This is the kind of problem that deserves a real solution, not a workaround. You are managing over three thousand students per year, updating a spreadsheet by hand, and emailing unit contacts to check for changes. That process is costing you time you could spend on the data analysis and project management you clearly want to pursue. The SharePoint person's suggestion to use Lists makes sense in theory, but it misses the point: you don't need a better place to store the data. You need the data to do the work for you.
What you are describing is a living notification system. When a student is added to ACEMAPP, you want an email to fire. When a status changes to "Approved," you want another email to fire. That is not a spreadsheet problem. It is an automation problem. Power Automate can handle this, but it requires connecting ACEMAPP as a trigger source, which may not have a direct integration. The smarter path is to use a tool that treats your spreadsheet as an active database rather than a static list. An AI-native spreadsheet can watch for changes, run logic on status updates, and send emails without you writing a single flow. You do not need to learn a new automation platform. You need the spreadsheet itself to have those capabilities built in.
You are a masters-prepared nurse who manages data for thousands of students. That is not a side responsibility. That is a data management role. You are already thinking like a project manager by tracking statuses and wanting to reduce manual checks. The question is whether the tool you are using can keep up with how you think. Traditional spreadsheets treat data like a ledger, you write in it, you read from it, and nothing happens until you act. A modern spreadsheet treats data like a system. It reacts. It sends messages. It updates itself. That is the difference between a file you maintain and a database that works for you.
Do not settle for a better list. Build the system you already imagine. If you can add an MBA in Project Management to your credentials, you can absolutely set up a spreadsheet that emails unit contacts when students are approved. The technology is not the barrier. The habit of accepting manual work is. You have the interest, the scale, and the need. Start with a trial that connects your spreadsheet to email notifications, and see how much time you get back when the data speaks for itself.