UBC's transition to Workday Student: An introduction to the Coexistence period

At UBC, the Integrated Renewal Program - Student (IRP Student) is actively working towards the next step in modernizing our student information system infrastructure – through the phased implementation of Workday Student.

Workday Student will complement the existing Workday HR / Finance system, and will be launched through a phased approach, starting in Fall 2023:  

• October 2023: Launch 1 initiates the systems that admit undergraduate students and prepare UBC for the 2024 Winter session. This first launch mostly impacts staff and faculty at UBC who are involved in the administrative tasks that admit students to UBC and support course scheduling for 2024 Winter session.
• February 2024: Launch 2 activates systems that support students to study, advance, and graduate from UBC. During this time, the legacy Student Information System (SIS) will be processing, supporting, and finishing the 2023 Winter and 2024 Summer sessions and Workday Student will be exclusively used from the 2024 Winter session onwards. This phase of the launch will impact all users of the legacy SIS including students, staff, and faculty. 
• Fall 2024: The entire new student information system will be launched. From there, the focus will be on sustainment and continuous improvement of Workday Student through the IRP Student Completion, so it is optimized to grow with UBC for years to come.

It is important to note that from October 2023 to September 2024, the legacy SIS and Workday Student will run in parallel, meaning both systems will be live and in use; this is known as the Coexistence Period. Within this blog, you will learn more about the Coexistence Period, including its timeline, impacted groups, effects, and more. 

Overview of Coexistence

In order to seamlessly move UBC through the completion of academic cycles and gradually bring the renewed student information system online, there must be a transitionary period where both the legacy and new system will coexist.  

During this Coexistence Period, the legacy SIS will continue to be used to process, support, and complete all activities related to the 2023 Winter and 2024 Summer sessions at UBC. Workday Student will be exclusively used for activities relating to the 2024 Winter session and beyond.

Impacted groups during the Coexistence Period include staff, faculty, and students, in various ways. During this period of time, users will be required to complete tasks in either Workday Student, the SIS, or both systems to ensure correct information resides in the appropriate places until Workday Student becomes the exclusive system of record in Fall 2024.  

Phased Impacts during Coexistence

Launch 1 (October 2023) will mainly impact UBC’s staff and faculty as they prepare for admissions, curriculum management, and scheduling activities for Winter 2024. All activities related to 2023 Winter and 2024 Summer will continue within the SIS during this period of time.

During Coexistence, some activities will be required to be performed in one (single entry) or both systems (dual entry).

Examples of single/dual entry tasks for staff and faculty include:

• Single Entry: Through single-entry inputs, staff, and faculty are only to use the SIS for activities related to 2024 Summer and prior. Workday Student will be used for 2024 Winter and beyond, exclusively.
• Dual Entry: Curriculum changes effective as of 2023 Winter or 2024 Summer will need to be completed in both the SIS and Workday.

Launch 2 (February 2024) will impact staff, faculty, and current students at UBC. During this time, students will also be required to perform functions in either Workday Student, the legacy SIS, or both systems. During this transitionary period, current students will be able to log into their Workday Student profile to view all information and initiate tasks. Current students who are completing 2023 Winter and 2024 Summer sessions will manage administrative activities within the legacy SIS, and all students (both current and new) will register and manage activities for 2024 Winter and beyond within Workday Student.

Examples of single/dual entry tasks for students, staff, and faculty include:

• Students:
  • Single Entry: Students graduating in 2024, with a final session in 2023 Winter, or prior, can enter a change of address in the SIS only.
  • Dual Entry: For students continuing on beyond the 2024 Summer session, a change of address will be required to be entered into both the SIS and Workday Student. 
• Staff & Faculty:
  • Single Entry: Grades for 2023 Winter and 2024 Summer will be single entry into the SIS. These grades will be uploaded to Workday Student through an automated data sync.
  • Dual Entry: Program of Study (PoS) changes will be required to be added into both systems during the Coexistence period. For example, should a student take a Leave of Absence for 2023 Winter or 2024 Summer, this would be reflected in both Workday Student and the SIS.

By fall 2024, the entire new student information system will be launched. From there, the focus will be on sustainment and continuous improvement of Workday Student through the IRP Student Completion, so it is optimized to grow with UBC for years to come.

Support During Coexistence

IRP Student is working with faculties and units to ensure all staff, faculty, and students impacted by the transition to Workday Student, including the Coexistence Period, are aware of the changes to their regular administrative processes, and directed to the appropriate system(s) to complete various administrative activities. Additionally, during the phased transition, users will also be notified by automated messaging in the SIS when there is a requirement for dual entry, or if the task must rather be completed in Workday Student.

Students at UBCV can reach out to their Enrolment Service Advisor (ESA) or Faculty Academic Advisor and students at UBCO to their Academic and Career Advisor, or reference embedded Workday Student Training material, once the system is live, for support.

By fall of 2024, Workday Student will be the system of record for academic administration at UBC. However, although the system will be fully launched, this will only be the beginning. From there, initiatives to create continuous improvements and enhancements to UBC's systems will occur – allowing us to grow and improve for years to come. 

If you have any questions about how your faculty or unit is preparing for the transition to Workday Student, you can reach out to your Primary Transition Lead (PTL) directly.