Higher education software provider Ellucian was recently named "EdTech Company of the Year" by the EdTech Chronicle. This award highlights a broader shift as colleges adopt artificial intelligence to manage student data and administrative tasks. For parents and educators, the rapid adoption of these technologies raises immediate questions about data privacy, automated decisions, and school accountability.
What Happened
On September 2, 2026, Ellucian received the top honor in the EdTech Chronicle Best in Education Awards 2025. The company, which partners with roughly 3,000 institutions across 50 countries, won for its student-centered Software as a Service (SaaS) and AI capabilities. These features are built into its main products, including the Ellucian Student platform, to automate tasks and guide campus decisions.
Families and educators should look closely at how these industry awards are given. Unlike programs with clear, objective benchmarks, such as the College Board's National Recognition Program, which requires specific GPAs and standardized exam scores, the EdTech Chronicle Awards do not publish details about their selection metrics or judging panels. As we previously reported on TLS, industry rankings rarely tell the whole story about a tool's safety or value in the classroom.
The Bigger Picture
Ellucian’s expansion comes as automated systems increasingly run college administration. This shift introduces real risks to student privacy. Financial aid offices, which handle highly sensitive tax information, are especially vulnerable. A survey by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) found that 79% of financial aid professionals identify data privacy as a significant risk of AI use, and 67% worry about compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
The rush to automate has outpaced campus policies. In areas like admissions, student discipline, and finance, deploying AI without clear rules risks privacy loss, cybersecurity failures, and algorithmic bias. While 54% of financial aid offices already use AI tools, about 41% have no formal or informal human review process for AI-assisted work. Only 9% have a clear school policy on AI. This gap means algorithms may make important decisions about a student's future without human review. Academic researchers warn that literature on AI governance still largely ignores issues of equity, trust, and accountability.
What This Means for Families
These backend technological changes directly affect families dealing with college admissions and financial aid. Ellucian states its AI includes guardrails, promising that customer data is never shared to train external models and that all decisions can be audited for FERPA compliance.
However, corporate promises do not always match user experiences. For instance, the Ellucian Recruiting & Admissions platform has a user rating of just 2.4 out of 5 stars on G2, with administrative users reporting regular technical issues. Neither colleges nor software developers explain whether parents or students must give consent before these internal AI systems process their personal data.
What You Can Do
You can protect your family's data by taking several active steps. When visiting or emailing colleges, ask admissions officers if they have a formal policy requiring human review for AI decisions. Request information on how the school protects student data, whether that data trains administrative algorithms, and how to opt out of automated profiling. Finally, keep close track of financial aid offers, admissions timelines, and credit audits. If you notice any unexpected decisions, ask for a manual review of your file.