Pros
The comprehensive nature of the software and ability to extract needed data quickly. It is fairly easy to use, for a database system. Customer support is top notch, always quick to respond and willing to assist. There are multiple modules associated with Admin+ and we use almost all of them. It is nice to have everything in one place without having to hop between software each time we need to run a bill, check attendance, run a transcript, change teachers class lists, etc. We appreciate the customer support the most!
Cons
Some limitations on data management and exports in terms of unique family dynamics. (i.e. split households) and between students & schedules. As an example, I cannot pull all emails of students taking AP classes into a spread sheet, I have to export names and search class lists by subject and update my name spread sheet.
There is probably not enough space to write about how amazing Administrator's Plus (Admin Plus as its referred to at our school) is. Whether talking about all the features and components that Admin Plus has to the second to none tech support, Admin Plus holds a critical role in supporting the mission of our school. Having used Administrator's Plus since the "days of DOS" to the present utilizing Administrator's Plus cloud based features, Rediker continues to develop and evolve to maintain itself as a leader in school information systems. The Rediker team is in tune with the needs and wants of school administrators and support staff and develop programs that are relevant and practical for school administrators.
Administrator's Plus has an easy to use interface. Many options and features can be accessed in multiple ways (using keyboard shortcuts, using right click on the mouse, using a menu item at the top of the screen, etc) which allows for users with different skill levels to access and enter information in a way they are comfortable with. There are hundreds of customizable reports that can be generated. These reports also have the capability to be emailed directly from within Administrator's Plus. If more customizable data is needed for third party programs or uploads, don't worry, all data can be easily exported to customizable excel spreadsheets. Another great feature is the portfolio option. This attaches any kind of document/picture/graphic to a student's or staff member's record. Can we say the inevitable paperless office!
Lastly, you cannot mention Administrator's Plus without talking about the Rediker customer support and customer relationships. The tech support is very responsive and helpful. They patiently can walk you through any module of Administrator's Plus and even remote in to help more complicated questions or issues that might arise. Through tech support, road shows, and general communications, Rediker values their relationships with their customers. The roadshows that are intended for prospective customers are often attended by current Rediker customers. I am not sure of many other companies would feel that confident of their product that they would risk that.
Overall, Administrator's Plus is an amazing product. I would highly recommend this to any school of any size. The program is completely customizable for the school with a student population of 150 or 3,000!
I am able to track all my student and staff data and information. And then I'm able to extract data to be used for other parts of my job. So basically, this software allows me to function and do my job.
Pros
The Lookup feature and the Export to Excel feature -- and so of course, everything else between those that make my work very possible. i appreciate the big task that goes into creating an SIS; but that you are able to respond to our needs outside of the database such as exporting data is a boon.
Cons
That the Lookup cannot be used to enter data as one would Excel. I know, it's a future feature, maybe -- which goes to show that I've found little that I do not like about the software. There is the Schedule Builder which I really do not enjoy working on -- but then scheduling is a beast in itself -- so it's not necessarily the software per se. And then there is the Contacts Database -- that, I do not comprehend what you're aiming for in that one.
Pros
1. How flexible the software is for each user. You can customize any report, screens, etc.
2. The core support staff has remained fairly constant over the years and are very pleasant to work with.
3. While I have not been in a while, when I was a newer user I went to the training seminars - they were great. I especially found the evenings when there was time to sit with programmers very productive - I got lots of little things taken care of during those times.
Cons
1. How flexible the software is for each user! Often after updates some specs need to be "touched" for users.
2. While understandable, at the busy times of year is it hard to get through to support.
3. We are Cloud hosted, and some processes seem slow.
4. The Silverlight/HTML5 issue has been a strain. While much better now, we lost some trust with the teachers over this.
Rediker is awesome. Moving to Admin Plus was one of the best decisions we ever made. Our old SIS was like using a broken abacus. In the mud. With your feet. Admin Plus is like having a DeLorean with a flux capacitor that goes 88 mph (Hoverboard sold separately). This is only our second year using the program but it has already vastly improved many areas of our work from report cards to registration and everything in between. We have the power and flexibility to quickly access information in ways that were impossible back in the stone-tablet-and-chisel days before we adopted Admin Plus. The reaction from my co-workers when showing them features of the software is often the same shock and amazement that street magicians get (except maybe with slightly-less profanity).
