Campus Solutions is a solid product. It is used successfully by large and small institutions across the world. A fair amount of customization should be expected, as the delivered functions just aren't flexible enough for specific needs sometimes. If an institution has the developer bandwidth to support some customization, then this is a great product. It offers a seemingly never ending supply of efficient functions, such as Activity Guides, which allow the institution to assign desired tasks to end users, such as updating their emergency contact information. Students could be assigned a registration hold until they have completed their tasks.
When you open a service request you will get contacted in short order. They will usually develop a patch or hot fix in a reasonable amount of time. You do usually need to keep the software updated and will want to be on the latest versions.
I used Banner previously and I think PeopleSoft Campus Solutions was so much more user friendly. I also found the reporting to be easier to access with CS. CS works well when paired with FMS and HCM. You can pretty much go full oracle and also implements database systems for data warehousing and even more detailed analysis. Due to the size of Oracle and PeopleSoft the amount of third party support also seems higher. I had also used Hobsons products before but find CS to be more robust than their offerings as well.
Retrieving information has been faster for us since we implemented Peoplesoft, this has enabled us to better serve our students and provide them with support and answer their questions in a timely fashion.
Because of PS Campus Solutions, we have a central location to house student information making it easy to access info rather than having the information stored in multiple places all over the campus by different groups. This has tremendously improved our processes and made it very easy for us.
Since Peoplesoft securely stores our data, we do not have issues with data security or questions from parents or students about fears of student information being leaked or falling into the wrong hands. This has helped us remain compliant and comply with FERPA regulations.
