# How your school runs Academium

> Academium SMS Help › Getting started
> Web page: https://helpcenter.academium.com.ng/academium-sms/article/sms-how-your-school-runs-academium
> Last updated: 2026-10-06

Every school chooses how Academium SMS runs. The choice decides where your school's records are kept, whether you need an internet connection, and which applications your staff install. Your school's plan determines which of these setups is available to you.

## At the school, on your own server

The **Server Edition** is installed on one computer at your school. That computer keeps the school's records and serves every member of staff on the school network.

- Staff on shared school computers use the **Client Edition**, which finds the server on the network automatically.
- Staff with their own computer can use the **Individual Edition**, which connects to the same server.
- The school does **not** need an internet connection to work day to day.
- The server computer needs to be switched on for staff to use the Client Edition.

This is how schools on the **On Premise** plan run Academium.

## Online, through the Academium portal

Your school's records are kept online by Academium, and staff use the **Individual Edition** on their computers.

- The Individual Edition keeps a copy of the school's records on your computer, so you can keep working when the internet is down.
- Changes you make offline are sent to the school when your computer is back online.
- The school owner signs in with the school's Academium Account. Other staff sign in with a sign-in code from the school (see [Signing in with a staff sign-in code](https://helpcenter.academium.com.ng/academium-sms/article/sms-signing-in-with-a-staff-sign-in-code.md)).

## Both together

With both, your **school server is the main home** for your records and the **Academium portal is the second**. This is how schools on the **Hybrid** plan run Academium.

- At school, staff work through the server, with or without the internet.
- Away from school, the Individual Edition uses the portal instead, so staff can keep working from home.
- The server and the portal keep each other up to date, so work done in either place is seen in both.

> **Note:** Not sure which setup your school uses? Ask your school owner or administrator, or look at the edition name in the title bar of your Academium application.

## What stays the same everywhere

However your school runs Academium, the modules work the same way. Everything in this help centre about attendance, fees, exams and the rest applies to every setup. Where something differs, the article says so.

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Need a server computer, a Windows licence, a school network or a computer lab? **Academium Plus**, from the same company as this product, supplies and sets them up, with a **free quote**: https://my.academium.com.ng/support