The University launched the Workday platform system last summer to support enhanced processes for our human resources, financial and payroll functions. In Fall 2021, we continued our Workday journey with the commencement of the Workday student project. Many of the lessons we learned from the Workday platform implementation were considered when planning and building the structure and governance for this new phase of our Workday journey.

The Workday student project will result in the implementation of a new student information system (SIS) and the adoption of a new way of working. The new SIS will support the major components of the student experience at Howard including recruiting and admissions, academic advising, curriculum, financial aid, and student finance.

The Workday student project directly aligns with our Howard Forward strategic objectives. As recently outlined by Tashni-Ann Dubroy, our executive vice president and chief operating officer, “a critical goal in the Howard Forward strategic plan aims to improve the student experience, strengthen the University’s core processes, and fulfill critical educational objectives for years to come.” For the past several months, many of your peers have been actively engaged with our partners from Workday and Avaap to document our business processes so that the transition to this new SIS will not only support our requirements but also allow for us to be innovative and forward thinking.

This communication is part of a series of engagement and outreach efforts to highlight the benefits of the system and to outline the positive changes that you will experience as a system user. These benefits include improved access to data to serve students in real-time, one system of record which will increase collaboration between departments, automation of manual processes, and the ability for departments to generate reports to support their day-to-day activities and departmental needs. These benefits will enhance the student experience and support student navigation throughout our institution.

Be on the lookout this Summer for an invitation to our Fall 2022 Workday town hall scheduled for August 30. We look forward to engaging with you over the next several months to raise your awareness of the project and the system, to garner your feedback and insight, and to invite you to opportunities to build your knowledge and skills to effectively make the transition into the new system.