Core systems / SIS functions & features

SIS functions & features

The functions and features most commonly offered by the major higher education student information system vendors, and the HERM business capability each one supports. These are system functions, not HERM capabilities: HERM describes what an institution does; this page describes what an SIS does to help it. See also the financial ERP, HRM and research administration functions & features. See the HERM Business Reference Model for the full set of capabilities, or its capability wheel.

Why map to HERM

Shows which parts of the institution an SIS supports, where it overlaps other systems, and where it stops.

Falls within vs related to

A function's main HERM home vs others it touches. Features narrow to one capability.

What it shows

71 HERM capabilities touched: all of Learning & Teaching, none of Research.

Three ways in

Wheel to explore, tree to scan every mapping, CSV or JSON to reuse it.

How this was compiled: three AI assistants (Claude, Perplexity and Grok) were each asked to identify the core functions and features of the major higher education SIS products. Their lists were reconciled into this single set. Treat it as a starting point, not a vendor-verified specification.

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Crosswalk to HERM v3.2.0

Which HERM capability each function supports

Browse the HERM Business Reference Model →

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SIS function
Falls within (HERM)
Also related to
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The full hierarchy: areas, functional areas, functions and features, each with its HERM mapping and definition. Select any HERM capability or feature to see its full definition.

SIS hierarchy
HERM capability
Definition
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An SIS is rarely one system. Here the same functions and features are mapped to the applications a fictional Example State University actually runs: a vendor core, add-on modules, third-party products, homegrown tools and spreadsheets. Each link records how well the application covers the feature and its role. HERM coverage is then calculated from those links, not mapped by hand.

Also see this ecosystem as a capability × application matrix or a HERM-to-application flow.

1 · HERM capabilityWhat the institution does. Stable, vendor-neutral.
2 · Function and featureWhat software can do. The reference list on this page.
3 · ApplicationWhat you run, with coverage and role per feature.
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Inner rings: area and functional area. Outer ring: one slice per feature, split into bands when more than one application provides it. Marks outside the ring flag gaps (red) and competing systems of record (violet).

What the links reveal

Conflicts, gaps and workarounds

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Calculated HERM coverage

How well each HERM capability is served

The executive view. Each bar is the capability’s features, coloured by the best coverage any application gives them. Select a capability for its HERM definition, or an application to see its footprint.

HERM capability
Feature coverage
Applications (system of record first)
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