Workday, implemented as the new payroll system back in April at Saint Anselm, will soon be going school-wide as the Workday Student platform in the spring semester of this year. Steven McDevitt, Chief Information Officer of Information Technology, weighed in on what the platform entails, and what that means for students in the future.

         Faculty, staff, and student employees have been using the Workday platform since the start of this past April as the payroll system. “The transition went smoothly,” and after almost six months, everyone is “acclimated for the most part,” says McDevitt. Some bumps in the road came up and there, but the system “is pretty simple” McDevitt says.

For those students wondering what Workday Student entails and what it will change, McDevitt says “it includes the processes for managing student records, registration, academic advising, student financial accounts, financial aid, and admissions and enrollment”. Having these resources in the same place “is going to impact the entire academic life of the college, and I think for the better,” McDevitt says.

The reason for updating to the platform is primarily for efficiency and effectiveness. Though there are online resources with the MyAnselm Portal, such as financial aid and course registration, McDevitt says “things like advising are still on paper files for some.” Paper files may work well for some, but lack efficiency and organization, leading to the switch for everything to be electronic.

Essentially, Workday Student will be replacing the MyAnselm Portal that is already used by the college, “but in a very modern way,” McDevitt says. There is a mobile app component to Workday, and things like course registration and job applications can be done on the app. Financial aid, meal plans, tuition, etc. will all be included in the new mobile format.

The college will see Workday Student for the first time “beginning in March 2024, [with] student academic advising, and academic planning,” McDevitt says, and students will be registering for Fall 2024 classes in the platform. As the Class of 2028 arrives in the fall, “their enrollment in the college will be in Workday, and their classes will be registered in Workday,” McDevitt says. Kicking off the 2024-2025 school year with Workday Student, “your professors will have the class rosters, [and] academic deficiencies” in Workday, McDevitt says, and “at the end of the semester, grades will be done in Workday.”

The Class of 2024 will have a different experience than the other classes at the college. McDevitt says, “the Class of 2024 will complete their programs using the current Jenzabar/Portal platform.” For the handful of students who will be graduating after the fall semester of 2024, “that degree audit process will be occurring in Workday,” McDevitt says.

The Class of 2025, graduating in either spring or fall, and the classes that follow, “will have their degree audits completed in Workday,” and “payments to the college for tuition and housing, etc., for the 2024/25 academic year will be managed in Workday,” McDevitt says.

Big changes like this naturally feel overwhelming, so don’t sweat it if there’s some confusion. Thankfully, “effective training has to be provided right before you use it” McDevitt says. “There’ll be some very directed newsletter communication that’s delivered to students faculty, and staff before the launch in March,” McDevitt says, along with some in-person training sessions that will be offered to all.

Canvas will play a role in the training for Workday Student as well, as a “platform to keep all of the training materials [because] everyone on campus has access to it, McDevitt says. Helpful guides and information will be accessible for all who need assistance navigating the platform, but ultimately the only way to effectively learn how to use the platform is to be involved in the training process.

Though a great deal of change is headed toward Saint Anselm, “the benefits are significant as well” says McDevitt. Efficiency, effectiveness, and organization will result from implementing this new platform, and the college will endure the change together. “Students, faculty, advisors, and deans will all have a view of the academic plans and activities for each student,” McDevitt says, so everyone’s information will be available to them in one place. Workday Student is a powerful tool “so the college, faculty, and students can gain the best experience during their time on The Hilltop.”