Purpose: First, this article seeks to establish a conceptual model for campus information systems for students, in order to make their comparison possible for strategic management purposes. Second, it seeks to test this conceptual model in a fieldwork on Spanish higher education institutions, in order to relate information systems characteristics with other organizational features. Design/methodology/approach: The conceptual model was based on socio-technical information systems and knowledge management literature. A holistic vision of higher education student's information needs was kept into account. Data about Spanish universities were gathered by means of structured visits to institutional websites and structured interviews with undergraduate students. Data were analyzed with multivariate statistical techniques. Findings: From multivariate analysis, a classification was obtained for Spanish universities into three clusters with homogeneous characteristics, in the sense of informational and organizational aspects. These clusters are discussed in temporal terms and with some individual examples. Research limitations/implications: Campus information systems need to be broadly characterized for strategic information management purposes. The proposed and tested model is a step to address their characterization. Originality/value: This user centered information systems conceptual framework is set up to obtain a global vision of new information and learning electronic environments in campus. Its application in a fieldwork on Spanish universities offers new insights about informational and organizational features in higher education. (Contains 1 figure and 11 tables.)