How to choose a college ERP

College ERPs often look alike on a feature list. The differences show up after you sign. Who sets it up? How long does go-live take? What do students pay? What happens to your data if you leave? Ask every vendor these six questions, including us.

1. Does it fit how your college runs?

Indian colleges run on internals with weightage, the 75% attendance line, sections and semesters. In the demo, ask to see a class, its attendance, an internal assessment and its weightage. If the demo has to translate your terms into theirs, your faculty will have to as well.

2. Who sets it up, and who trains your faculty?

Ask whether the vendor’s own team comes to your campus and trains every department. Some send a login and a manual. Ask for training in person for every department, before go-live.

3. How long until the whole college is live, counted from when?

A go-live promise means little without a start point. Ask for it in writing, counted from the day the vendor receives your data. Plan go-live between exam windows.

4. How is it priced, and do students pay?

Ask for one annual total in writing before anything starts. Ask whether students are charged anything, including payment-gateway fees, and whether AI features cost extra.

5. Who owns your data, and what happens when you leave?

The agreement should say plainly that the college owns its data. It should also say what the vendor does with that data when you leave.

6. Can you stop, and when?

Look for a clear exit. For example, at the end of a semester, with a stated notice period and no exit fee.

Our answers

Edusphere puts its answers to questions 2 to 6 in the agreement a college signs: see how a college goes live, and how Edusphere is priced.