Checkpoints for UBC’s Mission to Launch Workday Student

Checkpoints for UBC’s Mission to Launch Workday Student

April 13, 2023

Throughout 2023, the Integrated Renewal Program – Student (IRP Student) continues our Mission to Launch Workday Student at UBC.

This year, IRP Student is moving from the Build phase into the Testing phase, which will ensure Workday Student and all applications function as expected to support UBC processes. During this stage, the project team will also finalize training materials and kick-off end-user training.

Launch 1 of Workday Student is on track for October of 2023, with Launch 2 following in February 2024.

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This article will break down the critical activities and milestones for 2023, as we prepare for Launch 1. The graphic below illustrates the program’s history, the launch sequencing, and ongoing periods of Hypercare, and aims to provide a high-level overview of the items discussed in this article.

Below is a list of upcoming activities, engagements, and milestones. This index can be used for ease of navigation:

Click on the image above to watch a summary video of the upcoming activities at IRP Student.

 

Institutional Readiness Assessments

IRP Student has established a process for assessing how prepared the UBC community is to respond to the coming changes and adapt to any new ways of working. This process – known as the “Institutional Readiness Assessment” - includes a series of surveys, the first of which was undertaken in late 2022. These surveys allow our community to provide insight about their experiences with IRP Student to date, and help to inform upcoming transition and support activities through 2023.

Two future iterations of this survey are planned over the coming year to measure progress on efforts to prepare the UBC community, and capture changes in readiness levels. The second iteration of this survey will occur from April 26 – May 19, 2023. Please keep an eye out for more information on how you can participate and share with your teams. Once available, details will be shared on the IRP Student website.

 

Local Transition Planning

Over the next few months, IRP Student and Community Engagement Partners (CEPs) will continue to support their faculties and units in defining and enabling local change through supporting local transition planning. During this stage, Primary Transition Leads (PTLs) will be working with their units to analyze what is changing from the current student information system to Workday Student and other point solutions. This analysis will help faculties and units determine what is changing, what the changes mean for their units, and who will be impacted.

PTLs will be introduced to curated resources called ‘Change Bundles’ that include information such as high-level change impacts and business processes. These Change Bundles include an overview of each functional area as they map to the business capabilities of the system, in addition to the related business process, change impacts, reports, and additional resources. Change Bundles will be gradually shared throughout the next few months, starting with topics that fall under Launch 1.

PTLs will work with their Local Transition Leads (LTLs) or other key members in their units to review and analyze the Change Bundles, parsing out relevant information and changes. These changes will be documented in the Change Impact Assessment tool that was introduced in the previous months.

Through this collaborative work, Transition Network members can interpret what the changes mean for their units and identify specific actions and transition planning activities that will need to happen to support their faculty or unit’s transition to Workday Student and other point solutions. Faculties and units can then plan ahead on next steps and activities to be completed by both launches.

PTLs and LTLs will inform staff and faculty in their units what actions they will need to take in the coming months to prepare for the transition.

 

Targeted Consultations and Demos

During the Design and Build phases, IRP Student has actively engaged with UBC community members, comprised of faculty, administrative staff, student representatives, and academic and administrative committees, all who helped to provide feedback which informed the configuration and design of the new student information system - Workday Student, its integrations, and newly created point solutions. This has provided a foundation for successfully transitioning UBC programs, services, and operations to meet the University’s vision and goals for the future. Targeted consultations and demos will continue into 2023 as we work through testing and finalizing the capabilities of the system.

 

Continuing Engagements: Call-in Sessions

As we develop our knowledge on Workday Student, including the upcoming changes and impacts, it is important to ensure our UBC community continues to be engaged, informed, and prepared. Community Call-In Sessions provide UBC faculty and staff to the opportunity to dive deeper into the capabilities and design of the new student information system through topic-specific overviews, demonstrations, recordings, and Q&A sessions. These engagements commenced in February of 2023, and will continue throughout the year.

So far, throughout 2023:

  • IRP has held 4 Community Call in Sessions
  • Session Topics include: Program of Study, Admissions & Matriculation, and Course Inheritance & Making Course Section Updates, and Create & Maintain Course Clusters
  • 1,115 attendees from our UBC community Community

Community Call-In Sessions are open to UBC faculty and staff members only. You can view the schedule for upcoming sessions on the IRP Student website, or watch past recordings on the IRP Student Event Archives webpage. More topics and sessions will be announced in April 2023, please keep an eye on the website for more details. We encourage you to connect with your Primary Transition Lead (PTL) with any questions about these sessions that you may have, or to access registration information.

 

End-to-End Testing

As IRP Student moves from the Build to the Testing phase in Spring 2023, we will begin to test the new student information system’s capabilities in practical day-to-day scenarios to ensure the system and its applications function as designed, ensuring business continuity at UBC.

End-to-End Testing, ensures that the new student information system is tested in an integrated context, validating all components of the new system work cohesively together by testing business processes from beginning to end. During testing, identified community testers - who will include staff, faculty, and students from across UBC - will be able to apply their knowledge and understanding to the new system in a test environment. This will provide an opportunity for users to test multiple variations of their regular day-to-day tasks and actions, and provide feedback on the new system in a structured way.

End-to-End testing is not a form of training, formal training will kick off in late-spring.

