What Institutions Need to Know Before Migrating to Workday Student
Published Feb 26, 2025
As more and more institutions look to modernize their student information systems (SIS), Workday Student has increasingly grown as an attractive option for many. Known for its powerful HRIS and financial solutions, Workday is now gaining traction into the SIS space—promising a modern, cloud-based approach that addresses the needs of higher education. Yet, for many institutions accustomed to legacy systems, migrating to a cloud-based SIS like Workday Student can be daunting.
Here are the key considerations and potential challenges that institutions might face in this transition—and how to ensure a smooth, effective migration.
The Challenges
Adopting a Newer System: As Workday continues to refine its Student product, institutions may experience challenges that won’t be addressed as fast as they would like. Institutions may need to navigate occasional system adjustments or limitations, especially if they lack the dedicated support that larger organizations may receive. Preparing for this flexibility can help institutions make the most of the platform's potential.
Data Mapping and Migration: Data stored on legacy systems often needs to be restructured to fit into Workday Student's cloud environment. This requires thorough data mapping and quality checks to maintain consistency and integrity.
Integration with Existing Systems: Many institutions use multiple systems for CRM, learning management, financial aid, and more. Ensuring that these systems continue to function seamlessly with Workday Student requires robust, flexible integrations.
Security and Compliance: Moving data from on-prem to the cloud raises security and compliance considerations. Institutions must ensure that the new environment meets regulatory standards for data protection and privacy.
Keys to a Successful Migration to Workday Student
1. Define Clear Objectives and a Realistic Timeline
A Workday Student migration isn’t just an IT project—it’s an institution-wide transformation that affects students, faculty, and administrators. Before beginning the migration, it’s crucial to establish clear objectives that align with institutional priorities, such as improving student services, enhancing reporting capabilities, or streamlining administrative workflows. Setting a realistic timeline with defined milestones helps prevent rushed decision-making and ensures that all departments are prepared for the transition. Engaging key stakeholders early in the process, including IT staff, academic leaders, and administrative teams, fosters collaboration and minimizes disruptions.
2. Conduct a Comprehensive Data Audit
Legacy systems often contain years, if not decades, of accumulated data, much of which may be inconsistent, redundant, or outdated. A thorough data audit is necessary to determine what information needs to be migrated, what should be archived, and what requires cleanup. Standardizing data formats and eliminating duplicate or incomplete records reduces the risk of errors during migration. Testing data accuracy before the move ensures that student records, transcripts, financial data, and other critical information are correctly transferred into Workday Student, preventing issues that could impact enrollment, billing, or compliance reporting.
3. Test Early and Often
Testing is a critical phase of any SIS migration. Institutions should not wait until the final stages of implementation to identify potential issues. By conducting sandbox testing early in the process, teams can simulate real-world data interactions and uncover inconsistencies before they become larger problems. End-to-end testing across integrations ensures that data moves correctly between systems, while user acceptance testing (UAT) allows faculty, staff, and students to provide feedback on workflows and usability. The more comprehensive the testing, the smoother the final transition will be.
4. Leverage Advanced Tools and Expertise for a Faster, More Efficient Migration
Migrating to a new SIS can be a time-intensive process, but leveraging advanced tools can accelerate timelines and reduce manual work. For example, AI-powered automation tools can handle complex tasks like data mapping and API endpoint identification, saving time and minimizing errors. Generative AI is also proving valuable for generating ETL logic and optimizing data transformation recipes, which can significantly cut down on the time and resources required.
Additionally, having a team of integration specialists with expertise in higher education systems can make a world of difference. Experts familiar with both legacy systems and Workday Student can help navigate unique challenges, troubleshoot issues, and provide strategic guidance for a seamless transition. This combination of advanced technology and expert support allows institutions to approach their Workday Student migration with greater confidence.
Solution: Lingk’s Workday Student Integration Practice
Lingk empowers institutions to make a smooth and confident transition to Workday Student with our comprehensive integration solutions. Our approach combines sophisticated, scalable technology with a team of higher education integration experts who understand the unique needs of each institution. With Lingk’s Data Agents, manual data mapping and migration tasks are automated with GenAI—enabling faster, more reliable migrations and minimizing the potential for errors. Whether transitioning from on-prem or other cloud systems, Lingk provides a robust foundation for seamless integrations with Workday Student, ensuring institutions can fully leverage the power of the cloud and unlock the potential of unified, high-quality data across their systems.
Final Thoughts
A Workday Student migration requires more than just moving data—it’s an opportunity to build a more efficient, scalable student information system. Institutions that prioritize data quality, integration strategy, thorough testing, and user adoption will be well-positioned for a smooth transition. While challenges are inevitable, a proactive approach can minimize disruptions and set the stage for long-term success.
Explore how Lingk’s Managed Integration Services can accelerate your migration to Workday
About Lingk
Lingk is a leader in data integration, providing an award-winning iPaaS, groundbreaking Data Agents, and enterprise-level managed services to higher education institutions. Lingk’s platform unifies data with dynamic pipelines, empowering institutions to achieve seamless data connectivity and unified analytics, transforming data-driven decision-making.
