What Is Workday? A Student’s Perspective

Student News | Friday, April 3, 2026

By Gillian Desormeaux,
Columbus State student (Graduating in December 2026 with an Associate of Arts in Communication)

Most students at Columbus State Community College are familiar with CougarWeb. If you’ve ever signed up for classes or paid your tuition online, you have used it. But did you know that this system is being replaced?

Starting in April, Columbus State students will be able to register for Autumn classes on a new platform called Workday. 

Maybe you picked up one of the Workday Info bookmarks, saw Workday on a digital screen, or visited a table with Workday Information at various student events, but some of you still may not be sure of what Workday is.

Recently, the college held an event called “Workday Mock Semester,” where students had the chance to test it for the first time. But what is it? 

Workday is a new student information system, otherwise known as an SIS. It’s a cloud-based record system for student information. Like CougarWeb, students will be able to use Workday to register for courses, update their contact information, and manage their financial aid and/or tuition and fees. Unlike CougarWeb, however, students will be able to include a voice recording of the correct pronunciation of their name on their profile, set up appointments with their advisors, and virtually fill out important forms—something students have historically had to do manually and often in person. 

Workday will also have a mobile app. While the app is helpful when you are on the go, the college highly recommends using a computer (PC or Mac) to complete Workday tasks for the best experience. Using the mobile app to "view" and a computer to "do" in Workday may simplify your experience."

The goal of the Workday transition is to streamline every student process into one hub, simplifying otherwise inconvenient tasks.  

This system change will empower students to take charge of their experience with information moving directly from students to the teams that need it. Sage Vatke, Student Central instructional designer and a member of the Workday implementation team, thinks having everything in one system will benefit students. Especially being able to easily identify your college support teams in the "Important Contacts" section, schedule appointments with Student Central and Financial Aid, and get immediate notifications if something isn't approved.  

A Workday Mock Semester was held in mid-February on the Columbus and Delaware campuses. An additional session was held for College Credit Plus students. This was the first opportunity for students to test the software themselves and provide feedback on their experiences before the platform’s official launch. The “test run” event was a cross-departmental effort carried out with help from the Workday Implementation Team, which could be seen working each day of the event. Roughly 90 students participated.  

To get a feel for what students should expect, I signed up for the Mock Semester event myself.  

Students were given one of three simulations to test. I was assigned Simulation #2, which tasked me with registering for classes through Workday. As the event’s name suggests, it was only a mock run; however, I used a test environment of the real platform to complete the run-through. Participants were provided forms to fill out as we navigated our tasks. We were asked to be honest in our feedback, as the teams working on implementation would apply any necessary improvements to the system based on our experience.  

 I appreciated the aesthetically pleasing design of the software. I found it visually appealing, especially in contrast to CougarWeb. (You’ll have to trust me on this one until you get to see it for yourselves!) Not to mention, I also found it extremely intuitive. I easily navigated each prompt, not struggling to move from Point A to Point B inside the platform. Other students mentioned that they appreciated the intuitive layout, the new explanation feature that accompanied any errors as they occurred, as well as the cohesiveness of the notifications and tasks. Overall, other student participants and I enjoyed the event and appreciated the attentiveness of the employees involved.  

The most important thing to know about the new SIS right now is the overlap period that will occur between the transition from CougarWeb to Workday. “For Spring and Summer semesters, students have registered for classes in CougarWeb. For Autumn Semester, students will register in Workday.  

And students can expect to receive ample support from Columbus State employees as they navigate Workday for the first time this year, said Barbara Allen, Workday Change Management team member. “Across the board, students should feel capable, confident, and connected. When they see Workday on their desktop or their app, it feels intuitive to them, and they can see their support network. We also hope they know that they’re not alone doing any of this.”  

Through the end of the Spring and the Summer semesters, students will use both CougarWeb and Workday for different functions. Once the summer semester is behind us, the use of CougarWeb will be too.  Students will be using Workday to manage all aspects of their student record and account.

For more information regarding Workday, Columbus State’s website offers the following resource: Workday for Students 

 

 

 

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