Slate vs Starfish

Slate is a cloud-based information management system and higher education CRM for admissions and enrollment, student success, and advancement operations. Admissions teams can manage applications, reading, decisions, texting, events, and data integrations. Student Success includes forms, queries, appointments, communications, portals, case workflows, and campus-system integrations. Slate for Advancement combines donor management, alumni relations, event management, communications, and automations with real-time data insights. Native capabilities include surveys, document management, payment processing, SMS, chatbots, portals, and microsites. Institutions can connect systems through scheduled web services, batched file transfers, or the API; listed integrations include Common App, Banner, PeopleSoft, and OnBase. Mobile-ready interfaces support iOS and Android. The maker says data is encrypted at rest and in transit, supports multifactor authentication and institutional single sign-on, and stores each institution in its own private database. Admissions pricing is based on annual application volume, starting at $30,000 a year for fewer than 1,500 applications. Advancement pricing starts at $50,000 a year for fewer than 2,500 active full-time undergraduate enrollment. Existing database use for Student Success has no additional cost; a separate Student Success license is $30,000 a year.

Starfish is a web platform for colleges and universities to coordinate student success work, identify student needs, and support timely interventions. Early Alert, Scheduling, and Case Management help institutions identify and track students, engage them, and connect them with resources aligned to their needs. Operational Analytics gives faculty and staff data for proactive advising and helps connect institutional strategy to student-success approaches. Strategic Analytics supports action for student groups identified through risk factors and offers focused dashboards for reported data. Degree Planning helps students follow academic pathways, flags when they are off track, and gives institutions information to anticipate course demand. The platform supports cohort management and intervention throughout the student journey. EAB provides implementation help, staff training, update management, and change-management guidance through dedicated Strategic Leaders familiar with each partner institution. Partners can also join the nationwide Student Success Collaborative to share strategies with peer success leaders. EAB directs prospective customers to contact its team or request a demo; no price is stated. Its Trust Center lists TX-RAMP Level 2 certification and security topics including role-based access control, single sign-on support, and multi-factor authentication.