Ad Astra Information Systems

What Ad Astra Information Systems does

Ad Astra Information Systems, L.L.C. is a privately held higher-education software company founded in 1996 and headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas. The company builds Smart Scheduling™, an AI-powered platform that unifies course scheduling, faculty assignment, room scheduling, and event management into a single solution for colleges and universities. Its core product surface is organized into four solution families: Essential Scheduling (academic, event, room, and faculty scheduling), Data-Informed Scheduling (Classroom Optimization, Registration Monitoring, and HESI® benchmarking reports), Student-Centered Scheduling (Student Demand Forecasting, Early Momentum/Degree Velocity®, and DFW Analysis), and Integrated Planning (Annual Schedule Planning, Faculty Capacity Planning, and Pathway Alignment). The platform includes bi-directional, real-time integrations with leading Student Information Systems such as Ellucian Banner, a public API, and proprietary IP including the registered Degree Velocity® trademark and the HESI® benchmarking system covering 375+ indicators across 1.3 million+ students.

The company serves 550+ higher-education institutions across North America, with a primary focus on community colleges and four-year universities and a secondary focus on state college and university systems. Its go-to-market is a direct enterprise field-sales motion with dedicated consultants conducting 1:1 discovery and implementation engagements, supported by a broader partnership ecosystem including AACRAO, AASCU, Achieving the Dream, Complete College America, Excelencia in Education, and NACUBO. The team of 100+ higher-education professionals includes former registrars, provosts, and enrollment VPs who provide domain credibility. Revenue is generated through annual SaaS subscriptions sized by institution and scope, supplemented by implementation, consulting, and training services, with pricing quoted rather than publicly disclosed. The company remains founder-led under CEO Tom Shaver and has operated continuously for 30+ years without disclosed external funding, M&A activity, or ownership changes.

Name

Ad Astra Information Systems

Legal name

Ad Astra Information Systems, L.L.C.

Website

https://aais.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Ad Astra Information Systems provides AI-powered Smart Scheduling™ software for higher-education institutions, serving 550+ colleges and universities across North America with course, faculty, room, and event scheduling plus predictive analytics and student-demand forecasting.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Academic Scheduling Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Attendance, Scheduling, Timetabling & Calendar Management (EDAFAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Degree Planning, Course Planning & Academic Progress Monitoring (EDAFAMAI), Learning Data Infrastructure & Interoperability (LRS, xAPI/LTI/OneRoster, Data Pipelines) (EDAFAFAJ)

Keywords

• Higher education scheduling
• Academic scheduling software
• Course scheduling platform
• Student demand forecasting
• Classroom optimization software

Headquarters

HQ city

Overland Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription: Annual subscription-based software licensing model for access to the Ad Astra Smart Scheduling platform. Subscriptions include access to technical support team and standard releases of the licensed product. Clients pay an annual fee with pricing based on institution size or usage scope.
2. Professional Services: Implementation, consulting, and training services including onboarding, strategic consulting, and custom training engagements. These support the core software deployment and ongoing optimization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Ad Astra Information Systems develops and licenses Smart Scheduling™, an AI-powered SaaS platform that helps colleges and universities unify course scheduling, faculty assignment, room scheduling, and event management. The platform layers predictive analytics (Student Demand Forecasting, Degree Velocity®, DFW Analysis), AI-driven Classroom Optimization, and bi-directional real-time integrations with student information systems such as Banner. Revenue is generated through annual enterprise SaaS subscriptions plus professional services for onboarding, consulting, and training.

Product overview

Ad Astra Information Systems offers Smart Scheduling™, an AI-powered academic scheduling platform for higher education that unifies Essential Scheduling, Data-Informed Scheduling, Student-Centered Scheduling, and Integrated Planning into a cohesive suite. Essential Scheduling provides foundational course, room, event, and faculty scheduling tools. Data-Informed Scheduling delivers real-time enrollment analytics through Registration Monitoring, HESI® Reports benchmarking, and Classroom Optimization. Student-Centered Scheduling leverages predictive analytics via Student Demand Forecasting, Early Momentum/Degree Velocity® tracking, and DFW Analysis for bottleneck identification. Integrated Planning enables annual/multi-term scheduling with Faculty Capacity Planning and Pathway Alignment. The platform integrates with student information systems like Banner and offers API extensibility for system connectivity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Monitor: Targeted registration monitoring solution allowing institutions to track how courses are filling and offering easy-to-use reporting based on registration data.
• HESI (Higher Education Scheduling Index)
• Smart Scheduling
• Degree Velocity