As great as Admin Plus is, what truly sets Rediker apart is their amazing staff. I've never seen this level of support, responsiveness and helpfulness from any other company. I can probably name 20 of their employees because of how often I have corresponded with them and because the positive experience has stuck in my head (I'm mystified that they haven't blocked my e-mails and phone calls given how often I bother them). Our trainer, Cloid, has spent more time teaching me the software outside of our scheduled training sessions than he has during them (and often responds to my ridiculously-late-night e-mails in minutes). I've received phone calls from Sharon, a support representative, hours after she got off work because she got the answer to my question and didn't want me to wait until morning to receive it. I once e-mailed Rediker's CEO, Rich, at 1:38am on a Saturday morning telling him we could not access Admin Plus. I got a response at 8:48am on the same day telling me the issue was fixed, explaining what happened and what steps would be taken to prevent this from happening in the future. Seriously, who does that? Rediker does and it's the reason we love working with them and have purchased more of their products.
Thanks for making fantastic products and for forcing me to modify my long-running "customer service is dead" decree. It now reads, "Why can't the rest of you people be more like Rediker?"
Having a centralied database with the capabilities of this program allws us the ability to have more fluid work flows and generate reports quickly.
Pros
My favorite part of the software is the portabilty when using the app. As an administrator, you need access to information when you are out in thebuidingor elsewhere on campus. Pair that portability with the multiple services offered and you have the total package for an LMS and databse combination. Very pleased with this program.
Cons
If there was a con for this software, I would say it is the inability to respond to parent generated emails from the plus portals side of tghe program. When they send it from the system, you cant reply directly. Very small gripe considering the communication benefit.
Easy enough survey software.
Pros
I love the ease of use. This is the third school that I implement the program for. I can track any item that I need to track without needing a program change. You can call support and receive assistance within a couple of minutes for any issues that you may have. It can handle simple schedules and more complex schedules with just a click of a button.
The fact that this system was initially created by an educator makes it useful and purposeful.
Cons
We have some internet issues that slow and sometimes drop the program. In particular in the morning there can be issues with attendance. The network version was much quicker.
We have been successful with Admin Plus, yet we fully intend to move on from it once our contract is up.
My main take is that this company is suffering from some serious "paralysis by analysis", and/or lacks the development resources to pull them out of a humongous hole of technical debt. While almost all their competitors have moved to truly web based applications across the board (most of them many years ago), Rediker has surely known it must do this to survive yet here we are many years later and they have no web based Admin Plus to show us, it remains the clunky outdated Windows app. That's some combination of poor strategy, poor leadership, and poor execution.
Pros
It does cover all you need out of a Student Information System: attendance, enrollments, grading, report cards etc. In theory I like that it's made by a privately owned company. Support is responsive. Training was good. I have an outstanding sales rep. It costs less than many other competitors.
Cons
It's not truly a web based application, you access a Windows application via a remote connection. This is hands down the biggest shortcoming and it is a big one. User Interface is very clunky and outdated, which does result in things taking longer to do than they should. To be clear, the GradeBook and Parent Portal are web based but the main Admin Plus app is not. While they bill the Rediker suite as an integrated solution, it's actually a bunch of modules cobbled together via API, so it's not much different in practice from using disparate products made by different companies. While in theory I like the private company aspect, in practice it seems they just don't have the resources to compete.
Our school has been using Admin Plus, Teacher's Plus Gradebook, Plus Portals, and Forms for three years. The first impressions is that different modules have different look and feel. I believe that Rediker has developed software for years but hasn't taken the time to redesign some older modules to work with recent ones. Some newer modules (i.e Portals) work better than older ones. Some modules don't communicate with each other at all which is very frustrating. The underlying database seems to have enough fields and capabilities to be able to accommodate our school. However, in order to customize screens you basically have to go into "programming" mode that is not very intuitive for end users. We have to provide a full-time person to write reports because it is a very technical task. When doing lookups of data, the options are very limited. AdminPlus is pretty slow as we are running the cloud option. After a while this becomes annoying because of the extra seconds on every click that users must go through. Whenever you are trying to do Excel exports or you want to upload files to the portfolio, the files must be placed on a temporary server located at their location. It adds an extra unnecessary step. As a matter of fact, the software is full of unnecessary steps. To first log on in the morning, you have to go to four different screens. When you are finally logged in, you have to go and close the other two windows that the program left open in the logon process.
I have to say that technical support is pretty good. They are accessible and knowledgeable. However, we find ourselves having to call them way more than we would wish.
The pricing is confusing. Between last year and this year they changed our pricing from school to a per student pricing. We originally bought this software because it was cheaper than Blackbaud. However, I feel that with the nickel and diming in our bills, I am not sure we are saving money.
Purchasing a whole school system is a difficult process. We are now in the process of deciding whether to bite the bullet and change again to something else. I wish we would have seen more than the "demo" when we first purchased. The little things about this software will ruin your work day. This is death by a thousand cuts.
