Australian made and hosted

Supporting student communities from application to alumni.

Tera is a student and residence management platform designed specifically for Australian residential colleges. It brings admissions, residential operations, student records and alumni engagement together in a single system, so staff can manage the full student lifecycle while maintaining strong privacy and security standards.

  • Australian-hosted infrastructure
  • Strong security and identity management
  • Privacy-focused design
  • One platform for the entire student journey
The Tera Lodge dashboard for Riverside College: students, active students, beds taken tonight, places committed for next year, applications by stage and how applicants found the college

Built for residential college operations.

Residential colleges have requirements that systems designed for large universities rarely serve well. Tera was developed specifically for the day-to-day administration of a residential college, bringing admissions, accommodation, student wellbeing, communication and reporting into a single platform.

Developed by Redspark, Tera is supported by the same Australian engineering team that designs and maintains the platform.

The platform

Designed around the student lifecycle.

Tera supports every stage of the student journey, from initial enquiry and application through to graduation and alumni engagement. Colleges configure workflows, forms, communications and reporting to match their own practices and requirements. Every screen below is Tera as it runs today, on a demonstration college built from a real one, with every person made up.

Admissions and recruitment

Manage applications with confidence

Tera streamlines admissions with a clear view of every applicant and their progress through the selection process.

  • Online application forms accessible from any device
  • Admissions workflows supporting review, interview and offer stages
  • Document collection and checklist management
  • Application and acceptance trends monitored across intake periods
The admissions board: the 2027 intake with Applying, Vetting, Interview and Offer of a Place columns side by side

Student records

A single student record

Each student keeps one record throughout their relationship with the college: a complete history of applications, accommodation, academic information, engagement and participation.

  • Flexible filtering, reporting and data management
  • Current residence and occupancy information
  • Bulk administrative actions
  • Shared views and dashboards for staff teams
The students grid on the In residence view: photo, course, status, residence, tags and the years each student stayed

Student profile

Supporting the whole student

Student information is organised in one comprehensive profile, so authorised staff can reach what they need to support students effectively.

  • Residential history and accommodation details
  • Academic program information
  • Leadership appointments and awards
  • Emergency contacts and documentation
  • Health and dietary information protected by role-based permissions
A student profile: the 2026 academic year with recognition, residence, course, results, family and contacts, and activities

Accommodation management

Residential operations in one place

Tera gives visibility across rooms, buildings and occupancy, helping colleges manage accommodation efficiently throughout the academic year.

  • Room and bed management
  • Residential contracts and occupancy tracking
  • Arrival and departure records
  • Vacation and break-period accommodation planning
  • Student occupancy responses from mobile devices
The estate map: every room in each wing with the student in it tonight

Forms and information collection

Flexible forms for every stage of the student journey

Create online forms for applications, accommodation processes, student programs, events, wellbeing initiatives and administrative requirements. Information submitted through a form is stored automatically in the student's record, reducing duplication and manual data entry.

  • Customisable forms with conditional logic and a wide range of question types
  • File uploads, photos, declarations, payments and supporting documentation
  • Information captured during the application flows directly into the student record
  • Forms shared with applicants, students, staff, alumni or external participants, with no account required
  • A consistent experience on mobile devices, tablets and desktop computers
The form builder: the application form's pages and questions with the preview beside them

Workflow and communications automation

Streamline administrative processes

Tera reduces repetitive administrative work by automating communications, approvals and workflow actions. Automations are configured to align with each college's policies, procedures and business processes.

  • Automated application, interview, offer and acceptance communications
  • Customisable email templates reflecting your college's branding and communication style
  • Microsoft 365 mailbox integration for sending and recording correspondence
  • Workflow checkpoints that require documents, approvals and actions before the next stage
  • Configurable business rules designed around your existing processes
The automations desk: the built-in rules with what triggers each one, what it does and whether it's on

Reporting and strategic insights

Information for operational and governance decision-making

Real-time reporting and dashboards support operational oversight, strategic planning and governance requirements. Monitor trends and performance without preparing spreadsheets by hand.

