For institutions operating with Anthology SaaS software, the last few months have been a whirlwind.
Between the initial bankruptcy announcement, to the auctioning off of Anthology’s various products, companies, colleges, universities, and organizations everywhere have been asked to navigate a situation they weren’t expecting and weren’t prepared for.
We recognize that, and that’s why we’ve written this guide to explain what happened to Anthology, and how leaders in higher education should be reacting and moving ahead.
What happened to Anthology?
In October 2025, amidst stiff competition and increasing debt, Anthology filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In the months that followed, Anthology’s service catalog was sold off to Ellucian and Encoura as follows:
Ellucian
- Anthology Student
- Anthology Finance & HCM
- Student Verification
- Enterprise Ops Legacy
Encoura
- Anthology Encompass
- Anthology Reach
- Anthology Engage
- Anthology Advance
- Student Success
Anthology (now Blackboard)
- Blackboard Learn
- Blackboard Ally
- Blackboard Illuminate
How is Ellucian moving forward?
According to Ellucian’s webpage detailing the acquisition, there are no changes to products and services, and all existing agreements remain in place. In addition, all Anthology employees that supported their customers will continue to do so at Ellucian.
Indeed, this is the best case scenario and is shaping up to be the truth in the short term.
In the long-term, however, it’s important to note that longer-term integration plans haven’t yet been detailed. What Ellucian’s longer-term R&D investment means for the Anthology Student platform specifically hasn’t yet been defined. Ellucian’s existing product portfolio centers on their own SaaS-native SIS solutions, and no Anthology-specific product roadmap has been published.
While this next point isn’t something that Ellucian themselves have stated (it’s more a matter of fact), it’s still important to point out: Anthology’s products are now split across three different companies. With Anthology’s former product catalog now distributed across three separate companies, institutions that relied on integrated products should confirm who is responsible for maintaining those integrations going forward.
Overall, Ellucian is maintaining continuity for customers in the short-term, but current state won’t be the status quo forever. Leaders in higher education have been granted valuable decision-making time, and they should use this time wisely.
How do I navigate the Anthology bankruptcy for my institution that uses Student today?
In order to evaluate your options enroute to eventually taking action, it’s important to first level-set and understand where your institution is today with Anthology Student, and develop a risk profile for your institution:
Mid-Implementation
Your institution is right in the middle of going live with Anthology Student, whether that puts you in UAT or on either side of the UAT process. The timeline isn’t changing, but it feels as though your support landscape certainly has.
Questions to consider: what does this mean for your go-live? Who’s responsible for making sure you cross the finish line?
Currently live with Anthology Student
Your currently live with Student today, and for all intents and purposes the system works today.
Questions to consider: will the system still work 6, 12, or 24 months from now? What does your staffing continuity look like? What’s going to happen with your next contract renewal?
On-Premise
If your institution is on Campus Management, you’ve likely had questions about long-term vendor direction for some time now. In the current environment, those questions deserve even more attention.
Questions to consider aren’t revolving the topic of whether change is coming, it’s whether you get ahead of it on your own terms (through managed services, migration, etc.) or react to it on someone else’s.
How should institutions that use Anthology Student navigate the Ellucian acquisition?
Figure out where you stand today.
What does your current contract say, and when does it expire? Are there customizations lined out in your contract, and if so, do they still have to be honored? Engage with your customer success manager about professional services as well; clarify what those services will look like and what’s still being offered.
Confirm your point of contact.
The Ellucian transition is complete, so now is the time to double-check your contacts. Have you confirmed this relationship with your contact?
Assess your product integrations.
Depending on which products you bought, you may now have integrated products owned by different companies. Do you know who is managing the continued integration between your products today? If you have “mission critical” integrations that are now split between multiple companies (such as the Reach-to-Student integration), get clarity from your customer success manager on who owns that integration.
Determine your technical expertise.
Do you have internal staff that can sustain your system, or have you historically relied on Anthology’s professional services? Determining your technical expertise sooner than later will allow you to get ahead of potential outages.
Be proactive, not reactive.
What would it cost you (in time, money, and potentially institutional disruption) to migrate? Furthermore, is your institution in a situation that necessitates that conversation?
How should higher ed leaders lead their institutions from here?
In current times, at the publishing of this article, higher ed leaders have valuable time that they can use to weigh their options and come to an informed decision. In terms of how to move forward, institutions using Anthology SIS software actually have more options than it may initially appear. Without knowing the intricacies of each individual institution, these are three options that broadly apply to most schools as it stands:
Keep Using Anthology
This is one of the clearest options; to keep using Anthology Student.
Enlisting in the help of a strong managed services partner, familiar with Anthology Student, will allow institutions who choose this option to rest assured that their system is maintained well into the future regardless of Ellucian’s next steps.
There are organizations that specialize in SIS and architecture reviews and can help you identify ways to optimize the way you use Student.
Migrate, Eventually
Another option, and the first one that might come to mind, is to migrate. Technically speaking, you’re not limited to only migrating to Ellucian’s platform.
In cases where you determine it viable to migrate to another SIS, one not operated by Ellucian, there do exist companies and services that can take the brunt of that work and aide you in migrating over to your new system.
If you are strongly considering this option at first glance, make sure your potential migration timeline is set out on your timeline and your terms, not beholden to any other external pressures from vendors or other organizations not immediately committed to your sustainability and success.
Buy More Time
There exist organizations and teams that are capable of addressing nearly every point-in-time need that institutions have with the Anthology Student SIS.
The two most common examples are stuck implementations and specific configuration challenges, but if you engage with outside companies about bringing their teams in, leaning on their expertise, and collaborate to address your immediate needs, you can earn yourself and your team more time as you plan out a larger strategy.
Remember, the right answer for you depends entirely on your institution. The best choice for your organization will present itself through thoughtful and honest reconciliation, not by way of a blanket recommendation cast out by an organization unfamiliar with your needs.
How should higher ed leaders lead their institutions from here?
The most important thing leaders in higher education facing this situation can do right now is to not be passive and not to panic. Take a moment to slow things down and carefully weigh your options through discovery and assessment of your enterprise solutions.
The institution most equipped to navigate these times is the one that takes this moment to acknowledge their present-day situation and institutional needs, asks hard questions of their vendor, and proposes honest and realistic strategic recommendations for the path forward.
Identifying and building relationships with partners who understand the Anthology Student SIS software is just as critical too, as those relationships will offer you more resources and possibilities to lean on as you weigh your options.
Final thoughts
If you have any questions about what lies ahead, you’re not alone. Feel free to connect with us, and we can share how we’re navigating the way forward with our current clients in your situation.
