Alma SIS

Pros

As a teacher I can say that Alma is one of the best virtual classrooms that I have tried, it is an all-in-one and something that I love is the management of evaluations and students without having to resort to any other external platform.
The function that I use the most is evaluative management since right there I can check my lists for the student report card system as well as the grade assigned to the same task and document

Cons

It is difficult to say that Alma has something bad, rather something not so good and that is first-hand integration, but once learned it is phenomenal

Pros

Reporting features, easy to navigate, ease of retrieving needed information. Customer service chat is very responsive.

Cons

Alma glitches sometimes and freezes from time to time.

Pros

I like that I can look up any student in our school and see that student's schedule and current information.

Cons

1. Our students (Seniors especially) cannot get their current transcripts. This is troubling for many reasons. Perhaps the most important being their choices for scholarships and higher education will be affected by this. Students cannot apply for financial assistance through scholarships without current transcripts. I have personally spoken with at least three students who have missed out on scholarship opportunities, simply because they cannot access current transcripts.
2. Can't see overall student GPA
3. Can't see student class rank
4. Student Mobile usage is very confusing. Can't see grades the way they should.
5. Ease of access is horrible
6. No mobile app, and mobile website is very difficult to read
7. Not organized well
8. When emailing "all students" I cannot exclude certain classes; I can't email multiple classes at once without including EVERYONE
9. For attendance, it is very confusing. If a student is marked present first class, they are marked present for the entire day. This was clearly set up for use in an Elementary School. High School is different. We need to be able to see where our students are throughout the day.
10. Inputting grades takes many more steps than our previous system. There is no way to toggle between students with the keyboard.
11. There should be a way to block certain people from seeing certain information. At the beginning of the school year, student Social Security Numbers were viewable by any teacher or staff in our building.

Pros

It is very user friendly, if you don't know how to do something, it is easy to try to figure it out or you may do a chat with an ALMA member.

Cons

We are still learning and may need extras

Pros

Alma SIS is user-friendly and provides a streamlined way to manage student information, attendance, and scheduling. The interface is visually clean, and the ability to generate reports quickly is a major plus. The customer support team is also responsive and helpful when issues arise.

Cons

Some features could be more intuitive, especially when it comes to customizing reports and navigating certain men

Pros

slick UX and UI. Easy to use and very colorful. Weekly classes to help sharpen user experience. I like the sync option between Alma and ParentsSquare.

Cons

Would love to see API with Google Sheets or Google Docs or with MS word and Excel.

Pros

Easy to navigate. I can find everything I need as a teacher with minimal training.

Cons

There's nothing I don't like about Alma SIS.

Pros

I love the report feature on alma. It's super user friendly and I can create reports as specific and as detailed to whatever my needs are.

Cons

There were a few moments in the year, where there were some type of glitch, and Alma was down, this did affect my work for the day, since I use Alma multiple times in a day.

Pros

It is user-friendly, I am able to pull reports and attendance is easily accessible.

Cons

Enhance the choices for report creation, and be able to see documents from the file cabinet without having to download it. "quick view".

Pros

-Easy to add, edit, and manipulate data (data editor function is amazing)!
-Simple to access and download compliance/reporting data.
-Ability to quickly and seamlessly self-create custom reports to the exact specifications you need.
-Helpful support and willingness to adapt and improve the system.

Cons

-Some of the compliance reporting capabilities are still being built out and not fully functional yet. However, when we have contacted support they have been very responsive on getting things updated and changed.

Pros

Best part of the interface: It's very intuitive, logical, and organized.
Best part for the tech crew: The tech help staff are very helpful, professional, and supportive.

Cons

Worst part of the interface: The colors can't be customized to be our school colors.
Worst part for the tech crew: The people running the system can't impersonate another user, which makes it hard to see what the user is seeing when you're trying to help someone.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Alma SIS

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Alma SIS

Pros

Simple to use, integrates well with other programs, and keeps getting better

Cons

there are glitches, they fix them quickly

Pros

Alma is easy to use, I can easily switch between schools, and rapidly get the information I need. Exporting information is a breeze.

Cons

The only con I have is adding student test data appears to come at an additional cost, but something I might be interested in if it's managable.

Pros

We switched to Alma from PowerSchool and it has made a major difference. Alma was able to be set up to match the needs of our school, as opposed to other SIS that we had to work to match their set up. The support from the Alma implementation and customer service teams is unmatched.

