Ellucian Acquires Anthology’s ERP, SIS

The higher-ed SaaS company Ellucian will assume ownership of Anthology’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) and student information system (SIS) business, a move that will affect 260 users. The acquisition adds to Ellucian’s portfolio, currently serving 2,800 higher-education customers worldwide, according to a news release today.

Though the news release does not specify which products Ellucian will acquire, Anthology offers ERP and SIS systems through Anthology Student, a cloud-based platform that colleges and universities use to manage student services from admissions and registration to financial aid, academics and graduation, according to the company website.

Following the deal closed on Dec. 31, 2025, Ellucian will maintain Anthology’s existing ERP and SIS systems. Anthology team members who supported them are being onboarded to Ellucian, according to an email from Ellucian CEO Laura Ipsen to Government Technology.

“Customers can expect uninterrupted service, ongoing support and stable operations on their existing platforms,” she wrote. “Our immediate priority is ensuring customers experience consistency and confidence following close.”
Ellucian also offers its own ERP and SIS products, which are sold separately. AI features have been embedded into both Anthology and Ellucian products in recent years, with both companies offering predictive analytics and chatbots that assist with operations.

Ipsen said the acquisition helps Ellucian invest more heavily in these areas.

“[The acquisition] enables us to invest at greater scale in modern, SaaS-native and AI-enabled SIS and ERP solutions,” she wrote.

Anthology is currently proceeding through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a process allowing companies to reorganize assets while remaining operational. According to an Anthology announcement in September 2025, the company is selling off its enterprise operations, lifecycle engagement and student success businesses to focus more on teaching and learning products, including the learning management system Blackboard. Ellucian agreed to set the minimum price point for these planned sales, expected to be completed in early 2026. Anthology hopes to emerge as a standalone, debt-free company, according to the news release.

In the short term, customers should not notice any changes, Ipsen said. Longer-term integration plans have not been detailed.

“As we look ahead, any longer-term integration planning will be thoughtful, transparent and guided by institutional needs, with continuity as our foundation,” she wrote.

Ellucian is no stranger to acquisitions. In 2022, Ellucian bought the financial aid software company CampusLogic, and in 2024 it purchased academic planning platform EduNav. The company has also established partnerships with companies serving the higher-ed market. Its “partner network,” launched in 2023 to prompt collaboration on technology development, marketing and sales, includes big names in ed tech such as Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, IBM and Instructure.

“Ellucian has been dedicated exclusively to this sector for more than 50 years, and this acquisition reinforces that focus,” Ipsen said.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story cited a 2023 announcement by Ellucian that it was acquiring the software company Tribal Group, but in fact the deal never went through.