End-to-End Testing will be completed in two stages:

  • The first testing pods will focus on critical activities in scope for Launch 1 and will begin in May 2023, where pods will begin executing planned test scenarios
  • Beginning in June 2023, testing levels will increase as all testing pods will be active, and focusing on activities for Launch 2 and beyond.

Information gathered throughout End-to-End Testing will bring valuable feedback to the final implementation of the renewed student information system.

You can read more about End-to-End testing here.

 

Training

Training for Workday Student will build knowledge and develop skills and competencies to ensure students, faculty, and staff have the necessary capabilities and tools to successfully employ the capabilities of the renewed student information system. Workday Student training is designed to provide ‘end-to-end’ training for system users, through a full range of online, on-demand training materials. The unique “read it, watch it, try it” structure will offer interactive, realistic, contextual training in a wide range of formats.

Canvas courses for Workday Student will offer learners three ways to learn a business process or task.

  • The “Read It” format is a traditional job aid document that includes step-by-step instructions and screenshots of the business process. You can follow along, like reading an illustrated recipe.
  • Choosing “Watch It” displays an enhanced video presentation of the lesson, with all steps done for you. You can easily play, pause and rewind the Watch It video. Watch It is an excellent refresher.
  • Learners choosing to “Try It” will learn by interacting with a hyper-realistic simulation of the actual Workday environment, with written, verbal and graphic aids to guide them through the process. Try It is recommended for most learners.

In conjunction with developing training materials, the training team has been working hard on plans for Launch 1 training. Through the month of March, we will roll out details of the training plan to our Transition Network and other interested stakeholders.

Launch 1 training will be delivered in three stages:

  • June 2023: Advanced User Training. Delivered by a blended model over a period of three months, intended to build detailed knowledge of Launch 1 capabilities. This blended model includes self-serve, in person and synchronous online training. This training will be offered to select groups of users to be identified by a consultative process over early-mid 2023.
  • July 2023: Core User Training. Available to all staff/faculty users. Continuously available, continuously updated online, on-demand training with hyper-realistic simulations will provide hands-on practice. Multiple “Read It, Watch It, Try It” formats to suit various learning styles.
  • October 2023 onwards: In Application Training. Training will be available from within Workday Student via links to Canvas training materials, for immediate, in-application assistance/refresher training in the user’s choice of “Read It, Watch It, Try It” formats.

For more information and details as they become available, please visit IRP Student’s Training web page.

 

Go-Decision

This stage, happening July 2023, involves a final stage of rigorous checks to ensure the system is ready for launch and business continuity remains. Prior to the Go-Decision, a multi-step process will be followed to obtain UBC Executive approval before moving ahead with Launch 1 cutover activities.

'Cutover’ is a critical phase which involves the planning and execution of activities required to successfully transition the current SIS to Workday, existing applications and other point solutions impacted with the change. Cutover is completed in specific timeframes synced with each Launch period, to ensure minimal disruption to day-to-day operations.

The Go Decision is not about if UBC implements Workday, but when.

 

Launch 1 (Initiate)

The first launch focuses on administrative capabilities that admit undergraduate students and manage preparations for the 2024 winter sessions.

Continuing the Journey After Launch 1

 

Hypercare

After each Launch there is a Hypercare phase that will continue based on need. Hypercare is a period where additional dedicated resources are available to troubleshoot issues that arise and support the community through the transition to the new system. More information will be available on the details of Hypercare in fall 2023 on the IRP Student website.

 

Mock Registration*

Mock Registration is a simulation of registration and subsequent activities occurring across UBC within one or more terms. This stage provides an opportunity for UBC Faculty and staff to practice their knowledge gained in training as they interact with a subset of students in a safe environment, prior to Launch 2. It will also allow IRP Student to observe students as they flow through the Workday system to better inform student training and support materials. More information will be available on the details of Mock Registration in winter 2023 on the IRP Student website.

*Update: This activity has moved closer to when students will be using the new system, after Launch 2. Read more here. 

Launch 2 (Activate)

A few months after Launch 1, the second launch activates systems that support students to study, advance, and graduate from UBC.

Launch 2 will be the point where students gain access to Workday Student (in addition to the SIS). Students who are registered in courses for the 2023 Winter or 2024 Summer sessions will continue to use the SIS to access this information related to these sessions. For activities related to Winter 2024 session, students will access information through Workday. During this stage, however, some tasks will need to be completed in both the SIS and Workday (e.g. student personal information).

During the time between Launches 2 and 3, some student data will be synchronized from classic SIS to Workday to aid in 2024 Winter registrations.

 

IRP Student Completion

This is focused on sustainment and the continuous improvements of Workday Student and other applications at UBC.

By fall 2024, the entire new student information system will be launched. Classic SIS will be moved offline, at which point users will no longer be able to access the system. From there, the focus will be on sustainment and continuous improvement of Workday Student so it is optimized to grow with UBC for years to come.

2023 will be a big year for IRP Student. We look forward to sharing the results of future Institutional Readiness Assessments, continuing with Community Call-in Sessions, moving through the testing phase, commencing training activities, and of course, Launch 1 of Workday Student – Initiate. Below you will find resources to support you as you learn more about IRP Student and UBC’s transition to Workday Student. For more information on the detailed timeline of the program, please visit IRP Student’s Timeline web page.

 

Resources Available

 

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