Products and services

• Essential Scheduling Collaborative academic scheduling software that provides foundational scheduling capabilities including Academic Scheduling, Event Scheduling, Room Scheduling, and Faculty Assignment in a unified platform. Targets higher education institutions seeking to improve operational efficiency.
• Data-Informed Scheduling Smart scheduling systems that facilitate targeted schedule optimization with real-time enrollment analytics, registration monitoring, classroom utilization optimization, and HESI® benchmarking reports. Designed for higher education institutions seeking data-driven scheduling insights.
• Student-Centered Scheduling Intelligent scheduling insights that maximize student outcomes and minimize disruption through Student Demand Forecasting, Program Pathway Management, Early Momentum/Degree Velocity® tracking, and DFW Analysis. Serves institutions focused on retention, completion, and equity outcomes.
• Integrated Planning Annual planning software that aligns stakeholders and optimizes student and financial outcomes through multi-term scheduling. Includes Annual Schedule Planning, Faculty Capacity Planning, and Pathway Alignment capabilities for institutions seeking long-horizon academic planning.
• Monitor Standalone registration monitoring software providing visibility into course fill rates, access to enrollment visualizations, threshold monitoring for enrollment ratios, and notifications for course enrollment status. Sold separately under its own terms of service for higher education institutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 19.4% increase in Degree Velocity at Mohawk Valley Community College
• +11 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability6 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AACRAO (American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAACRAO is a non-profit professional association of more than 11,000 higher education professionals representing approximately 2,600 institutions. Ad Astra collaborates with AACRAO on research, white papers (including the SPOT Advantage report and Operational Efficiency report), and professional development initiatives. The partnership provides Ad Astra access to a broad network of registrars and admissions professionals.
• AASCU (American Association of State Colleges & Universities)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAASCU represents nearly 400 public colleges, universities, and systems. Ad Astra partners with AASCU on webinars and educational content to promote student-centered scheduling practices among member institutions.
• Achieving the DreamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAchieving the Dream is a champion of leaders at more than 300 community colleges across the country. The partnership focuses on building customized growth plans and providing actionable solutions for student success using Ad Astra's scheduling tools.
• Complete College AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerComplete College America is a national advocate for dramatically increasing college completion rates. The partnership supports scaling structural reforms and promoting policies that improve student success through strategic scheduling.
• Excelencia in EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded in 2004, Excelencia in Education accelerates Latino student success in higher education. Ad Astra supports this mission through data-driven scheduling solutions that help address equity gaps and support diverse student populations.
• NACUBO (National Association of College and University Business Officers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNACUBO provides strategic and practical support for campus business and finance professionals. The partnership helps Ad Astra connect with institutional leaders focused on financial sustainability and operational efficiency.
• Student Information System (SIS) PartnerscoreTechnology or IntegrationAd Astra partners with the industry's leading student information systems including Banner and other platforms for seamless, real-time bi-directional integrations. These integrations enable data synchronization and unlock real-time scheduling insights directly within the institutional SIS.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Modern Campus: Modern Campus is a modern student engagement platform offering curriculum, catalog, and scheduling modules for higher education, increasingly competing with Ad Astra's Integrated Planning and Student-Centered Scheduling products.
• Civitas Learning: Civitas Learning provides student success analytics and predictive advising for higher education, partially overlapping with Ad Astra's Degree Velocity, DFW Analysis, and student demand forecasting capabilities.

Broad incumbents

• Ellucian: Ellucian is the dominant student information system (SIS) provider in higher education with Banner and Colleague, serving as both an integration partner to Ad Astra and a potential competitor if it deepens native scheduling capabilities.
• Jenzabar: Jenzabar offers student information systems for higher education including SIS, CRM, and ancillary modules that can compete with or bundle against best-of-breed scheduling tools like Ad Astra.
• EAB Navigate: EAB provides a broad portfolio of higher education services including student success, enrollment, and analytics platforms that touch scheduling-adjacent decisions at four-year institutions.
• Workday Student: Workday Student is an enterprise SIS competing with Ellucian, often deployed at large four-year universities; its expanding academic and facilities modules overlap with Ad Astra's scheduling scope.

Direct peers

• Coursedog: Coursedog is a direct competitor offering academic scheduling, course catalog management, and curriculum planning software for higher education institutions, overlapping substantially with Ad Astra's Essential Scheduling and Integrated Planning modules.
• CollegeNET: CollegeNET provides higher education scheduling and registration software including class scheduling and 25Live event management, competing directly with Ad Astra's Academic, Event, and Room Scheduling solutions.
• EMS Software: EMS Software provides enterprise room and event scheduling solutions widely deployed at universities and colleges, directly competing with Ad Astra's Room Scheduling and Event Scheduling modules.
• Schedule 25 / CollegeNET 25Live: 25Live is a higher-ed-focused event and room scheduling product from CollegeNET, widely used at universities and directly competing with Ad Astra's Room and Event Scheduling modules.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/adastrais
• Facebookfacebook.com/ad-astra-information-systems-185708939877
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ad-astra-information-systems

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ad Astra Information Systems