Intake comparison: the 2028, 2027 and 2026 intakes at every stage, side by side
Yearly intake comparison
Cohort charts: returners by stage, gender ratio, next year's occupancy forecast, current room allocation and field of study
Occupancy and accommodation forecasting
Where our students and applicants live: a map with one pin per home locality
Student demographics and diversity metrics

Administrative tools

Supporting day-to-day college operations

Tera brings together the operational tools colleges rely on every day within a single platform, helping staff work efficiently while maintaining appropriate governance and record keeping.

The sign-in register
Sign-in register
Intake rounds
Intake rounds
Documents
Documents
Activities
Activities
Leadership roles, awards and contributions
Recognition
An automation rule
An automation, when · if · then
Roles
Roles you define
The audit trail
Audit trail

Quad — the student portal

Supporting students, applicants and alumni.

Quad is a single online portal that supports each person throughout their relationship with the college. Accessible from any device, it lets applicants, students and alumni engage with the college through one consistent, familiar experience.

  • Submit applications and supporting documentation
  • Pay application and related fees
  • Complete forms and administrative requirements
  • Respond to accommodation and occupancy surveys
  • Access information relevant to their residency
  • Stay connected with the college community after graduation

The same record follows a person from first enquiry to alumni engagement, for a seamless experience across the whole student lifecycle.

Riverside College on Quad: start your application, or link your record if you're already at the college

Fully managed

Your college. Your own Tera.

Many colleges would rather focus on supporting students than on managing technology infrastructure. Tera's fully managed service provides a dedicated platform maintained and supported by the team at Redspark: platform management, security monitoring, maintenance, updates and ongoing support, so staff can focus on operational and student outcomes.

Your own private Tera

Each college operates in its own dedicated Tera environment, hosted in Australia and separated from every other organisation. Redspark manages:

  • Platform hosting and infrastructure
  • Security updates and patching
  • Backup and recovery
  • Performance monitoring and maintenance
  • Ongoing platform support

A branded student experience

Quad is customised to reflect your college's identity, including branding, colours and web address, giving students, families and alumni a familiar and trusted experience.

Settings, branding: the college's primary colour and its logos for the light and dark themes

Redspark's engineers running it

The team behind Tera assists with:

  • Data migration from existing systems
  • Microsoft 365 integration
  • Platform configuration and onboarding
  • Security monitoring and maintenance
  • Ongoing enhancements and support

Support comes from the same team responsible for designing and maintaining the platform.

Tera Shield

Security isn't a feature here.
It's the foundation.

Residential colleges manage sensitive personal information: health, wellbeing, accommodation and emergency contact records. Tera is designed with security, privacy and governance embedded throughout the platform.

Identity protection

All authentication is managed through secure identity services, with multi-factor authentication and passwordless sign-in.

Role-based access controls

Access to information is governed by configurable roles and permissions, so staff see only what their responsibilities require.

Audit and accountability

A comprehensive audit trail records access to sensitive information and every administrative action, supporting transparency and accountability.

Australian data hosting

All data is hosted in Australia and managed in accordance with Australian privacy and security requirements.

Microsoft 365 integration

Tera integrates with your existing Microsoft 365 environment, so the college keeps ownership and control of its accounts, mailboxes and directory.

Data portability

Your college retains ownership of its data and can export its records at any time in standard formats.

Request the full security fact sheet →

Why Tera

Designed for Australian residential colleges.

Tera was developed specifically for the requirements of Australian residential colleges, supporting student administration, accommodation management, governance, reporting and community engagement in a single platform.

Built for not-for-profit organisations

Transparent pricing designed for the operational realities of residential colleges and not-for-profit organisations.

Built for Australian higher education

Academic years, accommodation contracts, intake cycles, semester-based operations and the particular requirements of residential colleges.

One record across the student lifecycle

From first enquiry and application through to alumni engagement, each person stays connected through a single profile and history.

Developed and supported by Redspark

Tera is developed, maintained and supported by Redspark, giving colleges direct access to the team responsible for the platform.

See Tera in action.

Discover how Tera can support admissions, student administration, accommodation management, reporting and operational workflows at your college. What to expect:

  • A demonstration of real residential college workflows
  • Discussion of configuration and implementation options
  • Transparent pricing information
  • Guidance on the managed service
  • Direct contact with the Redspark team

RedsparkYour enquiry goes straight to the Redspark team.

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