Student First
Student First is a private software company that provides a cloud-native, AI-powered Student Information System to higher education institutions, primarily US career colleges, community colleges, and four-year universities, sold as SaaS subscriptions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersPalm Beach, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Student First does
Student First is a privately held software company headquartered in Palm Beach, Florida that builds a cloud-native, AI-powered Student Information System (SIS) for higher education institutions. The platform is architected around a single unified data model that eliminates data silos and integration fragility, covering the full student lifecycle through eight integrated modules: Recruiting & Admissions, Advising, Academic Operations, Financial Aid, Student Finance, Student Portal, Student Records, and Career Services. The Financial Aid module is also offered as a standalone solution for institutions running legacy systems such as PowerFAIDS, connecting via open APIs to COD, NSLDS, state agencies, and third-party payment providers.
The company primarily serves US-based career and vocational schools, community colleges, and four-year colleges and universities, with an international footprint extending to Barbados (multiple public-sector institutions) and Spain (DIS Study Abroad). Revenue is generated through SaaS subscriptions sold via an enterprise field sales motion targeting institutional buyers, supplemented by a three-track partner channel (Integration, Transformation, and Sales Partners). AI capabilities are embedded across the platform, including predictive advising, natural language querying, Auto Awarding for financial aid, and AI-driven compliance monitoring for Title IV.
In May 2026, Student First received a $8.68M strategic investment from Blackbaud to integrate the SIS with Blackbaud's financial management and fundraising solutions into a 'Connected Campus' offering. The company employs 51-100 people, sponsors vertical events such as CECU 2026, and operates as a Delaware LLC (Student First LLC). Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and the customer base spans approximately 35 named institutions with no single dominant account.
Student First firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Student First
- Legal name
- Student First LLC
- Website
- https://studentfirst.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Student First is a private software company that provides a cloud-native, AI-powered Student Information System to higher education institutions, primarily US career colleges, community colleges, and four-year universities, sold as SaaS subscriptions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Student First industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Higher Education Software
- NAICS
- Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Higher Education SIS & Campus Management Systems (EDAFAEAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Student Information Systems (SIS) & Data Governance for Admissions/Registrar (EDALAAAM), Billing, Tuition, Fees & Payments (including Cafeteria/Meal Accounts) (EDAFAEAN), Gradebook, Transcripts, Credits & Academic Records Management (EDAFAEAG)
Keywords
Where Student First is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Palm Beach
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Student First business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- SaaS Subscription: Student First operates as a cloud-native SaaS platform providing student information system services to educational institutions through subscription-based licensing. Institutions subscribe to access the full platform including enrollment, financial aid, student billing, and other modules.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
Student First product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Student First is a cloud-native, AI-powered Student Information System (SIS) for higher education institutions. It unifies recruiting, admissions, advising, academic operations, financial aid, student finance, student records, the student portal, and career services on a single data model, delivering real-time, predictive insights across the entire student lifecycle.
Product overview
Student First is a single, unified cloud-native Student Information System (SIS) platform for higher education, built from the ground up rather than assembled through acquisitions. The platform is architecture based on one data model covering the full student lifecycle. The core offering includes eight integrated modules: Recruiting & Admissions, Advising, Academic Operations, Financial Aid, Student Finance, Student Portal, Student Records, and Career Services. Financial Aid is also available as a standalone solution for institutions with existing SIS platforms, connecting via open APIs. The platform embeds AI capabilities throughout for predictive analytics, process automation, natural language querying, and personalized student engagement.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Student First Student Information System (SIS) A cloud-native, AI-powered Student Information System platform for higher education institutions, organized around a single unified data model that covers the full student lifecycle from recruiting and admissions through academic operations, financial aid, student finance, student records, the student portal, and career services. Sold to career and vocational schools, community colleges, four-year colleges and universities, and international/online institutions.
- Recruiting & Admissions Module A module of the Student First SIS that manages prospective student recruitment, application intake, and admissions workflows for higher education institutions.
- Advising Module A module of the Student First SIS that supports academic advising, course planning, and student success interventions for higher education institutions.
- Academic Operations Module A module of the Student First SIS that manages academic operations including course scheduling, registration, and academic record workflows for higher education institutions.
- Financial Aid Module A module of the Student First SIS that handles financial aid awarding, packaging, and compliance reporting for higher education institutions.
- Student Finance Module A module of the Student First SIS that manages student billing, payments, and accounting workflows for higher education institutions.
- Student Portal A student-facing portal within the Student First SIS that gives learners self-service access to admissions, registration, financial aid, student finance, and academic information.
