Most WashU students are gearing up to register for fall 2025 classes next week using a new student information system, Workday. Many have prepared by updating information and building draft schedules, but administrators say this first registration cycle will have some bumps.
Nearly all returning undergraduate students have started required tasks in Workday, such as updating personal information, and have built one or more saved schedules from which they will register. Faculty and academic advisers are preparing as well, with over 70% having completed suggested training and many getting a jump start on advising appointments. Student registration is April 15-18.
“We are off to a good start, and students are completing initial tasks with minimal issues,” said Erin Culbreth, senior associate provost at Washington University in St. Louis and executive director of Student Sunrise, the project team that is overseeing the transition. “However, no matter how much everyone prepares, we know it will be rocky for a while. We’ve been working in our old system for over 30 years. So, to transition to something this different may feel overwhelming to some. Those who have participated in preview and practice opportunities, taken training or joined us at office hours should have an easier time getting started in the new system.”
While the biggest change is how the system looks and displays information, there are a couple of points that students, advisers, registrars and faculty teaching next fall should be aware of:
- Resolve any holds or course section override requests before registration begins. Due to greater enforcement of course prerequisites and co-requisites, students should request any needed overrides before their registration appointments. While students still can request overrides after their appointment, they will not be eligible to enroll in the course section until the override gets approved. Faculty teaching courses in Arts & Sciences, the McKelvey School of Engineering and the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts will need to log into Workday and approve or deny overrides before the student can register. CAPS navigators will approve overrides for their students. For all other schools, the school registrar will approve or deny requests.
- Set up notifications. Students can join waitlists but need to set up notifications to be alerted to their spot in a class. Students will have 72 hours to accept the spot, otherwise the system will decline the seat and move to the next person on the list.
- Flag data inaccuracies. Because of the complexity of the transition, some data will look different. If students or advisers see something that doesn’t look right, particularly with the academic progress report, submit a help ticket so the support team can investigate.
“In a new system that enforces registration requirements and has different subject codes and course numbers, we know this first registration may be challenging,” said Keri Disch, university registrar. “My office and the Workday Student support team are monitoring many aspects of the system and will be providing support as we all navigate our new system.”
New class schedule search tool available on registrar website
While current students should use Workday to search for course sections to plan for the fall semester, prospective students and others who are curious about WashU’s offerings can use a new class schedule search tool on the Office of the University Registrar website.
“This new tool is not a replacement for Workday, which is where students will find the details needed to plan their schedules and register,” Disch said. “But it does provide some functionality not yet available in Workday, such as the ability to search courses offered by school.”
Culbreth said that the fall Mock enRoll preview and practice events provided valuable feedback about ways to improve Workday’s course section search.
“In response, we’ve modified our course section search tutorial to better help students find classes, and we’ve also been working directly with Workday to address feedback from WashU and other universities,” she said.
Expanded resources to help audiences prepare
Instructor-led training for several groups continues through the spring, and there are several eLearning courses, available in Workday Learning, that any faculty or staff member can take. To support specific groups with details on what to do when and what training to take, the Sunrise team has updated and expanded its audience pages in the Go-Live Year section of its website. View the pages below to learn more about what each audience group should do and when.
For students
For advisers
For faculty and staff who teach
For course and section managers
For student support offices and administration
For financial aid administrators
FERPA training available
To help faculty and staff refamiliarize with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Office of the University Registrar, with support from Student Sunrise, has launched a FERPA eLearning course accessible through Workday. The training is available to any faculty or staff member.
“With the move to Workday, the time is right to formalize routine FERPA training for anyone who can view student data at WashU,” Disch said. “While the training currently is voluntary, my office will soon require it for anyone with or requesting access to student data.”
Training can be accessed via this link or by searching “FERPA” within Workday’s Learning app. Managers can assign this training to their staff anytime.
