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Blackbaud Education Management Solutions vs. Top Hat

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Blackbaud Education Management Solutions

    Score7.1 out of 10
    N/ABlackbaud Education Management Solutions is a unified student management system for K–12 private schools. Blackbaud Enrollment Management System™: Gives schools and families the ability to track admissions progress from first impressions all the way through the application process to acceptance, enrollment, and tuition payment. Blackbaud Learning Management System™: Track students' academic performance and progression…N/A

    Top Hat

    Score8 out of 10
    N/ATop Hat supports student engagement for higher education. Grounded in learning science, the platform and content solutions help educators create interactive, personalized learning experiences with the goal of boosting student engagement, belonging, and success.

    $35

    per semester per student

    Pricing
    Blackbaud Education Management SolutionsTop Hat
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    1 term
    $35
    per semester per student
    1 year
    $58
    per year per student
    4 years
    $96
    48 months per student
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Blackbaud Education Management SolutionsTop Hat
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Blackbaud Education Management SolutionsTop Hat
    Considered Both Products
    Blackbaud
    No answer on this topic
    Top Hat
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    73%
    Would buy again
    11 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    85%
    Delivers good value for the price
    11 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    87%
    Happy with the feature set
    13 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    83%
    Implementation went as expected
    10 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    User Ratings
    Blackbaud Education Management SolutionsTop Hat
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.0
    (120 ratings)
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.5
    (9 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    6.5
    (7 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.0
    (115 ratings)
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    7.0
    (21 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Blackbaud Education Management SolutionsTop Hat
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Blackbaud
    A good, and constantly improving solution for private schools. I don't know that a lot of its functionality would be well suited to public schools, but maybe? The integration with other Blackbaud software is a huge plus for us, as we have several of their other products including their flagship Raiser's Edge. Smaller schools may not need the sophistication of Blackbaud solutions, and it is not an inexpensive option.
    Incentivized
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    Top Hat
    Top Hat is well suited for courses where students are comfortable with utilizing online learning management system as part of their course contents. It is more appropriate to use Top Hat as a stand-alone learning management system or if the school happens to have it integrated to the system. It is not recommended to use Top Hat and another platform or system for students as this would be too much for students.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Blackbaud
    • Seamless integration between the LMS, EMS and SIS modules
    • Real-time, effective chat support helps me not only with urgent needs but also to work through possibilities for increasing how we use the product.
    • Feature upgrades monthly that respond to voiced needs from users
    Incentivized
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    Top Hat
    • I use Top Hat as a discussion tool where the students can write what they have learned or what they haven't.
    • Exams are taken in class and are totally paperless with grades available immediately.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Blackbaud
    • Forms - lack of conditional questions
    • Gradebook -lack of links to assignments
    • Not being able to customize displays, for example, Grading tab - we just finished 1st semester and teachers could only see the current quarter but not the 1st one which is still part of the first semester. Lack of customization in assessments.
    • Scheduling- even though re-running generating schedules, we're still getting a high number of unscheduled students. Lack of being able to limit the number of scheduled classes in a row for teachers.
    Incentivized
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    Top Hat
    • If students are paying, it's a confusing onboarding process for students and instructors and could be better streamlined.
    • The Android app not as well polished as iOS.
    • A better, free, or ad-supported model might be more palpable to students.
    • Integration directly with PowerPoint -- not requiring instructors to upload their slides to Top Hat.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Blackbaud
    It is a solid product. We have some issues with the capabilities of the website building components and the out dated technology behind its communications software but overall Blackbaud Education Management Software services to combine numerous functions into one product.
    Incentivized
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    Top Hat
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Blackbaud
    Blackbaud EMS is very usable from my perspective. I am a power user and get lots of valuable functionality. It is, however, a complex system. Sometimes necessarily complex to accommodate flexibility for diverse customer needs. Some complexity seems unnecessary and/or hold-over functionality from earlier versions; nice to see this type being evolved away from over time. It is valuable to receive regular updates to the system along with good release notes of what changed and notices of significant changes in advance.
    Incentivized
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    Top Hat
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Blackbaud
    Decent support however the chat feature can take a great amount of time out of the workday. If for instance you are waiting for someone to respond in the chat and there is a fire drill, if you are not responding within a few minutes, you are disconnected and have to start all over again. It would be great if you could submit your problem and then whoever has the most experience, can respond. The training in the Blackbaud University is good but also time-consuming - a 3 hr training in the middle of a workday is a lot to ask. I like the 90-minute sessions. It would also be great to offer a shorter webinar to update on any changes implemented. Other than the email I subscribed to, there is no information on how these updates actually work.
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    Top Hat
    They are very helpful and fast to resolve any issues
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    Alternatives Considered
    Blackbaud
    Blackbaud K-12 is very similar. I feel like I would be trading one set of issues for another so it's kind of a wash. We are very much hooked into the Blackbaud website with our Google SSO, SmartTuition, and Schooldoc integrations. It would be difficult for us to transition. That is the main reason I haven't really entertained other web firms.
    Incentivized
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    Top Hat
    Top Hat generally stacks up pretty well against other industry leading or popular learning management systems. Top Hat is comparable to learning management systems used in most educational institutions. The features such as allowing the educator to create an interactive experience by leveraging tools such as quizzes and polls is comparable. Data on student performance is also a helpful feature that is comparable to that of other similar learning management systems.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Blackbaud
    • Negative - The rollout is brutal. Blackbaud said it could happen in 6 months, but that is definitely not a reality. It will take well over a year, and one complete school cycle to actually integrate everything correctly.
    • Positive - The amount of time saved in data processing has allowed our office to become more involved in other areas of the school.
    • Positive - The ease of having everything in [one] place, from inquiry to application to contracts and course registration, has been a HUGE benefit to our applicants and their families.
    Incentivized
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    Top Hat
    • One of the better ways to track attendance in a mostly secure and automated way.
    • Promotes more active learning, especially in large classrooms.
    • Unpopular if students have to pay.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Blackbaud Education Management Solutions Screenshots

    Screenshot of Topics pages help organize units of learning throughout the year in the Learning Management SystemScreenshot of Blackbaud's education management solutions come with strong reporting tools to get the information you need quicklyScreenshot of Schedule view makes it easy for teachers to manage their daysScreenshot of Blackbaud Enrollment Management System Admissions Checklists help applicants track their progress in the admissions processScreenshot of Blackbaud's education management solutions come with strong reporting tools to get the information you need quicklyScreenshot of Keep track of all the key information about your students in one place