As Campbellsville University continues to adjust to Workday, professors are adapting to new ways of helping students plan and register for classes.
Until recently, students and faculty used Tigernet for advising, registration and billing. Workday now replaces that older system, offering the same tools in a modern interface while adding new features such as allowing student workers to clock in and out for their on-campus jobs.
Dr. Mitzie L. Forrest, assistant professor of criminal justice and criminology, said the change has reshaped how she approaches advising. She now schedules appointments in advance so she can review each student’s progress in the system before they meet.
“I do a full degree audit so that whenever they come to the office for their appointment one-on-one with me, I’ve had the time not only to navigate the new system, but I already have an academic plan either created in Workday or ask questions of them to finish their academic plan for the upcoming semester,” Forrest said.
While advisers can create academic plans, Forrest said students are now responsible for registering for their own classes. That independence can be both helpful and risky. She explained that some students make scheduling decisions that delay their progress or fall outside their degree plans.
Forrest said she feels slightly less involved than she was with Tigernet, but that shift comes from giving students more control over their own education.
“When I came here two years ago, I did ask the question, what is Tigernet?” she said. “My impression once I saw and attempted to work on Tigernet was not a positive one. It was convoluted, multiple windows had to be open to look at degree requirements, one could not go back one screen without disabling the system and there were no more software updates available because it was such an old product.”
She said Tigernet’s outdated design made an upgrade necessary.
“Even though Workday presents its own challenges, there was no choice in upgrading systems,” Forrest said.
Forrest said the transition has come with confusion for both students and faculty, which is typical when new software is introduced. Many students, she added, struggle because they don’t check their email or use available resources.
“I would say that the students who are having the most challenging time with registration on Workday are likely those who do not keep up with or read their announcements and email,” she said.
In the criminal justice department, Forrest and her colleagues encourage students to come to them for help.
“We try to cultivate an environment where students come to us seeking help,” she said. “This includes registration and the use of Workday.”
Training for faculty, she said, was entirely online through Teams and Zoom. Forrest believes she and others would have learned more from in-person sessions.
“If money were no object, I would have likely retained more had in-person training workshops been an option,” she said.
As the department’s Workday lead, Forrest attends monthly committee meetings to share resources and address issues. She said the Business and Student Services Center has also been a valuable support.
“I have always found Sarah Begley and employees at the BASC to be very helpful,” Forrest said. “Begley even helped me set up extra training time with April Corbin here on campus.”
Forrest said that one improvement she would like to see is a searchable list of key terms for each department, linked to clear step-by-step guides.
“If we can be directed to the step-by-step directions, half of the challenge has been conquered,” she said.
Even with early frustrations, Forrest believes Workday will benefit the university in the long run.
“Tigernet must be ruled out. There are no software updates for Tigernet, so it is a moot point,” she said. “At the end of the day, I still like Workday better. It is not antiquated; it is a tool that still has updates and is not obsolete. Over the course of time, students and everyone else will adapt.”
She summed up her thoughts simply: “The moral of the story, growth and change hurt, but it is totally necessary.”
Tomias Rushin, a senior at Campbellsville University, said he first learned about Workday during the spring 2025 semester when the university began switching from Tigernet.
“It wasn’t the most fun app to use,” Rushin said. “We didn’t have any prep for it, and without our adviser, we didn’t really know how to use it.”
He said the transition has been “a horrendous process to a slow process to a good process,” with confusion especially affecting upperclassmen after the system crashed and advising had to be redone.
Rushin said he feels “somewhat confident but a little nervous” about building his own four-year plan and believes freshmen and sophomores should receive more help learning the system.
“You shouldn’t have to go into Workday without knowing what it’s about,” he said. “There should be a class to help students and faculty be proficient in it.”
He added that he still relies on tools such as Google Calendar and Moodle to track his classes because Workday can be difficult to navigate at first.
Caleb Kennedy, a sophomore at Campbellsville University, shared a similar experience. He said the switch to Workday made class registration more difficult for students.
“After the Workday switch, we became responsible for registering for classes on our own,” Kennedy said. “Most of us lack the expertise and knowledge to plan the ideal schedule. When we had Tigernet, the instructors registered for you and gave advice on which classes to take or what order to take them in.”
Kennedy said he feels less confident building his four-year plan without that guidance.
“I’d like the advisers to tell you which classes need to be taken sooner and what prerequisites we need,” he said.
He added that learning the new system came with challenges, but support was available.
“There was definitely a learning curve,” Kennedy said. “One of the success coaches at the BASC walked me through the process.”
Kennedy said registration now takes him about an hour and isn’t any faster than before, since he still must meet with his adviser before registering.
He also recalled enrolling in a class this semester only to learn on the first day that he lacked the prerequisite.
“I had to drop it and swap it for another,” he said.
Kennedy said if he could change one thing about Workday, he would make the system easier to navigate.
“I’m sure I’m not the only one who has to spend a few extra minutes digging through pages to find the information I need,” he said.
