The High Cost of Adding Third-Party Solutions to Your Student Information System Suite

As schools nationwide face reduced funding and rising demands for student services, many K-12 districts need to find cost-saving opportunities. Education leaders are forced to make tough decisions about what to prioritize: Should they cut extracurricular programs or reduce the number of staff members? While these decisions are highly visible, other opportunities to reduce spending are available, such as reducing the high costs of using third-party edtech solutions that are available from your SIS vendor. 

Though technology is often considered an efficiency driver for schools, poorly managed and disjointed systems can eat away at district budgets. This blog explores the high financial costs of using third-party administrative edtech solutions and how consolidating into a comprehensive SIS suite can help save money, improve user experiences, and ultimately provide better services to students. 

What Are Third-Party Edtech Solutions? 

Before diving into the hidden costs, it’s important to understand some examples of third-party SIS solutions that may be available from your SIS provider. An SIS is a critical tool for school districts, managing everything from enrollment, attendance and grading to food services, health records, and even transportation details. These systems provide a comprehensive view of every student, enabling educators and administrators to make informed decisions.  

In some cases, districts may use third-party systems from different vendors to manage business processes that can be accommodated by a module available from their SIS vendor. For example, they may purchase a third-party product to handle enrollment, another for food services, and a third to provide data analytics. Buying each of these systems from different vendors requires districts to manage multiple disparate platforms, each at a premium cost. This fragmentation is inefficient and may result in high costs to the district. 

The Costs of Using Multiple Third-Party Solutions 

At first glance, relying on third-party solutions might seem like an effective strategy—after all, each system is often tailored to specific needs. However, total financial burden and negative impact to user experiences become apparent when considering the following:  

1. Software Subscription Fees

One of the most apparent costs of using multiple third-party SIS systems is the cumulative effect of the software subscription fees. Each system typically requires its own fees, which can quickly add up. Because each vendor operates independently, your district will have limited pricing or discount leverage when buying from multiple vendors.  

This issue is exacerbated when districts grow. What may have been affordable for a smaller district can become prohibitively expensive as the student population increases, requiring more user seats and more comprehensive system features. 

2. Integration and Compatibility Issues

Beyond subscription costs, additional costs lie in making these separate systems communicate effectively. Data integration is challenging and platforms provided by various third-party vendors are typically not integrated at the time of purchase. School districts often need to invest in custom integration work to ensure that data syncs across multiple systems. This integration can be expensive, requiring IT staff or third-party consultants to update or tweak integrations as systems evolve. 

Even with an integration, inconsistencies may remain. For example, an update to one system might disrupt the data flow between platforms, resulting in inefficiencies, delays, or even errors in reporting. 

3. Training and Professional Development

Each third-party solution has a distinct user interface, features, and workflows. As a result, staff members must be trained on multiple systems, which can be time-consuming and expensive. Professional development days might be consumed with training on new software rather than focusing on improvements or other district priorities.  

Not only does this consume valuable time, but the learning curve associated with each system can also decrease productivity as staff struggle to manage multiple platforms. These training costs—both in time and financial investment—are often overlooked when budgeting for third-party systems. 

4. Data Security Risks

Relying on multiple third-party systems may increase data security risks. Each vendor has its security protocols, and it only takes one weak link to compromise sensitive student data. The cost of a data breach can be staggering in terms of fines and penalties, lost trust, and the reputation damage a district could suffer.  

Exposure to the security settings, patches, and updates for several systems increases the chances of oversight. The more platforms a district uses, the greater the risk that one of them will not be fully updated, potentially leaving a critical gap for cyberattacks. 

5. Time and Efficiency Losses

One of the most significant costs of using multiple third-party products is the time lost due to inefficiency. When staff members have to navigate between different systems to perform basic tasks, such as enrolling a student or sending a form for parent signature, their processes become inefficient. Disjointed workflows can lead to duplication of efforts, poor data quality, and heightened risk of errors since information must be entered into multiple systems. 

When more time is sunk into administrative tasks, there’s less time available for teachers to focus on students and for administrators to handle higher-priority tasks. Over time, these inefficiencies can significantly reduce a district’s overall productivity.