ERP FAQ

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems integrate various business processes and functions into one software platform designed to improve efficiency, collaboration, and decision-making within organizations. The Vermont State Colleges has used Ellucian Colleague as our student and finance ERP for over 20 years, and UKG (Ultipro) as our HR ERP since 2019.

After a yearlong process, including an assessment and a request for proposals, the ERP Steering Committee recommended Workday for the selection. The executive sponsors carried forward the recommendation of Workday, which was endorsed by the Board of Trustees.

This decision was the result of a very thorough selection process.  The Steering Committee, a cross-functional team with representatives from both institutions and shared services, evaluated each vendor based on our selection criteria with input from numerous functional experts and representatives across the system.  Workday was the organization and enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that best met our requirements.

The transition from our current systems to Workday will happen in stages and include project team members from across all functional areas at CCV and VTSU. It is a huge project that will impact almost all areas of our institutions. It will be a multi-year effort, and we will bring on additional staff to help during the implementation. We will start with the modules for Finance and HR, and the Student module will follow. More information will be communicated in the coming months.

Our current enterprise system, Colleague, was implemented in 2001 and is nearing the end of its useful life. The Ultipro (UKG) system was added in 2019 to enhance our services to employees. Workday’s platform is built on advanced, proven cloud technology and infrastructure that will set us up for the future as technology and higher education continue to change.

Workday will provide a modern and accessible user experience and deliver efficient self-service with simplified and consistent processes. When delivering features and functionality, we will look to Workday before other systems or integrations.

Configuring and implementing best practices and procedures as delivered by Workday will enable us to realize increased automation and process efficiencies.  We will be able to replace numerous manual processes and spreadsheets and be able to focus more time serving students and employees.

Workday will provide a nearly complete enterprise solution, enabling us to significantly reduce the number of software systems in our portfolio. This will reduce the complexity that comes with multiple system integrations that must be built and maintained.

Workday’s data model keeps all our critical data in one place and will enable better dashboards and reporting capabilities that will improve decision-making across all aspects of our institutions.

Excluding one-time implementation costs, by year five we expect that the new solution will save us over $1 million each year in software costs compared to our current portfolio. Additional savings will be realized through more efficient processes, improved access to information, and, ultimately, better student retention.

If you have any questions about the transition to Workday, please contact Wilson Garland.