Workday Student launches in Australia & New Zealand

Workday has announced the availability of Workday Student in Australia and New Zealand, marking its first international launch outside of North America.

The cloud-based student management system was developed with insights from over 40 global institutions, and a local advisory panel featuring the University of Melbourne, Macquarie University, and the University of Auckland has been established to further adapt the product to the Australian and New Zealand markets.

This extension of Workday Student to the ANZ region seeks to assist higher education institutions in overcoming significant challenges and improving student performance. Workday already holds a robust position in ANZ's higher education sector, with prominent universities such as Macquarie University, Deakin University, and the University of Queensland utilising its software for HR and finance functions.

Jason Mangan, Chief Digital Officer at the University of Auckland, stated, "As New Zealand's top-ranked university, the University of Auckland is committed to excellence while navigating a rapidly evolving higher education landscape. Digital transformation is central to modernising operations and enhancing student experience and engagement. By harnessing emerging and advanced technologies such as AI, data analytics, and cloud platforms, the University aims to create a future-focused environment that empowers both students and staff. As part of the Workday Advisory Panel, we are ensuring Workday Student is aligned with the needs of the NZ higher education market."

Workday Student integrates seamlessly with other Workday applications like Financial Management, Human Capital Management (HCM), and Adaptive Planning. This allows educational institutions to gain real-time insights across various campus activities such as registration, student financials, and academic planning.

Students using Workday Student can access mobile self-service tools for course registration, viewing bills and grades, making payments, and scheduling advising appointments, thereby enhancing student experiences.

The system also includes AI features designed to increase administrative efficiency by providing quick recommendations, validating data entries, and identifying irregularities.

With over 140 institutions in North America already using Workday Student, including 28 nearing completion of implementation in 2024, 65 institutions are currently live on the product.

Cade Elg, Workday's leader for education in ANZ, commented, "Workday Student is the only cloud-native student management system built in this century, specifically designed for today's mobile generation. Educational institutions in Australia and New Zealand face a fast-moving environment, from rising costs to regulatory changes – with so many challenges, we want to make it easier to better serve their students by shifting from outdated legacy systems and modernising their technology."

Elg also reflected on the system's impact at the University of British Columbia, noting, "We have seen the impact Workday Student has had for large educational institutions such as the University of British Columbia, a top 50 global university with over 70,000 students. This gives us confidence that universities in Australia and New Zealand, many of which are similarly large and multifaceted, will greatly benefit from adopting Workday Student to transform their operations and meet evolving student needs."