French higher education is entering a new digital era. Farewell Apogée, farewell Scolarix, make way for Pégase, the future tool for higher education establishments, designed to modernize academic management, simplify processes and improve the student and teaching experience.
But what exactly is Pegasus? Why is there so much interest in it? Let's take a closer look at this ambitious project.
Pégase: next-generation software for school management
What's Pegasus?
Launched in 2017, Pégase (Produit des Établissements pour la Gestion, l'Accompagnement et le Service aux Études) is a software solution dedicated to managing the schooling of universities and higher education establishments.
Led by AMUE and the Cocktail Association (more on this in a moment), this project is part of the PC-Scol initiative initiative, and aims to provide a modern, flexible solution adapted to today's academic realities.
Why replace Apogée and Scolarix?
Because these old software programs date back to the 90s and have become obsolete in the face of new academic challenges: digitization, personalized courses, interoperability... In short, it was time to evolve!
Universities' expectations have changed, and the idea of a single, shared, modern tool emerged as early as 2012. The needs are clear: simplify administration, reduce costs and improve the user experience.
Pégase is also fully in line with the dynamics of the ORE law, enabling establishments to adapt to today's realities, and is comprehensive in its understanding of modern pedagogy, from the design of training courses right through to student graduation, and even beyond.
What is the ORE law?
Adopted in 2018, the ORE law (Student Orientation and Success) aims to improve student success by facilitating access to higher education via Parcoursup. It also promotes the personalization of student career paths and includes measures to improve student living conditions.
Who develops the Pégase solution?
A project of this scale doesn't go it alone. It relies on several key players:
- AMUE (Agence de Mutualisation des Universités et Etablissements): a public interest group that supports universities and grandes écoles with software solutions, services and training to modernize administrative, financial and pedagogical management.
- The Cocktail Association Cocktail: a specialist in academic information systems, it brings together 71 member establishments and experts to co-construct tools adapted to digital regulations and challenges.
- Higher education establishments: over 60 universities and grandes écoles are involved in the design and testing of Pégase. Their active involvement guarantees a tool adapted to the realities of the field, thanks to an agile approach.
- A team of 70 experts: engineers, developers, university management specialists... this multi-disciplinary team ensures the development, evolution and production of the software.
Who uses Pegasus?
Pégase's ambition is clear: to offer a unified and efficient academic management system, accessible to all higher education establishments, whether public or private, under the supervision of the Ministry or not. A true digital co-pilot, Pégase is designed to meet the specific needs of all stakeholders.
Students benefit from centralized access to academic services, a simplified registration process and personalized tracking of their progress. Teachers create and manage their courses, track assessments and organize curricula seamlessly. Administrative teams have access to an intuitive interface to manage schooling while ensuring regulatory compliance. Finally, governing bodies benefit from high-performance management tools and enhanced interoperability with other software applications. This makes Pégase a strategic lever for modernizing higher education.
Major features of Pégase
What needs does Pégase cover?
Pégase covers all academic needs:
- All profiles: initial training students, continuing education beneficiaries, work-study students, PhD students, interns...
- All types of training: diploma, certification, à la carte or even inter/intra courses.
- All teaching methods: face-to-face, distance, hybrid, and those to come thanks to pedagogical innovation.
- All aspects of student life: grants, solidarity funds, housing, health, disabilities, student associations... The student is truly at the heart of the system.
What are the main features of Pégase?
The aim of Pegase is to simplify the day-to-day life of schools, from registration to graduation - and even afterwards. To achieve this, we offer a wide range of functionalities, including :
- Registration management and student file tracking
- Choosing, monitoring and controlling the curriculum
- Design and implementation of training programs
- Automated planning and scheduling
- Student life management (scholarships, housing, health, disabilities, associations)
- Curriculum follow-up and diploma validation
- Strategic management of training activities
- Alumni management and post-graduation follow-up
Looking for a training planning and management solution?
And what about its technical architecture?
Pégase is based on a flexible, modular infrastructure, capable of adapting to the needs of establishments and technological developments. Its interoperability guarantees seamless integration with existing systems, thanks to high-performance APIs. Hosted in the cloud and open source, it is part of the French government's digital strategy. Its adaptability enables optimized management of workloads and continuous evolution, placing universities in a more connected and agile era.
Why use this new software?
Designed to simplify, centralize and optimize the management of higher education establishments, while improving the experience of students and teaching teams, Pégase software is :
🎯 Student-centric: easy access to academic services, personalized training follow-up
⚙️Agile: adapts to regulatory, technological and pedagogical developments
⏱️ Efficient: simplifies administrative tasks, saves time, automates processes, reduces errors
📊 Powerful: advanced steering and reporting tools
💡 Modern: enhances the image and attractiveness of establishments
✨ Intuitive: optimized user experience, smooth processes
Did you know? Adesoft interfaces with Pégase for simplified educational management!
Pégase deployment: current situation and outlook
Should we be worried about project delays?
Pegasus is moving ahead, but not without difficulties. Initially scheduled for 2023, the project is now two years behind schedule. Why is this? Technical complexity, budget constraints, iterative development... these are just some of the challenges that have slowed down the project's launch.
The project is as exciting as it is worrying. While some see Pegasus as a necessary step forward, others fear the difficulties of adoption and the technical adjustments required.
First deployment in pilot universities - how far have we got?
To ensure optimum deployment, several universities have been chosen to test the solution in real-life conditions. Among them, the Université de La Réunion stands out, having already gone into full production at the start of the 2024 academic year.
Eight other universities are testing the Pégase Health module, and 20 new universities are in the integration phase. These trials are essential to fine-tune the tool and ensure its smooth adoption nationwide.
By the start of the 2025 academic year, a dozen other universities will adopt the solution. The ultimate goal is ambitious: widespread adoption by 2026-2027, involving up to 400,000 students.
Find out how to roll out new software successfully in our dedicated article!
And tomorrow?
Pégase is constantly evolving. A number of new features are currently being developed to meet the needs of healthcare establishments: reform of healthcare studies, online curriculum selection, data authorization management, skills-based approach... all of which will enhance the software's flexibility and efficiency.
In addition, additional funding has been approved for 2025, which will enable the project to be accelerated and new establishments to be integrated. But with a view to gradual adoption up to 2026, the project remains ambitious, and efforts are focused on essential functionalities.
In brief
Pégase is more than just software: it's the future of university management in France. It may be slightly behind schedule, but it meets the needs of today's and tomorrow's universities, and promises a revolution for institutions and students alike.
It remains to be seen how it will make its mark on the academic landscape!
And while we're on the subject of the academic landscape, find out what's in store for universities at the start of the 2025-2026 academic year in this dedicated article :