Updates
Major Milestone & Project Updates
August 2024
Move to Production 1, Cohort 1
The week of August 5th marked a significant milestone for the Workday Student project, with the first end-user facing functionality going live. LSU Eunice is now supporting student application processes in Workday! Along with LSU Eunice, LSU A&M has begun to maintain academic calendars, programs of study (majors, minors, etc.), a catalog of educational institutions (for transfer credit), and institutional course catalogs in Workday. This first milestone is considered a success and bodes well for the future of the project.
On-Going Project Work, Cohorts 1 & 2
Cohort 1 schools (LSU A&M, LSU Eunice) continue to move through validation of data and testing work to support an upcoming move to production for financial aid functionality in Workday. The second major move to production for all other functionality is planned for February 2025.
Cohort 2 schools (LSU of Alexandria, LSU Shreveport) are immersed in design and configuration work, completing testing exercises as they move through their worksets. We are excited to watch the progress the cohort 2 schools are making as they develop their configuration to support student success on their campuses.
Workday Student Project Information
December 2023
What does this change mean for you?
- Students will utilize Workday Student to complete tasks such as planning and registering for their classes, accessing financial information, updating directory information, requesting transcripts and applying for graduation.
- Staff working in academic departments and other student-facing offices will see many of their daily processes and procedures move to Workday Student, offering a more dynamic workflow and better access to timely data.
- Faculty will be able to access course rosters, email students from course rosters, and submit grades directly in Workday Student. For users who prefer completing those tasks in Moodle, that option will remain available.
Project Timeline
Background work to build and configure the system has been ongoing since last fall. In late spring 2024, we will move into a testing phase, with the first functionality, primarily focused on admissions processes, beginning in Workday Student in late summer 2024. Most of the functionality impacting the academic experience will be launched in early 2025. You can view a detailed project timeline here.
Basic Navigation and Features of Workday Student
Workday Student will build upon our existing Workday system that you are familiar with using for human resources and financial functions. The basic features and navigation will be the same as you are used to, with additional functionality as determined by the role you are assigned in the system. Student employees will also be familiar with the platform from completing their weekly time entry. Watch a preview of what the student experience will look like in Workday Student.
Training Plan
Robust, role-based training will be available to faculty and staff. Training resources, including demo videos, job aids and instructor-led trainings, are being developed to address each functionality that users will encounter in Workday Student. These resources will be found on the training page. Training will be delivered on a rolling basis, based on when users will begin working in the system.
Progress Update
August 2023
Cohort 1 (LSU A&M and LSU Eunice) of the project is nearing the end of Workset B, the second of four months-long product design and configuration sessions, which will conclude in September. In addition, Cohort 2 (LSU of Alexandria and LSU Shreveport) has completed its official kickoff, including an on-site planning workshop conducted in Shreveport. As we move into the fall, we anticipate increased engagement with key stakeholders across all four institutions as the Workday Student project enters the next phase of configuration work.
Legislative Investment
June 2023
The Louisiana Legislature approved $3.5 million to help with the cost of this new student information system. Politically, a data management system is a tough sell because it is not initially visible to the public. However, it touches every part of the instructional mission and is a much-needed tool that will help us to become a more efficient and effective institution. Operationally, the new system not only stores grades, but also serves as an instrument to improve advising, signal the need for academic interventions, and help support students through to graduation.
Progress Update
June 2023
By the end of Cohort 1 Workset A, 392 test scenarios were executed with a pass rate of 98%. Seventy-six integrations are in the design/build phase, and 30 data conversion programs were completed. Seventy-seven project team members had completed Workday training between February and June.
As of June, 13% of Workset B objectives were already completed. Efforts continue to get to one student ID/one identity across all institutions. Report design and development will begin soon. Testing and development of integrations will continue through September, when Workset B will conclude.
The project has onboarded a full-time change manager and a full-time training consultant. These individuals will begin joining functional workstream meetings to observe and log changes from the current state to the post-go-live state. There will be an increase in communications across all institutions in the new academic year.
Cohort 2 (LSUA and LSUS) will kick off the planning stage in June, followed by an onsite planning workshop with Workday in Shreveport July 25 – 27. Cohort 1 (LSU A&M and LSUE) will have an onsite tenant validation in Baton Rouge the week of Oct. 9, and Cohort 2 (LSUA and LSUS) will have an onsite tenant hand-off Oct. 17 – 19 in Alexandria.
Workday Student Cohort 1 Workset B Kickoff
April 2023
Cohort 1’s Workset A culminated with a second Workday Student tenant build. Workday and LSU Cohort 1 returned to Baton Rouge for demonstrations in Workday Student of configuration designed and unit tested in Workset A, tenant validation, a review of lessons learned from Workset A, and wrapped up with Workset B planning sessions.
Workday Student Cohort 1 Foundation Tenant Handoff
October 2022
Workday and the LSU Cohort 1 project team met in Baton Rouge to hand off the first LSU Cohort 1 Workday Student tenant and to kick off Cohort 1’s 19-month architect & configuration phase, beginning with Workset A.
Workday Student Planning Workshop
June 2022
Workday, collaboratively with the LSU project team, hosted an onsite planning workshop in early June. The workshop began with sessions focused on key business dates for all institutions implementing Workday Student. Subsequent days focused on the first wave of implementers (LSU A&M and LSUE) through a series of key business process mapping activities. Participants conducted timeline planning, including the establishment of a working plan for configuration. A key outcome was to prepare for the Architect & Configure phase of the project beginning in Fall 2022.
Workday Student Project Kickoff Meeting Held
March 2022
On Thursday, March 24, the Workday Student project officially began with a project kickoff meeting held by both LSU project leadership and Workday leadership. Nearly 200 people across all participating institutions were in attendance. Items covered during the meeting included:
- Workday Student product essentials,
- Workday Student deployment strategies,
- project team structure and roles,
- LSU's deployment approach and timeline,
- project logistics, and
- next steps forward.
Workday Student Project Kickoff
March 2022
After multiple years of product review and evaluation, Workday Student has been selected as the future student information system of LSU. The Workday Student platform is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution that will bring LSU's technological capabilities to the forefront of the higher education landscape. This implementation provides an opportunity for each of our institutions to revolutionize the experiences of our faculty, staff and students.
In preparation for this project, leadership across the four institutions in Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Eunice, and Shreveport convened the near 200-member project team for a kickoff meeting to outline the project’s timeline, staffing plans, and governance model.
Product Selection
January 2022
LSU A&M, LSU of Alexandria, LSU Eunice, and LSU Shreveport have worked together to identify and vet numerous products that meet LSU's goal of implementing a cloud-based, state-of-the-art solution to achieve a unified student information system across these institutions. Through a competitive procurement process, multiple vendors were identified, and finalists were invited to present their products over the course of several days. A cross-institutional evaluation committee reviewed these presentations, evaluated institution feedback, and considered vendor proposals. The committee ultimately selected Workday Student as the future student information system for these institutions.