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Offering continuing education and professional resources through a learning management system (LMS) is a great way to grow your association while creating impactful experiences for your members. With the right learning management system, you can ensure learners gain value that supports their careers and your organizational goals.
Courses and continuing education through an LMS can help associations:
- Monetize and generate more revenue
- Keep members engaged with useful content
- Help members build new skills and improve their career outlook
- Position your association as a knowledgeable leader in your industry
- Offer more value that encourages membership renewals and loyalty
While implementing an LMS can have all these benefits, it’s common to feel confused about where to start or which options are best for your needs. After all, not all learning management systems are the right fit for professional associations.
What is the best LMS for associations? This association LMS overview will help you understand the different types of LMSs, the key features to look for, and the five top learning management systems that align with the needs of professional associations.
What Are LMSs?
First, let’s start with a brief introduction to LMSs for associations.
An LMS is software that allows you to create, organize, and deliver educational courses and training. It’s a great way for associations to offer resources like continuing education or skill-building courses that lead to professional development.
For example, a marketing association may want to create a continuing education course on short-term video creation to help its members keep up with the latest social media trends.
Continuously creating courses like that would provide additional value to your members while reinforcing why retaining their membership is a good idea. It positions your association as a leader in the industry that helps members get the most out of their careers.
Why Investing In High-Quality Software Is A Good Idea
The right LMS will help you create a smooth and organized experience for your learners. It’ll allow you to:
- Easily share access and login details when someone purchases a course
- Organize materials for a smooth step-by-step learning process
- Have options so learners can ask questions, and your team can provide assistance
- Make it easy to search for new online courses once members finish one
- Create a community where members can interact, and you can keep them engaged by encouraging social sharing or conversation.
This system will make the LMS feel like an extension of your association. It can be a key tool that adds a whole layer to what membership with your organization means, supporting your training initiatives over time.
What Are The Four Types Of LMS?
As you’re reviewing options, you’ll see different types of LMSs that can each have pros and cons. It’s important to know what each type is to make the right decision for your association. The four LMS categories are:
1. Cloud LMS
The cloud LMS is the most common option. It’s software that’s hosted on remote servers that your team and users would access through a website or app.
Cloud-based LMSs are often a good choice because they:
- Make the platform more accessible for everyone at any time
- Reduce operational costs by having the LMS provider host the data and infrastructure
- Offer more scalability since it’s easy to distribute learning materials to users worldwide
- Allow the provider to add continuous updates to the software to improve the experience
- Make it mobile learning accessible for users who want to access materials on the go
Cloud LMSs are typically easy to use and set up while still offering customizability to add your brand and message. They provide a good balance for associations that may have limited staff or resources to manage the creation and delivery of learning materials.
2. Self-Hosted LMS
A self-hosted LMS is software that an organization hosts on its own servers rather than relying on a provider. You can find pre-built software to install or opt for more customizable options that allow you to dial in the learning experience based on your users and organization’s needs.
Self-hosted options provide more control over the user experience and your data. However, the drawbacks are that it:
- Adds expenses for proper setup and maintenance
- Requires more technical skills to set up and manage
- Makes it harder to add updates in the future
- It can result in security vulnerabilities if it isn’t properly hosted
This is usually a better choice for organizations with larger teams and a sound technical infrastructure to ensure it's managed appropriately.
3. Open-Source LMS
An open-source LMS is an online software or platform that makes the source code freely available to adjust and modify. They’re often free or cheap to access and provide a highly customizable option that web developers can adjust to an organization’s specific needs.
However, there are some notable drawbacks to this option:
- Open-source solutions require a lot of technical skill to customize, since you need in-depth coding and web development knowledge
- The providers typically provide minimal support or updates, often relying on community support or self-management
- Maintenance is harder because you’ll have to handle security, updates, and troubleshooting yourself
While open-source can be a customizable option, it can add frustrations if your team doesn’t have the technical expertise or time to manage it appropriately.
4. Proprietary LMS
A proprietary LMS is software that’s developed or owned by a company. Essentially, you’d hire a developer or have members of your team code and build the software from the ground up.