- Student Records Module A module of the Student First SIS that maintains official student academic records, transcripts, and registrar functions for higher education institutions.
- Career Services Module A module of the Student First SIS that supports career services operations and tracks graduate employment outcomes for higher education institutions.
Quantifiable outcome
- Faster implementation than legacy migration or SaaS upgrade with less risk and cost
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Student First
Customer profileNamed customers36 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Student First technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability7 records
Feature10 records
Student First partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- BlackbaudcoreStrategic investment partnership where Blackbaud invested in Student First to integrate Student First's SIS platform with Blackbaud's financial management and fundraising solutions. The collaboration aims to create a unified 'Connected Campus' experience for colleges and universities, reducing administrative complexity by connecting student enrollment, tuition, and donor activity directly to financial systems.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Student First competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Instructure (Canvas): LMS and education technology provider for higher ed and K–12. Not a SIS competitor, but a frequently co-deployed adjacent system in the same institutional procurement conversations.
- Blackbaud: Strategic investor and integration partner for Student First; also a broader higher ed software provider in financial management, fundraising, and CRM. Not a direct SIS competitor but a key ecosystem participant and channel.
Emerging players
- Modern Campus: Cloud-based higher ed platform spanning CMS, student engagement, and admissions. Adjacent rather than full SIS overlap, but competes for the same institutional buyer and modernization budget.
- Civitas Solutions / EAB: Higher ed analytics, advising, and student success platform. Overlaps with Student First's predictive advising and at-risk student identification capabilities but does not provide the core SIS of record.
Broad incumbents
- Salesforce Education Cloud: CRM and student engagement platform for higher ed institutions, often deployed alongside or as partial replacement for legacy SIS. Competes for recruitment and admissions workloads that overlap with Student First's Recruiting & Admissions module.
- Oracle PeopleSoft Campus Solutions: Long-standing enterprise SIS for large universities and systems, part of Oracle's broader applications portfolio. Competes in SIS for large institutions where Student First is currently less visible.
- Anthology (formerly Campus Management / Blackboard): Broad higher education software suite including SIS (Campus Management), LMS (Blackboard), and CRM. Competes in SIS but with a much wider portfolio across the student lifecycle.
Direct peers
- Ellucian: The largest SIS provider in higher education, serving thousands of institutions with Banner, Colleague, PowerCampus, and Banner SaaS. Directly competes with Student First in the core SIS category, but is a legacy, multi-decade incumbent rather than cloud-native.
- Workday Student: Modern cloud-native SIS built on the Workday platform, targeting larger four-year universities. Closest head-to-head competitor in the 'modern cloud SIS' positioning where Student First also plays.
- Jenzabar: Higher ed SIS vendor focused on small-to-mid private colleges, with a product suite including SIS, CRM, and financial aid. Comparable in target segment and product breadth to Student First's higher ed focus.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Student First social profiles
Digital presenceStudent First compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Student First financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Student First leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Student First funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Student First M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Student First
What does Student First do?
Student First is a cloud-native, AI-powered Student Information System (SIS) for higher education institutions. It unifies recruiting, admissions, advising, academic operations, financial aid, student finance, student records, the student portal, and career services on a single data model, delivering real-time, predictive insights across the entire student lifecycle.
Is Student First a public or private company?
Student First is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Student First founded?
Student First was founded in 2006. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Student First based?
Student First is headquartered in Palm Beach, United States, in the North America region.
How does Student First make money?
One revenue line is on record: saaS Subscription.
Who are Student First's main competitors?
Others on record are Instructure (Canvas) and Blackbaud. Emerging players are Modern Campus and Civitas Solutions / EAB. Broad incumbents are Salesforce Education Cloud, Oracle PeopleSoft Campus Solutions and Anthology (formerly Campus Management / Blackboard). Direct peers are Ellucian, Workday Student and Jenzabar.
Does Student First have an API?
Yes. Student First provides open APIs that allow institutions to connect with third-party servicers, import files, and integrate with external systems. Supports integrations with federal systems including COD (Common Origination and Disbursement) and NSLDS (National Student Loan Data System). Integration Partners gain access to a full suite of APIs to build reliable, modern integrations. The Financial Aid module specifically enables connection to any third-party servicer or file import to eliminate manual data entry.
What industry is Student First in?
Student First's product category is Higher Education Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFAEAB, Higher Education SIS & Campus Management Systems, with a secondary code of EDALAAAM, Student Information Systems (SIS) & Data Governance for Admissions/Registrar. Its NAICS code is 61131 and its SIC code is 7370.