Saving Over 40 Hours A Month With Submittable Over Google Forms

The National Geographic Educator Certification Program offers curriculum and instructional materials for teachers to inspire K-12 students to become the next generation of explorers, conservationists, and global citizens. Maybe the only bad thing about the program was its long and tangled workflow—until they moved over to Submittable’s all-in-one platform. 

Submittable was much more affordable and more user-friendly. And the customer service has been incredible.

Meghan Modafferi

Nat Geo Education Program Manager

From lost applications to lots of gained time 

“We just don’t lose things as often,” says Meghan Modafferi, Program Manager for the Educator Certification Program. 

Before Nat Geo started using Submittable, educators were asked to report their experience via a series of Google Forms. This was a requirement for completing the program and earning a certificate. Meghan and her staff managed these reports using three different spreadsheets. If a teacher wanted to edit their submission, a staff member would compile their submission into a Microsoft Word document and send it to the teacher, who revised and volleyed it back to Nat Geo staff, who would then go into their spreadsheets to make the requested changes.

An affordable and user-friendly solution 

After looking into a variety of options, Meghan ultimately chose Submittable. “Submittable was much more affordable and more user-friendly,” she says, “and the customer service has been incredible and very quick. Submittable seemed like the safe choice.”

Teachers now save a great deal of time and significant headache, because they can easily access their submitted reports from anywhere on any device. They can also review, add to, or edit their reports if needed using Submittable’s Open for Editing feature. In the past, Meghan says, “If we want[ed] them to revise something, they would have had to re-submit the whole form.”

Photo courtesy of National Geographic

Getting more brain space to focus on program development 

Meghan and her team are now saving more than 40 hours per month, making it possible for them to focus on further developing the program, benefiting thousands of teachers and students worldwide. As National Geographic’s Educator Certification Program continues to grow, it’s incredibly gratifying to know that Submittable will play a part in their groundbreaking work.