Wake Forest is implementing the Workday Student software to be used as a Student Information System in replacement of Ellucian Banner, which hosts the Wake Information Network (WIN). The software will go live during the first week of March when the undergraduate class schedule is released.

“Wake Forest has been planning this change for a number of years, and it is part of our larger institutional technology strategy,” Associate Provost for Academic Affairs Dr. Anne Hardcastle said.

The Student Information System at Wake Forest is used to manage data and processes related to students’ education, including enrollment, financial aid and academic records. During course registration periods, students use the system to schedule their classes prior to the start of the semester. 

The Workday initiative is led by Executive Vice President Jacqueline Travisano and Provost Michele Gillespie as well as a steering committee, composed of representatives across the university. According to Hardcastle, Wake Forest is following the suit of several national universities that are embracing Workday. 

“Workday is a modern, best-in-class software. It’s really the top of the line, and Wake Forest is part of a wave of universities who are adopting Workday right now,” Hardcastle said.

While Ellucian Banner only allows students to plan for one semester at a time, the Workday system includes a four-year plan feature, allowing students to plan for their major, minor or divisional requirements. The site is also mobile-friendly.

The course registration process will undergo immense change in the implementation of Workday Student. The system will no longer utilize time tickets, within each classification of earned hours, to determine when a student can register for classes. Instead, all students in the same group of earned hours will register at the same time during the first week of April. 

“All students register the first week of April based on classification of earned hours. The first 1300 register on Tuesday. The next 1300 go on Wednesday, and so forth,” Hardcastle said. 

Another significant change to the registration process is that the portal will stay open after a student’s initial registration appointment, whereas in Ellucian Banner, there were open and closed periods to register for courses. 

The Workday system will also no longer include preregistration — a separate registration cycle to be navigated by the academic departments for major and minor classes. To ensure students can register for courses that fulfill their degrees, Workday will employ a reserved seats tool to set aside a block of spots for majors and minors. 

“We are not going to have a separate cycle for major/minor registration or student self-registration,” Hardcastle said. 

Furthermore, the prerequisite override feature is another new development in Workday. If a student wishes to register for a class that typically requires a prerequisite course or certain classification, this restriction can be waived in the registration system. This feature is a rendition of the POI (Permission of Instructor) approval in Ellucian Banner. 

As Fall 2024 course registration looms, some students are uncertain of Workday’s ability to accommodate all students.  

“Registering for spring semester classes as a freshman was a very stressful process, ” freshman Anya Huggins said. “I was hoping that the new process would make registration more effective; however, with the implementation of no major/minor priority preference, I am not sure how much better the experience will be.”

For some students who recently declared majors, the prospect of registering for classes without the support of pre-registration is a daunting feat. 

“I am already familiar with Workday, as someone who has an on-campus work-study job, and I admit it is certainly easier to navigate than WIN,” sophomore Hope Brill said. “But even as someone familiar with the program, I don’t see how this is a better registration system, especially for rising juniors and seniors, who have finally gotten to a place where they can pre-register for classes.” 

Amidst rising concerns, the university is taking action to support students and faculty who are undergoing this change. The Office of the Provost will be hosting “Readiness” sessions via zoom and in-person during the month of March, which will provide an overview of the advising and registration experiences in Workday. There will also be various tabling events throughout the advising session in March to accommodate students as they navigate the change. 

“I am hopeful that students will be well-informed by information sessions and training materials,” Chair of the Economics department Amanda Griffith said. “I know that Academic Coordinators, department chairs, faculty, and advisors have already begun familiarizing themselves with the new program and should be ready for their parts in the advising process.”

The transition to Workday Student will mark a significant step forward for Wake Forest, adopting a myriad of new features that aim to elevate the student experience. 

“The student experience is probably the top motivator for how we are moving through this project,” Hardcastle said.

Correction 3/6: A previous version of this story contained a grammatical error. This error has since been corrected.