Workday has officially been implemented school wide as the course registration platform for students and faculty. The platform, already used by some students and faculty for payroll purposes is now being used by everyone on campus for pre-registration/registration. The platform will continue to be used in the future for academic and financial functions.
In preparation for course registration for the ’24 fall semester, academic advisors sent students an email containing instructions on how to navigate the platform. Tasks necessary to complete before pre-registration were set allowing students the ability to get comfortable using the platform for its future use.
Elizabeth Moran ’25 said, “I already knew Workday was in the works, but I found it kind of random to make the switch during the middle of a semester, so I wasn’t really aware that it was already happening.” At this point in the semester making the switch to a different platform could seem confusing, but it is necessary to make the switch now for the platform to be used in the fall.
“I was confused at first,” Moran said, but “I believe everyone got an email of where to go and how to access the academic hub to search for courses.” Once viewing the instructions and figuring out how to correctly navigate the platform, “I found it pretty easy to figure out once I got to that point,” Moran said.
“I found searching for courses was a lot easier than MyAnselm,” Moran said. Complaints of the MyAnselm platform are not new nor unheard of by students, mainly the fact that “there was always an error and I never knew where to go, and you can never find a full list of all the courses available,” Moran said. But, with the Workday platform “if you know even the first two letters of the course code that you’re looking for, it gives the entire list of courses that are available for the semester,” Moran said.
Workday’s simplicity and clear instructions seemed to ease some frustration for Moran, and she is optimistic about its future functions for students. “I think it will be beneficial for everyone to have everything we need all in the same place,” Moran said. The platform’s location is through apps.asnelm, which “has StarRez Housing Portal, your email, and Canvas as well,” Moran said, so “everything is included in that section.
“I find that Workday is very easy to work with and I really like that you can see your academic progress,” Moran said. Not available on MyAnselm was the ability to see academic progress-what courses and requirements have been fulfilled and which ones haven’t, which seems to be an appreciated function of the new platform.
“My professors haven’t said anything about Workday and how they find navigating it, I kind of feel like it was sprung upon everyone,” Moran said. New to everyone, faculty included, it can be confusing to figure out how to use the platform and just exactly how it will be beneficial. But “I think they will find it easier like I do,” Moran said.
“I think Workday is fine,” said Nicole Minnich ’25. “I really like that you can presave the classes you want to take before your actual registration date, and it is a lot more organized than MyAnselm,” Minnich said. Similar to Moran, the new platform seems to be preferred with its clearer organization.
“I will say that because it’s new and we’re not used to it, a change is difficult, and it can be hard to use,” Minnich said. “I think we will all be well-versed with it soon,” Minnich added, “but it’s just so new right now.”
“I haven’t heard too much from my professors, but my advisor said she had a lot of difficulty finding things,” Minnich said. “She told me that on her end there were some logistical steps that were tricky to get the hang of, which I’m sure other faculty are facing the same challenges as well,” Minnich said.
Abigail Edwards ’25 said “I think it could be more user friendly, I just found that there were some kinks in the software.” Bumps in the road should be expected, but “once I got the hang of it, I didn’t have much trouble,” Edwards said.
Students and faculty are in the same boat with navigating the new platform, but getting through the tricky steps should make it easier for everyone to have what they need all in the same place. Registration, housing, academics, and financials are there for students and faculty to access in a simpler way.