You will own the software and be able to have it custom-built to your liking to provide a learning experience that aligns precisely with your needs. However, the downsides are:
- It’s very expensive to build custom software
- Your organization will have to manage data, security, troubleshooting, and technical infrastructure
- You’ll need a large team or ongoing developer support to keep up with all the tasks involved
Generally, this option is best for larger corporations that have the funds and infrastructure available to handle all the tasks and technical needs.
What Is The Most Widely Used LMS?
As mentioned, the most popular LMS platforms for associations are typically cloud-based options. They provide a good balance between affordability, customizability, and ease of use for smaller teams that need a solution they can adjust to their needs.
Therefore, we focused our recommendations for the top choices for associations on cloud-based LMSs that are easier to use and manage.
Top Five LMS Options For Associations: A Detailed Comparison
Here’s a full LMS comparison of the top five options, reviewing the essential features of each one. The best LMS platforms for associations are:
1. Elevate From Cadmium
Cadmium’s Elevate is a top LMS for associations and nonprofits. It’s a cloud-based platform that makes it easy for you to create, monetize, and share a comprehensive learning portfolio.
You can use it wherever your learners are in their educational journey, whether they want to gain some initial certificates in your industry or are looking for continuing education that allows them to grow their careers.
A big benefit of Elevate is that it offers everything you need to make the platform feel like an extension of your association. You can easily customize it to align with your branding and message, integrate it with the software you already use (such as your AMS), communicate with your users, and combine it with on-demand and live events.
Elevate can help you grow your continuing education materials into a complete center for knowledge that’s searchable and easy to navigate to ensure long-term success and accessibility for every user.
2. EthosCE From Cadmium
EthosCE is another great choice that’s designed specifically for medical associations and healthcare organizations. It provides everything you need for enduring content creation, learner engagement, and tracking educational outcomes.
Similar to Elevate, EthosCE is highly customizable and easy to use to help medical associations with smaller teams create a full educational library of high-quality content that includes your branding and organization’s message.
3. TopClass LMS
TopClass LMS is another one of the best association education platforms. It puts a big focus on lifelong learning and professional development. Some of the top features include the ability to create a comprehensive educational portfolio, manage certifications and credentials, and create personalized learning experiences.
However, a couple of downsides that users mention are that it lacks customizability compared to other top options, and the mobile app can experience crashes or slow loading times.
4. LearnUpon LMS
LearnUpon stands out for its learner engagement features. Specifically, it’s great for facilitating discussion and gamifying learning with badges, points, incentives, and leaderboards. You can also add a notification system to keep learners on track.
That said, there are a couple of drawbacks to be aware of. Users do say that the interface feels a bit outdated and can experience slow loading times during peak usage, so it could be harder to scale your association’s learning materials with it.
5. MapleLMS
MapleLMS is a top choice for its personalized learning paths. You can use adaptive learning that provides tailored recommendations, course paths, and certifications based on member interests and needs. It also incorporates a mobile-friendly design that’s easy for users to navigate.
The main downsides are that course creation on the platform can have a higher learning curve, and some users say the course design options are more limited compared to other platforms.
How Do Top LMS Platforms Benefit Associations?
LMS benefits you may see from using one of the top platforms include:
- Improving member engagement: When you offer association training and continuing education, it provides another opportunity for your members to get involved. That way, they keep seeing the impact of your association outside of events or other activities you offer.
- Streamlining certification: Continuing education from associations is a great opportunity for professional development. Members can follow an easy step-by-step path to complete materials and receive accreditations that benefit their careers.
- Enhancing the value of association membership: In addition to keeping members engaged, learning materials also make membership feel more valuable. When learners gain knowledge that helps them perform better at work, they’ll remember learning that through your association’s courses and be more likely to retain their membership.
What Features Should Associations Look For In An LMS?
After reviewing the top options, you might still wonder what LMS features are the most important for association needs. The top features you should look for are:
- User management: The platform should make it easy for you to add users, answer questions, handle problems, and track their progress and engagement level.
- Course creation: You’ll want the platform to make course creation easy and allow for a customizable design and learning system that fits your needs.
- Assessments: Assessing knowledge is one of the most essential member training features to ensure learners are taking away the right information and benefiting from the course.
