Wake Forest University Redefines the Academic Experience with Workday Student

Wake Forest University’s legacy systems were complex and challenging for everyone who used them. After adopting Workday Student, the university’s CIO Mur Muchane highlights how Wake Forest is evolving and adapting to the expectations of today’s students, faculty, and staff.

Student smiling while working on his laptop

Wake Forest University (WFU) is known for academic excellence and prioritizing the student experience, especially as it relates to student-faculty engagement. In today’s technology-driven world, part of staying true to those commitments is having the right tools in place to deliver it.

“At Wake Forest, we recognized the evolving landscape of higher education,” said CIO Mur Muchane, “and the need to adapt to meet the expectations of today’s students.”

In 2024, Wake Forest was 1 of 28 institutions to go live on Workday Student. Since then, its 9,000 students and nearly 7,400 faculty and staff have been empowered to actively engage in their academic and administrative journeys.

In a recent conversation, Mur Muchane highlights why Wake Forest continues to be one of the nation’s most prestigious higher education institutions and how Workday has helped it uphold its core values around whole-student experiences and continuous innovation.

What industry trends influenced Wake Forest to invest in Workday Student to support its mission into the future?

There are a few trends that played a role in our decision. First, just as consumers expect seamless experiences from companies like Amazon and Instagram, students now anticipate receiving the same level of service and personalization in their academic journeys. They desire intuitive, mobile-friendly systems that provide quick answers and tailored support.

Further, the modern student is not focused solely on academics. Higher-ed institutions must now cater to their holistic development—including their well-being, career aspirations, and sense of belonging. This requires more integrated systems to support a wider range of student needs.

Finally, higher education is increasingly relying on data to inform strategic decisions while the rapid pace of change in technology demands more agile, adaptable systems. We needed a solution that could provide valuable insights into areas like student progress, resource allocation, and course demand, while also helping us respond quickly to new challenges and opportunities.

What value and benefits are gained compared to the legacy platforms that supported the student experience?

Adopting Workday Student represents a strategic step forward for Wake Forest in addressing the critical challenges we faced with our legacy systems. It aligns with both our present needs and future aspirations.

One of our most significant pain points under previous systems was a lack of mobile integration. Students increasingly rely on mobile devices to access campus services, from checking course schedules to registering for classes and reviewing financial aid. The complexity of our legacy systems frustrated students, faculty, and staff, who all found the platforms difficult to use.

With Workday Student, we now have a platform that students can interact with on-the-go. We have more user-friendly self-service tools, and we can offer simplified self-service capabilities that empower individuals to manage their academic and administrative needs independently. This has reduced friction and improved satisfaction across the board.

Our legacy systems required significant staffing resources to manage upgrades, patches, and maintenance. Now, with Workday’s continuous delivery model, the burden of managing these activities has shifted from our internal teams to Workday itself. This change has reduced operational costs and freed up our staff to focus on strategic initiatives rather than routine system upkeep.

Another major focus of our transition was ensuring consistent high-quality data. Workday has given us advanced tools for enforcing data standards so we’re always sure our records are accurate and usable across departments. The improved data governance directly supports our analytics efforts and decision-making.

Finally, one of the most exciting aspects of Workday Student is its ability to evolve in response to new technological advances and institutional needs—AI, predictive analytics, automation, and personalization to name a few. These enhancements align with our vision of continuous innovation. 

“Positive feedback reinforces our confidence that Workday Student has significantly enhanced the student experience at Wake Forest.” 

Mur Muchane CIO Wake Forest

What are you hearing from students in terms of improved experiences within Workday Student?

Student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. They appreciate the intuitive interface and the increased transparency into their academic information. They’ve also experienced streamlined processes, and have specifically praised the increased ease of course registration, the helpfulness of the prerequisite override process, and the overall transparency of the system.

How will Wake Forest benefit from “bringing it all together” within the single cloud-based Workday platform?

By streamlining processes, Workday has freed up valuable time for our staff and students. Its centralized nature ensures data integrity and has given us real-time access to information that facilitates better decision-making. With a clear view of student progress, we’ve seen increased transparency and better communication among students, faculty, and academic administrative offices.

What will be possible in the Office of the Registrar that was not possible in your legacy platform? Has the role of the Registrar changed at all to become more strategic?

Our Office of the Registrar has several new and strategic capabilities. Data-informed course scheduling has given them insight into course demand and enrollment trends, which enable better planning and resource allocation. Automated workflows have reduced their manual workload and driven efficiency for tasks like registration, degree audits, and transcript processing.

The platform also facilitates better communication and collaboration among the Registrar’s Office, students, faculty, and other departments.

What advice can you provide other campus leaders when it comes to managing change on campus? What has worked well for Wake Forest in this area?

Successfully managing change on campus requires a comprehensive, people-centered approach. Some key takeaways from our experience are strong executive sponsorship for driving buy-in, early and continuous communication with stakeholders, and collaboration across campus during the planning and implementation process to foster a sense of ownership. We’ve also worked to provide accessible training resources and ongoing support to help users adapt to the new system and realize its full potential.

“At Wake Forest, our comprehensive communication strategy and collaborative approach was instrumental in driving a smooth transition to Workday Student.”

Can you describe your experience in partnering with Workday?

Our partnership with Workday has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. From the outset, Workday approached the relationship as more than just a vendor-client relationship but rather as a strategic partnership.

The Workday team has been highly responsive and engaged closely with our stakeholders to understand the unique needs of Wake Forest. Their collaborative approach—from discovery and implementation through ongoing support—has been a significant part of ensuring ongoing success.

For Wake Forest, partnering with Workday Student is about more than a technology upgrade—it’s a step forward in redefining how the institution supports its students and faculty. By embracing innovation that aligns with its values, Wake Forest is not just meeting the challenges of today but also shaping a future where the academic experience is more connected, accessible, and meaningful.

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