Understanding IRP Student – Registration 

Understanding IRP Student – Registration 

January 24, 2022

The Integrated Renewal Program – Student (IRP Student) has numerous focus areas – following the student journey from application to graduation.  This series aims to explain each area, its unique requirements, and our designed solutions in terms you, our UBC  community, will understand.   

Workday Student will replace UBC’s Student Information System (SIS) and the Student Service Centre (SSC). It will be the foundation for the renewed student information ecosystem, integrating with external systems - both existing and new - that are required to conduct operations at UBC.  

Workday Student supports student and administrative processes related to registration, such as course registration, waitlists, prerequisites and corequisites, credit limits, and other similar tasks. While the IRP Student team is working hard to maximize functionality and provide the best registration experience possible, as with any system change of this magnitude and complexity, we acknowledge that there will be some challenges ahead. However, we would also like to recognize that, when we move from UBC’s current SIS to the new student information ecosystem, there will be some noted benefits and improvements for both students and administrative staff.

First of all, the Workday Student application will allow students to register directly from their mobile devices. This is a significant modernization from the current system, which only allows registration from an internet browser - the app will create a better user experience for the students and allow increased flexibility and ease of use for those who are away from their computer when their registration opens. This should, in turn, contribute to increased privacy and security with, for example, fewer instances of students forced to share passwords or make other arrangements so others can register for them at the allotted time. 

Along with providing information about course-registration eligibility criteria, Workday Student will also provide real-time in-screen notifications of registration errors that need to be resolved and additional troubleshooting assistance that can be accessed during the registration process. This benefit will be compounded thanks to the new Registration view.

The similarity of the staff and student views will allow staff to more easily answer questions and guide students through the registration experience if necessary.

- Erin Shannon, IRP Student Senior Business Lead - Student Records and Advising

This will provide an improved user experience for both groups.

Another new feature that will be introduced is the use of registration tokens. These tokens will allow administrators to process exception requests (for example, waiving a prerequisite) from students ahead of the registration date, allowing time for more thoughtful advising conversations and less need for carry-forward processes to manage already agreed upon exceptions. This will, in turn, give students the ability to register for these courses as soon as their registration opens, and decrease the pressure on administrators and advisors to process all such requests during the peak of the registration period. 

For more information about IRP Student focus areas, we invite you to read the other entries in this content series on the IRP Student website.

*Reflecting on our experience so far in working with Workday and seeing how our design is shaping up, we realize that we have to embrace change and be confident in our ability to adapt. Workday Student, along with IRP Student’s functional requirements, are evolving quickly and this could mean that we may have to adapt our approach throughout the project timeline.