Likelihood to Recommend 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.
Read full review The amount of support available alone makes this system as great as it is! This is the 4th LMS I've worked with and the 3rd I've personally had a hand in setting up. Tovuti LMS is by far the most user-friendly on both the admin and end-user sides that I've experienced. This system works great for our users many of whom are 65+ in age, so the user-friendly part is essential. I know I've already said it, but the amount of support provided by the Tovuti Team is top-notch. If someone that I'm dealing with doesn't have an immediate answer to my query someone else always gets back to me in a timely manner. I no longer have to spend additional time searching for answers.
Read full review Pros 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 Read full review Customization - we support internal and external users, the ability to have unique registrations fields for the different audiences is a game changer, the ability to build custom reports is helpful as well. Interactive Content Tools - Love the ability to create interaction with users so it is not just text or videos they are looking at. Ease of Use on End User Side - It's not tricky, all levels of tech savvy users can find success as learners! Read full review Cons 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. Read full review iFraming has always been an interesting feature to try out, but the design can be tricky. Allowing for my useable iFraming activities is always on my list. Offering reporting/results on interactive videos is something I've been missing from the start. We use interactive videos to provide checkpoints of understanding, but there's no result section on the back end to review students' responses - only a numerical score is provided. Toggling between personal dashboards and team lead dashboards is a great capability, but this opens a new tab. I'd rather everything stay within one tab and navigate through that! Read full review Likelihood to Renew 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.
Read full review We have established the training department to extend our training capabilities into one central area. I have mentioned training production, internal and external sales staff. But the training department will surely delve into the HR area of new hire orientation, annual recertification processes, etc. We truly have just scratched the surface of this iceberg. Now that we have made the investment, we will surely continue with this product. I cannot see us moving to another product at all. We will definitely renew our subscription with Tovuti
Read full review Usability 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.
Read full review As far as building the program, once you have learned the basics it is very easy to upload and create content. They also provide a ton of resources and have an extremely responsive help team, so when and If I am stuck, Tovuti is quick to help me find the solution. The test users I have given access to have all mentioned the ease of navigation and use of the program overall.
Read full review Reliability and Availability I have yet to have an outage on the availability. As far as I know, no trainee has run into it either. Excellent rating on that front
Read full review Performance I have worked with so many software packages that are slow to load, take for ever for screen changes, etc. I do not have that issue here with Tovuti at all. I have yet to really do any reporting on it as we are fairly new with the package, but if it operates like the rest of the system, then I am going to assume that reporting will be no more difficult than the rest of the platform
Read full review Support Rating 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.
Read full review The pre-sales team was very helpful and responsive and then stopped responding to my mail as soon as I had signed the contract, not even a reply from the last couple of emails sent. The post-sale teams are engaged and quick to respond and really good. Unfortunately, I need to use them more than I should, and sometimes the reply is "we don't support that feature", but the support from the support team is excellent.
Read full review Online Training Hayden was awesome. He knows his product inside and out and was able to answer all my questions. I had a lot of questions. I was actually starting to build courses while I was going through the training so that when the next session on the schedule came up, I had even more questions about what I had done vs the way I maybe should have. In the end, I was doing my own hands-on while going through the training. Tovuti is that easy to use.
Read full review Implementation Rating The implementation had extremely wonderful support from Tovuti in the form of a series of one-on-one meetings to hear the clients needs and intended usage and then to set up the platform to meet those needs while demonstrating how to use it.
Read full review Alternatives Considered 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.
Read full review Tovuti LMS is super easy to use compared to Relias. Relias is very clunky and we always would have learners have issues with the platform. Tovuti's buildout process compared to Relias is very clean and easy to use. The analytics and reporting are also amazing, plus the cost is so much more affordable for what you're getting. The only caveat to this is that Relias has content included and the content is well done.
Read full review Contract Terms and Pricing Model I helped with the decision to purchase the software but purchasing did the contract work. They seemed satisfied so I am going with that
Read full review Scalability Scalability is great. We bought their first 'size' package and that covers 300 trainees. Transitioning to the next level is more a matter of accounting and payment. My take on it is that its just a matter of paying the higher level of subscription and its done
Read full review Professional Services Top shelf
Read full review Return on Investment 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. Read full review Improved Communications. Decision making has improved. Problems caused by spatial or temporal distances are no longer a problem. Facilitates the distance training experience. Third-party courses can be modified and adapted to the level and demands of the students in order to reuse them. Learning management with a high level of automation and integration. Read full review ScreenShots Blackbaud Education Management Solutions Screenshots