Higher Education
Project Management Office
Organized, On Time, and On Track: How Governors State University Powers Marketing with Workzone
About Governors State University
Governors State University is a public university located in University Park, Illinois, serving a diverse student body with a strong commitment to academic excellence, cultural enrichment, and community engagement. It offers a range of undergraduate and graduate programs and is known for supporting first-generation students, adult learners, and a globally inclusive campus environment.
Primary Use Case
Managing creative requests and marketing projects across multiple departments and initiatives, including admissions, commencement, events, and brand-related collateral.
Previous Solutions
The team previously relied on email threads and disconnected systems for collaboration and updates.
Chose Workzone Over
Governors State University selected Workzone after struggling with fragmented workflows driven by email threads and manual tracking tools like spreadsheets. They needed a centralized platform that could handle high volumes of creative requests, improve team visibility, and organize work across departments. Workzone provided the structure, transparency, and ease of collaboration they were missing—making it the clear choice.
Governors State University (GovState), located in University Park, Illinois, supports a diverse student body—including many international students—and a wide range of academic and cultural initiatives. Its marketing and communications department manages an extensive and ever-changing portfolio of campaigns and creative requests.
Corrie Lee, a project manager at GovState, plays a central role in managing that complexity. Since joining the team two years ago, she’s taken the lead in streamlining the university’s use of Workzone—project management software for universities—helping the department organize, prioritize, and execute their work more efficiently.
A Central Hub for High-Volume Campaigns
Whether it’s promoting commencement, coordinating recruitment efforts, or planning social content, Corrie and her team field a wide variety of creative requests across campus. “We get requests for everything from flyers and billboards to social media ads and even appearances by our mascot, Jax the Jaguar,” she said.
GovState gives each department or initiative its own dedicated workspace—Admissions, Commencement, the Center for Performing Arts, and others—allowing Corrie to distribute work efficiently across her four in-house designers. “One of our designers works more with the College of Business, another with Performing Arts. Workzone helps us assign projects by area and manage the workload.”
Corrie also uses folder-level organization to track large-scale efforts. “We can go into the ‘Commencement’ folder and see all related projects in one view,” she said. “That kind of categorization helps us quickly assess progress without digging through multiple threads or files.”
Streamlined Collaboration Across the Team
Workzone’s shared environment also boosts team transparency. “It’s been great for collaboration because everyone can see project notes and updates,” Corrie said. “Instead of separate email threads, everything’s documented in one place.”
During weekly team meetings with editors or designers, Workzone serves as the go-to reference point. “We walk through the list of projects right in Workzone. It’s easy to update and discuss items as a group.”
Corrie occasionally taps into the platform’s reporting features to answer broader questions from leadership. “When my boss asks how many projects we’ve completed this year, I can pull that info right from Workzone,” she said.
Customer Support That Actually Helps
What stands out just as much as the software itself is the support behind it. “If I have a question, someone responds within 15 minutes,” Corrie said. “If they don’t know the answer immediately, they investigate and always follow up with a helpful solution. The customer service is wonderful.”
She didn’t hesitate when asked how she’d rate the support team: “A ten out of ten, absolutely.”
Why Workzone Works for Higher Ed Teams
For Corrie, Workzone is more than just project management software for universities—it’s a daily foundation for keeping everything organized. “It’s definitely worth the investment. It helps us stay on task, keep things moving, and make sure nothing falls through the cracks.”
With tools tailored for high-volume, multi-departmental work, Workzone gives higher education marketing teams the visibility and control they need to stay ahead—without getting buried in email or spreadsheets.
Interested in seeing how Workzone could help your university’s marketing operations?
Sign up for a complimentary demo today and discover why so many institutions rely on project management software for universities to stay organized, aligned, and efficient.