A learning management system (LMS) for associations makes it easy for organizations like yours to provide top-notch resources that support the career goals of your members. However, not all online learning platforms are created equal.
Choosing the right LMS technology is crucial for serving membership needs and supporting lifelong learning, which is why we’ve created this guide. This blog explores what makes an LMS well-suited for associations. Read through to learn how your association can implement an LMS that maximizes value for your organization and members.
A learning management system for associations caters to the educational and training requirements of membership-based organizations such as trade associations, professional associations, societies, and non-profit entities. This technology is distinct from corporate LMS solutions, as they’re purpose-built to address associations' specific challenges and objectives.
Because of their differing purposes, there are a few key differences between learning management systems for associations and other LMS platforms:
Associations typically have a diverse membership base, including professionals, volunteers, and various member types. They may also make their online learning available to non-members to earn additional revenue.
Whereas a corporate LMS is limited to hosting employee training resources, a system built for associations is designed to effectively manage and engage members (and non-members!) by making different content available to learners at different price points, depending on who they are and where they are in the member lifecycle.
In many industries, learners must earn certain credits in a specified amount of time to meet requirements or advance their careers. Associations typically provide certification programs and continuing education offerings to help these professionals meet their goals.
While other organizations typically use an LMS for internal training purposes, associations need robust solutions that can track learners’ progress, issue certificates upon completion, and report learner achievements to relevant parties. For example, legal associations must be able to report Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) credits across jurisdictions.
A learning management system for associations allows for creating and managing certification courses, making it easier for members to earn credentials.
Many learning platforms include eCommerce options, but associations often have more complex needs that not every LMS can meet. While corporations mostly need their LMS to manage internal training content, associations must sell content at different price points or bundle products together to be sold as a package.
For example, associations may offer different content prices to:
Certain associations, especially trade organizations, may need to sell content in bulk so that an entire organization has access rather than just one individual learner. The association may want all these purchases to take place on their association management system (AMS) rather than their LMS, so the ability to integrate eCommerce is important as well.
Associations often organize virtual events to engage members no matter where they’re located or how busy their schedules are. These events can be important for associations to:
While a corporate LMS may allow users to host events, its capabilities are limited to events tied to organizational initiatives. Instead of using generic event-planning tools, associations need a solution that seamlessly integrates with virtual event tools and provides virtual event support. This way, learners can register, attend, and, if applicable, earn credits or a certificate for attending.
Learning management systems provide the necessary analytics and reporting features to monitor the effectiveness of educational programs. While a corporate LMS mostly tracks employee performance, an association learning management system tracks much more, including:
Seeing and analyzing your metrics will allow you to make data-driven decisions about future online learning offerings.
LMS platform integrations have been mentioned above a few times, so it should be no surprise that it deserves its own shout-out! While a corporate LMS may integrate with your CRM or marketing platform, associations typically have different requirements.
Some common integrations an LMS for associations may offer include:
A system built for associations will also integrate with a virtual event platform and platforms that allow for remote proctoring, badging, and reporting to credentialing bodies.
Finding the perfect association LMS may seem daunting. Your association will likely have some very specific requirements that the platform and vendor must meet. Taking the time to evaluate your needs carefully will help you find the right LMS for your organization's goals, capabilities, budget, and culture.
Here are a few tips to consider:
What are some use cases of associations using an LMS? Here are a few examples of how member-based organizations have leveraged Blue Sky eLearn’s Path LMS™ to meet their goals:
While education had always been a cornerstone of DPHA, the organization lacked ways to track usage and engagement, and its member company managers lacked a way to monitor employees’ educational progress and performance.
DPHA chose Path LMS as the new home for its learning programs, integrated it with its AMS, and enlisted Blue Sky eLearn’s Learning & Development team to help strategize its educational offerings. Their team automated all the manual tasks they had been performing, gave managers access to track team progress, expanded their library of educational offerings, and increased revenue from their learning programs by 63% year over year.
AIHA members rely on their comprehensive education programming to ensure the highest level of competency and safety in both scientific and professional fields. They wanted to find a seamless way to extend their reach by selling to external organizations who were seeking to enroll multiple learners.
AIHA chose Path LMS as their new LMS, specifically interested in the Path LMS Teams feature that offers powerful, automated options for delivering content to selected external groups.
In the first year alone, the ability for these external organizations to make bulk purchases accelerated AIHA’s processing time and efficiency, allowing for 5,300 additional learners to gain access to AIHA’s content, which resulted in a 35% year-over-year increase in revenue.
These success stories speak volumes about the power of learning management solutions built for associations. Consider what a specialized LMS can do for your organization and its members. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, the right LMS can drive growth, engagement, and educational excellence.
In today’s fast-paced world, online learning has become ubiquitous in members’ educational journeys. Whether they’re pursuing a degree, gaining professional certifications, or simply seeking personal development, the value of a quality LMS cannot be overstated.
As we’ve explored in this article, the LMS landscape is diverse, with specialized solutions designed to meet the unique needs of different customers. Finding the right platform for your association’s needs can transform your learning program for the better.
Path LMS is used by hundreds of organizations to deliver high-quality online learning, networking events, and conferences. Book a demo today!