Joseph, thank you for your frank and incisive observations. User feedback has always been an essential driver behind Rediker Software¿s product development, service delivery model, and pricing options. You have clearly seen that our newest offerings represent significant strides forward. PlusPortals in particular demonstrates our commitment to providing the best possible software for schools, families and communities. We are working on the challenging and time intensive project of moving all of our systems, including AdminPlus, to next generation web platforms. Obviously, this is not as quick a process as we would all wish. Once finished, however, it will allow us to deliver all the great features we currently offer, plus a lot more, with a much improved and modernized user experience. And, we will accomplish this while continuing to provide the industry-leading level of support that you and your fellow users have come to expect.
I have used Administrator's Plus for five years at two different schools. Both of them are independent schools, which don't necessarily follow the norm. AP has almost everything you could ask for in a database built in, even when you don't follow the state standards. Need a custom schedule, no problem. Custom reports, not an issue. The training provided along with the purchase of Admin Plus is top notch, and the support doesn't end after the onsite and online training. It continues as long as you are a customer, and stays top notch, no matter how many times you call or email. It's integration with all the other modules and third party software Rediker has available is seamless, as well as the online tools that are provided.
The only cons I can think of are its cloud interface (which I understand is going to change in the next year) and the complexity of its report writing. Of course, once you have attended a workshop or spent some time in training, the last issue disappears for the most part, and tech support is always a call or email away, and has always been able to help me through writing a new custom report.
Overall I would highly recommend Administrator's Plus to any school or district. If you want a company that listens to its customers, provides plenty of opportunities for training, has excellent customer service and support, and provides software that stays on the cutting edge, look no further than Rediker and their Administrator's Plus School Office Suite.
Rediker Software is committed to schools and educators and has been for over 35 years. It is great to hear that our school management system has worked so well for you at multiple schools. We will continue to offer the best customer service, support and training in the industry, while constantly offering innovative products and solutions. Thank you and we hope you can join us again soon for another training workshop!
Easily accessible data that meets most needs of the support staff.
Pros
The program allows uses a wide variety of options from database, scheduling, admissions, etc. We find all material to be easily accessible.
Cons
We often find that there are too many ways to perform the same tasks, leading different users to have several ways of completing the same task. In addition, the software is excellent, however, we pay a great deal of money to use it and training costs are FAR TOO HIGH for us to be able to regularly send new office personnel to them. This leads to many, many calls to the support desk.
Over and above the benefit of the general benefits of a student information system, the super database tables and the Excel Wizard allow me to store and analyze data that is valuable for our decision making process.
Pros
I like the tabs for different pages and modules that are set up for specific information and rights assigned to users. I also really like the Excel Wizard and the E-Mail features. Support is wonderful!!
Cons
I sometimes struggle with the necessary codes for writing reports and understanding when information is pulled from contacts and/or the database fields.
integration with gradebook and portal; notify for easy calling/texting.emailing - one version of the truth!
Pros
Company is responsive to input and feedback. Generally easy to use. Meets needs of all the variety of constituents. integration with plusportals is great.
Cons
report writer coding is painful! - Sometimes it seems that the modules were written by different people as they don't "act" similarly. - Too many clicks to get to one thing. - printing reports when using weblink is difficult. Would like more training videos.
Pros
I love the ease of use and the ability to purchase only what our school needs. All programs work together seamlessly. Reports are easy to create. Rediker listens to the customer's needs and works their hardest to add it to their programs. Customer support is a 5 star+ rating. This company treats you like family.
Cons
There isn't anything I do not like about this software. If I have to come up with something I would have to say, I wish I had found it sooner.
First and foremost, Rediker is a piecemeal system that was obviously developed over the course of time without any sort of major revision to consolidate the numerous products into one cohesive system. At our school we currently use both their AdminPlus (which is terrible) and their PortalsPlus including gradebook (which is a decent system, if you didn't have to suffer through AdminPlus). The AdminPlus (and this is the updated version since we use the cloud) ifs extremely difficult to even get into, including two separate logins just to access the AdminPlus. Using AdminPlus feels like a program from the 90's. It is difficult to navigate AdminPlus because it is a patchwork of coding that leaves the user searching through several levels of menus that make no sense and have no rhyme or reason why a specific item is under the menu. The other crazy quark of this system is the endless need to sync data so that it is current, except that many times this only complicates simple tasks such as collecting grades to print report cards.
