Manchester Metropolitan University goes live with Thesis SM

By AI, Created 4:21 PM UTC, May 18, 2026, /AGP/ – Manchester Metropolitan University has gone live with Thesis SM across its full student lifecycle, replacing a legacy records system with a unified platform at the start of March. The rollout is designed to support about 44,000 students and give the UK university a more automated, integrated way to handle admissions, finance, records and student services.

Why it matters: - Manchester Metropolitan University now has a single student management system across admissions, finance, academic records and student services. - The move is meant to support a university handling about 44,000 students across undergraduate, postgraduate, degree apprenticeship, part-time and international provision. - The rollout is a test case for whether a large, complex university can run high-volume student operations on one platform without sacrificing usability or performance.

What happened: - Manchester Met went live with Thesis SM at the beginning of March, after earlier phases of delivery. - The university replaced its legacy student records system with Thesis SM as part of its Student Journey Transformation Programme. - The system now covers the full student lifecycle at Manchester Met. - The university draws students from more than 120 countries.

The details: - Thesis SM now supports a consistent, institution-wide student record. - The platform modernizes high-volume admissions and clearing workflows. - Students can use self-service registration, and the university has streamlined progression processes. - Automated workflows support data integrity and operational efficiency. - Integration with the Student Loans Company gives Manchester Met earlier visibility of student funding data. - The implementation aligns with UK regulatory and reporting requirements. - The new system supports tens of thousands of records, applications, enrolments and progression decisions each year. - The deployment covers every major SIS use case in the go-live.

Between the lines: - The move shifts Manchester Met away from fragmented legacy systems and toward a more integrated operating model. - The university is betting that real-time data and automation will improve both student outcomes and internal efficiency. - Chris Robinson, CIO of Manchester Met, said the project was intended to modernize student technology, reorganize student and academic support, and improve student experience. - Robinson said the university set a high testing standard and that Thesis SM met and exceeded it. - Louise Thorpe, CEO of Thesis SM, said the Manchester Met go-live shows the platform can handle the full breadth of modern higher education at genuine scale. - Thesis SM called the partnership a flagship deployment.

What’s next: - Manchester Met plans to keep evolving student management processes using real-time data, automation and modern workflows. - The university and Thesis SM said they expect to continue working together for years to support students and staff. - The deployment may serve as a benchmark for other universities weighing SIS replacement projects.

The bottom line: - Manchester Met has completed a major core-systems overhaul, and the success of the rollout will now be judged by day-to-day reliability, student experience and operational gains.