Higher education institutions are among the country’s most complex employers.
A single campus may employ full-time administrators, part-time facilities staff, adjunct faculty on variable contracts, and hundreds of student workers, each with different pay rules, leave policies, and compliance requirements.
Multiply those time tracking intricacies across campuses or satellite locations, and suddenly you’ve got a real problem if your solution can’t keep up.
That’s why TCP Software and Ellucian have partnered since 2019. Hundreds of Banner and Colleague institutions experience a workforce management layer that’s deeply integrated, built for higher ed, and ready to handle time tracking and scheduling at scale.
The problem with time tracking and scheduling at most institutions
Generic time, attendance, and scheduling systems don’t connect to your ERP. And when they don’t, the results are predictable:
- HR or payroll staff manually re-enter data between systems
- Errors compound across pay periods, creating labor compliance exposure
- Supervisors spend more time chasing missing punches than managing their teams
- Student workers and adjuncts slip through systems designed for full-time employees
- Scheduling is reactively handled in spreadsheets, email chains, or disconnected tools
Problem, meet solution. TCP solves all of these time, attendance, and scheduling issues and connects directly into the Ellucian systems you already run.
TCP + Ellucian solutions at-a-glance
| Product | What it does | Best for |
| TimeClock Plus | Precision time and attendance tracking with ERP integration | Institutions needing compliant, automated time collection across diverse employee types |
| Humanity Schedule | Dynamic employee scheduling with AI-powered demand forecasting and backfills | Campuses managing complex shift scheduling across student workers, adjuncts, and staff |
| TCP Time Clocks | Flexible time clock hardware — badge, biometric, mobile, and web — for every campus environment | Institutions needing accurate, secure time collection across diverse employee types — from full-time staff to student workers and adjuncts |
TimeClock Plus: Precision time tracking for every employee type
TimeClock Plus handles the full complexity of higher ed time and attendance. Every employee category, pay rule, and department structure on campus is covered.
TimeClock Plus + Ellucian offer:
- Automated timekeeping – Stay ahead of payroll mistakes and labor cost slips with time tracking built to give you the full picture, in real time, always.
- Rule-based compliance – Automated calculations for overtime thresholds, ACA requirements, and complex pay rules.
- Real-time visibility – Live dashboards showing hours, leave, missed punches, and department-level overtime.
- Single source of truth – Hours and leave data flow automatically back to Banner or Colleague, feeding payroll with clean, accurate records.
Humanity Schedule: Scheduling that spans the entire campus
Accurate time tracking is just the beginning. Humanity Schedule takes it further, putting the right people in the right place at the right time without burying supervisors in admin work.
Humanity Schedule + Ellucian offer:
- AI-powered demand forecasting – Align staffing to predicted demand around semester peaks, move-in/out, athletic events, and registration windows, so campuses are covered before the surge hits.
- Auto-fill and quick coverage – When a student worker calls out or a shift goes unfilled, Humanity Schedule instantly matches and notifies the best available qualified replacement. Coverage gaps get closed in minutes, not hours.
- Centralized scheduling with departmental flexibility – Build and manage schedules across dining, housing, facilities, and campus services in one solution, while each department controls its own roles, rules, and staffing needs.
- Compliance guardrails built in – Automatically enforce student hour limits, break rules, role-specific certifications, and campus policies, flagging violations before a schedule is ever published.
- Mobile-first self-service – Student workers and staff can view schedules, swap shifts, submit availability, and request time off from any device. Then, automatic or manager-approved workflows reduce supervisor follow-ups.
Scheduling decisions made in Humanity Schedule flow into Ellucian, keeping records consistent across HR, payroll, and workforce planning with no manual re-entry.
TCP time clocks: Flexible time collection for every corner of campus
Scheduling and time tracking work best when they share the same source of truth. TCP’s time clock hardware gives institutions the flexibility to capture hours wherever work happens: campus offices, dining halls, remote and mobile workforces, and beyond.
TCP Time Clocks + Ellucian offer:
- Flexible time collection – Choose from badge readers (barcode, magnetic swipe, or touchless RFID proximity), biometric fingerprint scanning, mobile clocks, or browser-based WebClock. Each time collection device is configured to match each department’s needs.
- Biometric security – Fingerprint scanning ensures every punch matches the person on the schedule, eliminating time theft risks like buddy punching and strengthening payroll accuracy.
- Mobile and tablet clocks – Give employees 24/7 clock-in access from their own devices, or deploy on a shared tablet for a simple, shared clock-in station. Geofencing ensures punches are tied to the right location.
- Reliable hardware, easy setup – Connects via PoE or wi-fi, includes battery backup, and is SOC 2 and ADA compliant.
Every clock connects to TimeClock Plus, so hours flow automatically into Banner or Colleague — no manual re-entry, no gaps in the data.
How the TCP-Ellucian integration works
TCP integrates with Banner and Colleague through Ellucian’s Ethos API, the same integration layer that powers Ellucian’s broader ecosystem of connected applications. The connection is bidirectional, real-time, and SaaS-verified by Ellucian.
And if you’re worried about the complexity of the setup, don’t.
TCP’s implementation team handles your full configuration — departments, cost codes, pay rules, position codes — so institutions don’t have to build the integration themselves. Since TCP is also SaaS-verified, institutions may qualify for sole-source procurement, bypassing the RFP process entirely.
TCP’s integration also works across the full Ellucian environment, whether your institution runs Banner, Colleague, or is moving toward Ellucian Student.
Why hundreds of higher ed institutions pair TCP and Ellucian
As the only higher education time and attendance solution with a pre-developed, SaaS-verified integration with both Banner and Colleague via Ellucian Ethos, TCP eliminates the manual processes that slows your institution down.
When TCP and Ellucian work together, you’re one step closer to building the unified campus operation your departments deserve. One where HR, payroll, and workforce data stay consistent across every system, and where AI-enabled scheduling and real-time insights help you reach your goals to modernize.
Next steps: Connect Ellucian solutions with TCP
If your institution runs Ellucian Banner or Colleague, TCP can integrate directly into your existing environment without replacing what’s working. Whether you’re solving a time-tracking problem, a scheduling problem, or both, TCP and Ellucian have a path forward to help you.
TCP Software’s employee scheduling, time, and attendance solutions are flexible and scalable to accommodate your organization and employees as you grow.
From TimeClock Plus, which automates even the most complex payroll calculations and leave management requests, to Humanity Schedule for dynamic employee scheduling that saves you time and money, we have everything you need to meet your organization’s needs, no matter how unique.
Plus, with Aladtec, we offer 24/7 public safety scheduling solutions for your hometown heroes.
Ready to learn how TCP Software takes the pain out of employee scheduling and time tracking? Speak with an expert today.
What to read next
Explore all resources
