Albany State University Streamlines IT Project Management with Smartsheet, Driving Operational Efficiency and Enabling a Better Student Experience

Albany State University, located in Albany, Georgia, is a public historically black university serving more than 6,500 students. Founded in 1903, the university offers a broad range of certificate, associate, baccalaureate, and graduate degree programs.

The university’s Project Management Office for Information Technology (IT) Services is responsible for managing key technology projects that support students, faculty, and administrative functions. This includes overseeing software integrations, digital infrastructure upgrades, and electronic device purchasing (EDP).

Previously, EDP approvals for new laptops, computers, and other devices relied on manual, paper-based processes. Tracking these requests was time-consuming, requiring significant administrative effort to follow up on approvals and monitor progress. “We needed a structured, digital approach to streamline the approval process and improve project tracking,” says Malinda Barron, IT project management analyst II, Project Management Office for Information Technology Services, Albany State University.

In addition to EDP, IT project tracking was fragmented across different systems, limiting visibility and coordination across campus. “Before Smartsheet, we had to juggle multiple project management tools, which made it harder to maintain consistency across projects,” Barron says.

Managing key projects and processes in Smartsheet

The Project Management Office adopted Smartsheet to consolidate IT project tracking after seeing success with the tool in other university departments. “We initially built a Smartsheet template for a project plan, and it worked great—it just kept growing from there,” says Barron. The office then expanded its use of Smartsheet to manage the EDP process, tracking hardware and software purchases from approval and funding through invoicing and implementation.

Since onboarding Smartsheet in 2018, the university’s Project Management Office has managed approximately 138 projects, ranging from large-scale infrastructure upgrades to smaller process improvement initiatives. Each year, the team oversees 15-20 major projects, including technology enhancements, security upgrades, and enterprise software implementations. 

“Smartsheet helps us track all our projects and ensure they’re completed on time and within budget,” says Barron.

With Smartsheet, the PMO gains real-time visibility into the status of all IT projects in a centralized platform. “With Smartsheet dashboards, we can clearly see each phase of a project, from planning to inception to completion,” Barron says. “We also have dashboards that show which departments are more engaged with our office, so we can identify where to improve communication.”

Improving processes across campus

Prior to Smartsheet, the electronic device purchase process typically took a full 30 days from beginning to end. With Smartsheet, the team has reduced approval times by more than 60 percent. 

“Instead of completing the EDP process in one month, we can do it in 8-10 days in Smartsheet,” Barron says. 

With automated workflows, Smartsheet helps reduce administrative effort and ensures greater accountability with stakeholders. “We no longer have to worry about forms getting lost. Smartsheet makes it easy to track where a purchase is in the process, and requestors can follow approval progress in real-time.”

By managing their IT project portfolio in Smartsheet, the PMO has significantly increased productivity, improved efficiency, and enhanced collaboration across campus. “Smartsheet has transformed our processes by standardizing templates so we don’t have to start from scratch with each new project,” says Barron. “Whether it’s high-level dashboards or automated notifications that keep projects on track, Smartsheet has enabled us to be more organized and up to date across all of our projects. It has helped us improve processes campus-wide, and we’re excited to see where it takes us in the future.”

Enabling a better student and faculty experience

Because Barron and her team have faster, more efficient processes with Smartsheet, they can dedicate more time to supporting faculty and students at Albany State. “Smartsheet speeds up our processes so we can actually focus on what matters most: the students,” says Barron. 

“One of our missions is to help give students the best education, and we need smooth, seamless processes in place to make that happen. Smartsheet enables us to collaborate more and spend more time making strategic decisions that impact students and faculty.”

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