Clema
Clema · Leaning · Business
Clema is an AI data platform built for higher education institutions in the U.S. It lets institutional research (IR) and institutional effectiveness (IE) teams ask questions in plain English across federal datasets like IPEDS, College Scorecard, and EADA, plus their own connected data, and get sourced answers in minutes instead of weeks. Every figure carries its citation, and the platform is FERPA-ready with SOC 2 Type II security.
About Clema
What Is Clema
Think of Clema as higher ed data platform software, not a general chatbot that reads the public web. The distinction matters. It understands IPEDS definitions, accreditation terms, and the difference between a 4-year and a 150% graduation rate without months of tuning. That domain knowledge is the whole point. Most of the time, a data request stalls not on the query but on the vocabulary.
The problem it solves is familiar to anyone in an IR office. The same questions come back every term, from deans, provosts, and boards, and the team answers them by hand. Clema turns that repeat work into a conversation. You connect your warehouse, SIS, or LMS, switch between your own data and public datasets mid-thread, and pull answers with a source attached to each number. It's institutional research software that speaks your language.
The main limit is scope. Clema targets U.S. higher education data work, so teams outside that world won't get much from it. It also complements BI tools like Tableau or Power BI rather than replacing them. Your dashboards stay put. Clema adds the conversational layer on top for ad-hoc questions. That's AI data analysis for universities, delivered as a service rather than a rebuild.
Getting Started
- Create an account at app.clema.ai using the free forever plan, which needs no credit card.
- Connect a data source, such as your data warehouse, SIS, or LMS, through a read-only connection.
- Ask your first question in plain English, for example "What's our fall completion rate?" or "How does our 4-year graduation rate compare to last year?"
- Switch between federal datasets like IPEDS and College Scorecard and your institutional data without leaving the conversation.
- Review the cited answer and, on paid plans, share it or fold it into your data-request queue.
Product Information
A quick look at Clema's pricing, supported platforms, and performance.
Best for
The users, tasks, and scenarios where this tool fits best.
Users
- IR and IE analysts
- Provosts, deans, and enrollment leaders
- Finance and advancement staff
Tasks
- Running the data-request queue
- Pulling federal reporting figures
- Comparing your numbers to benchmarks
Scenarios
- A leadership meeting lands tomorrow and someone asks for the latest completion rate. You pull it with a citation instead of digging through portals.
- A new federal reporting rule shifts the questions IR teams must answer. Clema keeps federal datasets and definitions at hand as the rules change.
- A dean repeatedly asks about graduation trends each term. You answer the repeat once and let the drafted response carry forward.
Key features
Conversational Data Access
Any user can ask in plain English, no query builder or BI training required. Clema handles the translation from question to data pull, which is what lets non-technical staff get answers on their own. The result is fewer hand-offs between departments.
Public and Private Data in One Window
You move between federal datasets, your data warehouse, and uploaded documents mid-conversation without losing the thread. That mix is unusual. Most tools force you to pick either public data or your own. Clema treats them as one surface. No export, no second login.
Higher-Ed Domain Knowledge
Clema knows IPEDS definitions, accreditation language, Title IX, and Clery out of the box. IPEDS data analysis is native here, not bolted on. It also handles metrics that trip up generalist tools, like the gap between a 4-year and a 150% graduation rate. You don't spend the first month teaching it the domain.
Sourced Answers With an Audit Trail
Every figure carries its source and the calculation behind it. Trust matters here. That's the feature that makes the output defensible to a dean, an accreditor, or a board, because you can show where a number came from. For compliance work, an audit trail is often the deciding factor.
Data-Request Automation
The platform runs the IR data-request queue end to end. Conversational intake captures context up front, agents draft answers from your data, and reviewers approve or adjust. The backlog shrinks. It's the closest thing here to removing the backlog rather than just speeding up one ticket.
Ticket Management for IR Teams
Clema ships a data-request ticketing layer positioned as a higher-ed alternative to ServiceNow and Zendesk. It adds AI triage, drafted answers, and a full audit trail. The point is to keep request history in one place instead of scattered inboxes.
Security Built for FERPA and SOC 2
The platform is FERPA-ready by design and SOC 2 Type II certified, and it runs read-only connections, supports BAAs and role-based access, and keeps data in U.S. data centers. Think of it as FERPA compliant AI with the paperwork to prove it. A security review becomes a one-day pack instead of a multi-week audit.
Natural-Language Analytics on Your Warehouse
Clema layers natural-language analytics on top of your existing warehouse, Power BI, and Tableau setup, so existing dashboards keep working and the ad-hoc questions that never got answered finally get a response. It's an addition, not a rip-and-replace.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Answers data requests in minutes rather than weeks, which targets the backlog IR teams actually feel.
- Public and private data live in one conversation window, cutting the tab-switching that slows analysis.
- Every answer carries a citation and calculation method, so figures hold up under scrutiny.
- FERPA-ready and SOC 2 Type II certified, with read-only connections and U.S. data centers.
- Published pricing (free plan plus plans from $99/mo) instead of quote-only enterprise sales.
Cons
- Focused on U.S. higher education, so institutions elsewhere won't find much use for it.
- It complements BI tools rather than replacing them, so you still need your existing stack.
- The free plan has no credit card requirement, but integrations and support are reserved for paid plans.
Frequently asked questions
Clema answers institutional research questions in plain English across federal higher-education datasets and your own connected data. It returns sourced answers in minutes. So why do IR and IE teams use it? To clear data-request backlogs without adding headcount.
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