Manage deliverables and deadlines with project management software.
As a university or college administrator, you might have a busy workload taking care of admissions, managing student communication, and collaborating with multiple departments to organize events.
Given the level of collaboration and processes involved, you can use project management software to automate project planning and create workflows and tasks that the entire administrative team and faculty can easily follow. A project management tool will not only save time but also increase efficiency for your higher education institution.
This article highlights, in alphabetical order, the top three project management software for higher education based on user reviews. For each product, we cover overall user ratings along with the highest-rated parameter, review excerpts from industry professionals, and product pricing. Read more.
1. Asana
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Highest-rated parameter
Commonly used by
Starting price
Device compatibility
Screenshots
A list of business objectives in Asana
Here are some review excerpts from higher education professionals who have used Asana for project management:
“Asana was easy to implement and use.I love the ability to easily add "non-internal" users to various groups so that everyone remains aware of project milestones, deliverables, and obstacles.”
“LOVE having all our ideas, tasks, and projects in one place!The ability to switch views has been incredibly helpful; some projects need a board view to see everything in one place, others need a calendar view to get a comprehensive overview.The color-coordinating of assignments makes task prioritization easy to see at a quick glance.Being able to attach/hyperlink within tasks is SO HELPFUL!Way better than dropping files in an email.Overall, it's been a game changer for our task management!”
“Asana allowed us to keep projects going when we were all working different hours and rarely face to face.I was able to assign responsibilities and tasks and always understand where we were on a project so that I could report to my supervisor.”
2. Basecamp
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Highest-rated parameter
Commonly used by
Pricing
Device compatibility
Screenshots
A to-do list in Basecamp
Here are some review excerpts from higher education professionals who have used Basecamp for project management:
“Overall my experience with Basecamp has been very positive- from a departmental perspective, it functions wonderfully as a means of communication between team members, task groups, and teams as a whole.Cross-departmental collaboration has been made easier with the creation of To-dos and individual status updates to know when someone is out of office for example.Overall it's a great product, in need of only a small amount of changes to make prioritizing tasks more user-friendly.”
“I have been using Basecamp for a long time. It is so far one of my favorite communication platform when it comes to working with a team. I have been using it for all my big school project that requires collaboration. It is so simple to use it as if you are texting from your phone. The mobile app is so nice and friendly and allows me to get immediate notification and summary at the end of each week.”
“I like the fact that Basecamp keeps everyone on the project updated and is good for comments, suggestions and questions.”
Read all Basecamp reviews here.
3. Trello
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Highest-rated parameter
Commonly used by
Pricing
Device compatibility
Here are some review excerpts from higher education professionals who have used Trello for project management:
“I really enjoy the Board layout; a quick internet search (or intro videos/tutorials) helps show the many ways the Board layout can be used -- it's not just an aesthetically pleasing visual gimmick.Many people really use the different layouts offered by Trello in creative ways.It is especially useful for multiple people to add to and refer to at the same time, since it is not just a simple list.”
“I liked that I was able to add colour tab to represent the main focus of each task.I did not use it in collaboration but can see that it would be very useful for managing group projects.As in instructor, I think it would be useful to be able to share your trello board with a new instructor and have them then be able to make adjustments as they see fit.”
“Trello has helped a lot in managing and keeping tracks of the tasks to simplify the multitude of projects our teams are working on.A productive overall experience.”
What features do project management tools offer?
The core features of project management software include:
Collaboration: Provides a channel for team members to share media files, communicate, and work together.
Reporting/project tracking: Offers a dashboard that helps project managers track task and project status and project costs, manage individual assignments, and create reports showcasing project completion rates.
Task management: Provides a running list of action items and their respective status.
All products listed in this report include the features mentioned above.
Besides these core features, project management tools also commonly tend to offer:
Billing and invoicing
Budget management
Client portal
Cost-to-completion tracking
Customizable templates
File sharing
Gantt/timeline view
Idea management
Kanban board
Percent-complete tracking
Project planning/scheduling
Resource management
Time and expense tracking
How to choose the right project management software for your higher education institution
Getting your hands on the right higher-education project management can become easier with these considerations in mind:
Check whether the software lets faculty collaborate with students. An ideal project management tool should let faculty members assign project work to students and share grades and performance reports with them online. To ensure better collaboration between your faculty and students, seek out these features when looking for project management software.
Assess the integration capability of the software. If your institute already uses attendance and time tracking software for students and faculty, the project management tool you select should be able to integrate with these existing tools so you can easily sync student data and maintain overall data consistency.
Look for mobile app functionality. A project management solution that has a mobile app will allow your students and faculty to easily access coursework, check project status, view submission deadlines, and more. When exploring options, ask vendors whether their product offers a mobile app for ease of access.
Common questions to ask software vendors before purchase
These are some common questions you can ask vendors when assessing higher-education project management software options:
Is your software built for a higher education institute?
The project management tool you buy should have features that school administrators and faculty can benefit from, such as a centralized calendar to manage work schedules, Gantt charts to develop and plan academic projects, and task management to distribute responsibilities to staff members during events. When exploring options, ask vendors whether their product offers features that cater to the needs of your educational institute.
What kind of security measures does your software provide?
Project management software should have end-to-end data security and offer protection against cyberattacks. It should have security features such as two-factor authentication and role-based access to ensure only authorized users can access sensitive university, student, and faculty records.
Does your software offer reporting and analytics?
Reporting and analytics allows faculty members to generate performance reports. It also offers school administrators insights into student recruitment rates and lets them track budget requirements for each department. Therefore, look for this feature when exploring project management software options.