while achieving a 10% reduction in technology infrastructure costs, a 10% reduction in time on completing manual work, an 80% reduction in IT time spent on system maintenance, and a 20% reduction in cybersecurity insurance costs. Montgomery's new platform has also had a profound impact on operational efficiency and productivity, streamlining processes such as registration and financial aid processing and reducing the time faculty and staff spend on administrative tasks. With SaaS, Montgomery is improving outcomes and revenue generation through a smoother path to enrolment.
For more information on Ellucian solutions, visit: https://www.ellucian.com/emea-ap/solutions/all-products.
