As the spring semester draws to a close and Suffolk University students begin preparing for their next semester, Suffolk switched from using WebAdvisor and SelfService for student resources to Workday Student.
The shift to Workday Student became official Feb. 26. Following the launch, Suffolk and Workday offered training to student leaders across campus to aid in the transition.
“We tried to let students know far in advance of registration,” said Grace MacDonald, a Workday Student marketing assistant. “We started promotion back in October, posting Instagram Reels, putting up posters and signs and sending emails about Workday to the student body.”
While opinions on the website itself are split, many students said the transition was difficult, especially in the lead-up to course registration.
“I think the transition was pretty horrible,” said sophomore Asher Israel. “They didn’t really roll it out in a way that gave us advice on how to use it, it made it a lot harder than it needed to be.”
For students who used WebAdvisor and SelfService for years, the change was especially difficult to adjust to.
“They got used to doing it this one way, and now they have to switch and learn a whole new way,” said senior Jorie Kyle. “I feel like they should just pick a system and stay there.”
The switch to Workday Student reminded Kyle of her sophomore year when students had first switched to SelfService.
“People just didn’t know how to register, and I know that a lot of people had to go to their advisors like ‘How do I do this, help me!’And I feel like that’s similar to sophomore year,” Kyle said.
Sophomore Boris Vira said while there was a learning curve, Workday Student ended up being preferable to SelfService and WebAdvisor. Vira added that the transition will become less difficult as more students adjust to the change in the upcoming semester.
“At first I was a little bit annoyed that they changed everything, but I tend to think that it’s an easier process than what it used to be,” Vira said. “I think once people learn it it’ll be easier.”
After getting logged into Workday Student, students are split on the quality and convenience of the website itself.
Freshman Ashley Bishquemi expressed frustration over the process of finding courses to register for.
“When I had to choose my classes, it was really hard to find them,” said Bishquemi. “In the SelfService one, it was way easier to find the course sections.”
Bishquemi isn’t alone in her frustration.
“It is exceedingly difficult to find the courses for course registration,” said Israel. “That was a struggle.”
Workday Student created an atmosphere of anxiety for many students who felt left in the dark during course registration. With a new platform, the adjustment was an expected obstacle to many.
“Registration was kind of terrifying because it was a whole new process and everybody was rushing around and trying to figure everything out on time so they got their classes right. Whereas for SelfService, I didn’t have that issue,” said sophomore Guadalupé Callahan.
Other students like freshman Holly Fenner pointed out the convenience of having so many student resources in one centralized place. Students who have a work study job or merit scholarship position log hours through Workday, so combining work and academics creates a more cohesive organization process for many.
“Working on a work study job, I feel like it’s easier to have that in the same website as your academic stuff,” Fenner said.
The learning curve has proven rewarding for some, but minor conveniences make it hard to justify the frustration for others.
“Once you have it down I guess it’s pretty straightforward and simple, however, to get it down you have to learn it yourself.I haven’t really gotten the hang of it,” Callahan said.