- Member engagement tools: Association LMS trends are showing that more organizations are putting an emphasis on member engagement. The platform should facilitate communication, offer course reminders, have follow-up assessments, and provide attendance tracking for a well-rounded experience that keeps users coming back.
- Certification tracking: Your users and organization should be able to track certifications completed. It helps learners feel a sense of accomplishment when they look back on it and have it for reference for proof of skills gained and compliance tracking.
- Integration with the software you use: Your LMS should work well with the other software your organization uses, such as an association management system (AMS). It’ll help you keep your branding consistent across platforms while managing all the projects and tasks your team is involved in.
Understanding Costs And Integration Options For Association LMSs
Association LMS costs and pricing structures can vary quite a bit from company to company. Some of the most common LMS pricing models are:
- Monthly subscription: Many LMSs are on a monthly subscription where you pay a flat rate for access to the platform.
- One-time license fee: You pay once for permanent access to the platform. While it costs more upfront, it can minimize hidden costs and be beneficial when you’re choosing software that you plan to use for a long time. Many associations use their LMS as a learning library that new and existing members can continue to benefit from.
- Tiered pricing: Some subscription models will be structured at different tiers, where you get more features when you pay a higher amount. It can be a good way to customize prices based on your current needs.
- Usage-based: Some companies will price their LMS based on how much you use it, such as how many users you have or how many courses you create. However, this can lead to prices adding up over time as your association grows.
Many of these options can range in cost from several hundred to several thousand dollars per month. However, it’s worth investing in something that offers everything you need to deliver a high-quality learning experience on a platform that can grow with your association. After all, it can be frustrating to have to change software and systems when you outgrow an LMS.
Essential LMS Integration Needs
As mentioned, you’ll want your LMS to integrate with the other software your association uses.
One of the big ones is AMS integration, so you can access member data and handle organizational tasks across systems.
CRM integration is also a big need for many organizations to handle marketing efforts, branding, customer data, and interactions across platforms.
Lastly, many associations like being able to integrate event platforms and livestreaming solutions with their LMS. It allows you to do things like combine in-person and on-demand learning, upload event content, or livestream relevant presentations.
In addition to our LMSs at Cadmium, we also offer Eventscribe (an event management system) and Warpwire (a livestreaming solution) that can help with those extra needs. All our software can be used together to create a smooth system for your association’s learning, event, and video needs.
How Secure Are LMS Platforms For Associations?
The level of LMS security ultimately comes down to the cybersecurity measures the company behind each platform puts in place.
When you use our Elevate or EthosCE LMSs at Cadmium, you can trust that we offer a secure option that makes data protection and compliance with security regulations a priority. We use encryption to transfer and store all sensitive data, allow access controls for users, and perform regular backups to prevent data loss.
Make sure you check the security protocols behind any software you’re considering using before making your decision.
Conclusion: Choosing The Right LMS For Your Association
Ultimately, the best LMS choice comes down to your association’s needs and preferences. As you’re reviewing the options, here are some essential considerations for LMS decision-making that you should account for:
- Make sure it has all the features you need to provide an effective learning experience now and as your association grows.
- Research how each LMS platform responds to emerging trends. That way, you’ll have a better idea if the company behind it will provide updates for future trends to make the platform a great long-term choice.
- Review all the software your association uses and check to see if it’ll integrate with your LMS of choice.
If you’re looking for a scalable, long-term solution that packs many features into the platform, our LMSs at Cadmium are a great choice for associations.
Learn More About Elevate And EthosCE From Cadmium
At Cadmium, we offer two high-quality LMSs for different needs.
Elevate is our LMS for associations and nonprofits. It’s built to help you build a center for knowledge, monetize continuing education, and offer more value to your members. It offers customizable curriculum development, integration with your AMS, social learning, data tracking and analytics, and more in an easy-to-use platform. Click here to learn more.
EthosCE is our LMS for medical associations and healthcare organizations. It’s a top choice in the detail-oriented healthcare industry, where compliance, course management, and accreditation tracking are a must for success. You can use it to create enduring content, engage learners, track educational outcomes, and more. Click here to learn more.