Cons

There is little to say in the negative about Alma. Whenever there has been an issue, the customer service team makes a note of it and tracks it as a feedback ticket. I have seen these get passed to their developers and new features have grown out of those. Alma takes their customers' needs seriously and works to create a great product.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Alma SIS

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Alma SIS

Pros

Alma is extremely user friendly and has a modern look for parents. We love that they are constantly listening to user feedback and making improvements to the platform. Their customer service teams is one of the best I've ever worked with.

Cons

While they are constantly listening to feedback and making improvements, Alma is still growing. The two areas that we miss functionality are in communications and fees/invoicing (done through Stripe -- you deal with Stripe's support team, not Alma's).

Pros

I like Alma’s ease of use, and the ability to log into the app and access the same options that I can from my desktop computer. It is also very easy to access from a parent’s perspective, which is good for parents who are not tech savvy.

Cons

The limited responses when submitting grades after the 9 week grading period. Sometimes I want to input my own comments, or say something other than the predetermined phrases we are able to input.

Pros

Alma is easy to access and easy to use. It does not take a lot of training to be able to navigate, especially for basic use.

Cons

I sometimes have difficulty figuring out the correct reports to run.

Pros

Ease of use -- I find the grade entry is a snap.

Cons

Not all the information is accessible for the curriculum on touch screens.

Pros

It’s seamless mess and ease of use. Even if I’ve never done something before I can quickly figure it out without help.

Cons

I had an issue with posting assignments at one point. I would post and then it would be gone. This bug has since been fixed.

Pros

The ease of finding everything that you need. The navigation is easy!

Cons

I do not understand the lesson plan input for each subject.

Pros

Ease of use. I can easily check if a student is absent for the day, what classes were missed, and if they're missing assignments.

Cons

Would like to be able to streamline grading process - directly convert Google Classroom grades into gradebook

Pros

It offers a wide range of functionalities such as grade management, attendance tracking, communication tools, and scheduling, which makes it a comprehensive solution for educational institutions.

Cons

The system can be slow, especially during high-traffic periods or when handling large amounts of data. This can be frustrating for both administrators and teachers trying to input or access information quickly.

Pros

- t is very intuitive and user friendly
- taking attendance is easy

Cons

- add the ability to print out bus lists and no photo lists

Pros

Accessibility. It is easy to navigate on a daily basis

Cons

Reports. It is challenging to know exactly what each report includes. Needs a column for extra credit options

Pros

Alma has been successful at our school. The program is user friendly and I love that everything can be found in one place.

Cons

Learning any new program is challenging but Alma has been very user friendly.

Pros

Alma’s user interface is so intuitive, particularly the report card process. Reporting out to family’s immediately looked more professional, was more informative, and took half the time as our previous SIS.

Cons

The master schedule builder is done through a third party solution and it is not good. Easily my least favorite component of Alma.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Alma SIS

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Alma SIS

Pros

Alma's support process from onboarding throughout multiple years of use is unparalleled! I don't often need support at this point, but when I do their entire team is excellent.
Also, their strong data privacy and cybersecurity practices are very proactive and transparent.

Cons

I would like to see more options in the Health Record fields and the ability to message via text with small groups. That being said, Alma is continually adding new features and these have both ben submitted as possible development requests.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Alma SIS

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Alma SIS

Pros

Overall, it's a great product. I appreciate the support and willingness of Alma staff to try to meet our needs and wants.

Cons

I can't really come up with anything at this time.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Alma SIS

Reasons for Switching to Alma SIS

Pros

Extremely user friendly with a modern interface and great support.

Cons

The invoicing system is not very flexible, and isn't set up for waivers and credits.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Alma SIS

Reasons for Switching to Alma SIS

Pros

I like the way that I have easy access to students, attendance, current grades, staff notes, contact information, etc. As a support teacher I work with several students over several grade levels and Alma is a convenient way for me to access information in one central location.

Cons

I do wish there was a way to move from one student name to another within the directory without exiting a student’s page then going back to the directory and re-entering a new student name. It’s really just a small inconvenience, but that’s the only negative thing that I can think of to report

Pros

I absolutely love the file cabinet available for each student. The digital file cabinet allows for better organization of a student's file in one place. I also really enjoy interacting with the layout of the website.

Cons

Not being able to see a full grade roster on the dashboard. It comes in handy to be able to access the full grade or full school roster without having to go into specific classes.