Trying to make any sense of AdminPlus only gets worse if you try to look for help in their manuals since most of them are dated 10+ years ago and the software has undergone many revisions and updates. Additionally, communication with the support staff generally means that you, the user, will somehow be blamed for the quarks of their system since you were unaware that a setting under several layers of menus was turned on and shouldn't have been.
PortalsPlus and Gradebook would really make Rediker an excellent software for schools to use except that you have to put up with AdminPlus. PortalsPlus and Gradebook are both modern and efficient. It is strange to me that AdminPlus and PortalsPlus/Gradebook are even made by the same company since they are so different in functionality. Whereas AdminPlus as I stated above is difficult to use, PortalsPlus and Gradebook are the exact opposite.
If we weren't mandated to use Rediker by our diocese we would have chosen another software that isn't so time consuming to use.
Joseph,
Thank you for sharing your feedback about our system. Our portals and web gradebook are newer products that show our commitment to providing the best software for schools, families and communities. We are currently hard at work on the next generation of AdminPlus. It will combine all the great features that deliver real-world results for schools with a new and improved user experience. Last year we launched redikersupport.com to offer more ways for educators to find the help they need and collaborate with each other in our Users Forum. We are expanding our support team to meet the documentation needs of our constantly growing family of schools.
Rediker Software
Integrated scheduling and reporting
Pros
Excellent customer support for any type of problem, although wait times can be long. There are many features that can be used - report cards, transcripts, scheduling.
Cons
It can be so convoluted to use, not intuitive or user friendly. F-1, F-6 keys. For example, the system tells you that someone else is logged in as supervisor, even though what happened is the internet failed and the system dropped rather than being closed properly.
Ease of use, track any type of data that we want, support that is responsive...
Pros
It allows you to track whatever data that you want. The initial set up is easy and it is easy to generate reports on just about any thing that you have data on.
Cons
The web version is sometimes slow - which we need to be able to access from any location. I am not sure if it is a location issue - but we are frequently disconnected to the service and have to log back in.
Pros
The tech support is outstanding. No problem is too small. They are always polite and courteous. The in-services they offer are also very helpful.
Cons
It is a little pricey. We have a small independent school and it is costly. There should also be a way to get to the 2nd tier of Tech Support. I have called a few times and have to wait on hold while the person I'm talking to goes and asks for help. Sometimes this happens 3-5 times in one call.
We tend to have less errors. Also, it has the ability to keep parents much more informed.
Pros
User friendly with fantastic support center! Love the ability to filter to the many different daily needs of the office or teacher requests.
Cons
Hours of live support. I would like the ability to have later or weekend hours for support help. sometimes it is not possible to work on files during a "normal" week and additional time is needed to complete the task at hand.
Just an all-encompassing program that allows us to access current and past student and family information.
Pros
Options to include so much specialized data that teachers and staff need at our school. It's wonderful to generate a report or spreadsheet that contains precisely what you need to accomplish some task.
Cons
Have never been able to utilize DB WR to make labels. They never seemed to fit on the labels correctly.
I like that all the data I need is in one place. I also like that Plus Portals enhances our use of admin Plus.
Pros
I like the new features and functionalities that have been added recently. I like that I can usually get all the data I need quickly.
Cons
I have worked with Admin Plus for 16 years. I have never found it to truly be "User Friendly." Customizing reports is still rather tedious and can get very frustrating.
All data is in one place and easily accessible and reports needed are easy to gain and print once you understand the process to pull them up.
Pros
That we are able to transfer data easily and effectively yearly. Also gaining information for teachers and staff is easy and quick,
Cons
Sometimes when customer support is needed we have to be sent to various people to help us, not all support can help with certain issues.
Rediker helps make our end product, Parent Portal and Report Cards, look professional and easy to use.
Pros
Admin Plus has a user-friendly interface and is not hard to learn how to run the program from an Administrative point of view.
Cons
I would have to say having to Sync every day from Admin Plus to Plus Portal so the attendance will show up for the parents is probably my least favorite thing.
Keeps our data meaningful.
Pros
We love the support we receive. Admin Plus' just in time training videos are also very helpful, especially at beginning and end of school year.
Cons
There is not really any part of Admin Plus I do not appreciate. Of course it could always be less expensive, but give the support we receive, I understand the price.
Pros
web based, look, the ability to store information in the student's portfolio, Great customer service. They work with you until the problem is fixed. Fast response times. 99% up time, online training
Cons
reports are sometimes hard to create, cumbersome sometimes, Excel wizard could be better, needs to be made with a SQL database
Everything in one place. Makes me more efficient and effective in my job. I use less paper and can do more work online. Allows my "clients", aka, students, parents & teachers, to be more independent.