Pros

Alma is the most user-friendly SIS on the market. The intuitive interface makes everything from registration, grading, report cards, and state reporting a breeze. Users in any role will find Alma to be significant improvement over any SIS they have previously used.

Cons

The autonomy of do-it yourself customization is limited when compared to other vendors. However, the Alma team is ready and willing to implement any desired customizations on your behalf. It might just take some time to get them rolled out.

Pros

Alma is very user friendly for teachers, parents and students.

Cons

I would like notifications for Alma Start.

Pros

It's pretty intuitive and saves a lot of time.

Cons

The fact that you have to input Google Classroom grades only in Google
classroom, not in either.

Pros

One site for all functions
On alma teachers can take attendance, record study progress, make report card, contact parents and students easily through email automatically, report incident. Parents and students can check the attendance, study progress and contact teacher as well.

Cons

Sometimes it's out of service. It happened many times already. Showed a Bad Gateway.

Pros

User friendly. Thinks how I think. Attractive. Love the webinars. Everyone in Customer Engagement and the Techs are so sweet and caring.

Cons

Can't really think of anything at this moment.

Pros

Alma is such a simple SIS to learn to use and is very intuitive. I love the customizability of many of the features. It seems like they also know what schools need. I discover a new feature each day. I especially like the attendance reports, report card maker, and the incident tracker.

Cons

I wish Alma came with some embedded translation features.

Pros

Their cost is very competitive and their IT is amazing. They work very hard to try and answer all your questions quickly.

Cons

Sales people tend to oversell the capabilities of Alma, it is a good system but it is not able to deliver the moon. We are currently fighting tooth and nail with CALPAD compliance.

Pros

I like using Alma. It is very user friendly and easy to maneuver from page to page.

Cons

It takes much longer to get questions answered and things fixed than it used to.

Pros

Innovative and intuitive SIS that serves all stakeholders of our school well–from students and families to teachers and administrators.

Cons

Similar to other SIS platforms, the admin approval process for progress reports and report cards can be time consuming.

Pros

Alma is a one stop shop for all your needs operationally! I love that I can do report cards, incident reports, attendance and keep files on record for each child. It’s an easy interface to use and learn. The best part of Alma is the support system. They have amazing modules for you to learn on your own as well staff who get back to you within a 24hr window.

Cons

There is nothing to complain about with Alma:)

Pros

I love alma and how easy the reporting system is . being able to pull reports and attendance data so easily has been a huge help to our systems

Cons

I dont like how the enrollment data is tranferred onto the student profile . If a parent lists a child has asthma , allergies etc it should be reflected on the student profile . Having to read each individual profile is quite time consuming and makes the process of asking pointless ifwe have to follow up and reinput the data on the profile anyway.

Pros

App integration
User profiles
Alma support is really big help fast reply

Cons

clever is not fully integrated into Alma for auto sync

Pros

How easy it is to use!! Alma is so easy to navigate. And they are always making update to make it even better

Cons

That we have to create 3 different calendars for our schools. We can't just share the already created calendar.

Pros

Alma is so user friendly! I work in the office and everything is so easy to access.

Cons

Nothing! Anytime we aren't sure how to use something or would like a feature changed we mention it to Rachel and it seems like it is in an update.

Pros

Makes keeping attendance very easy, and the system is very user-friendly. Reports are easy to generate as well.

Cons

I've been using it for about 3 years and so far haven't found any cons.

Pros

They are very responsive to messages and issues that may arise. They work to fully understand the issue, and then work quickly and thoroughly to address the problem, fully exceeding expectations. Their user interface is also super simple to navigate.

Cons

The formatting on some of our reports is "wonky". We've tried working on it, but nothing seems to help. It still shows all that we need it to show, it's just the formatting that is off.

Pros

Alma is flexible, customizable and easy to use for all of our staff and teachers.

Cons

Sometimes the terminology might be strange, but once you understand it, it makes sense. We came from 2 past SIS that maybe had different lingo.

Pros

My district utilizes this program as our best resource! We utilize the program to have students' potential schedules and schedule requests available. We report students' gradebooks and update them regularly. We also use this as a communication tool. We also store our important student need information and health concerns in the program to be accessed by staff members.

Cons

I haven't ran into any flaws with the program yet.

Pros

Alma SIS has some of the best tech support, one on one access all the time. They are always considering feedback and ways to implement when possible.

Cons

Some of the things that I request for feedback don't always get completed but they have their reasonings for that.