Dear Campus Community,
I want to share an important update about how we are strengthening the systems and processes that support the work of St. Mary’s College. As you may already know, the College has made the decision to move forward with Workday, an enterprise platform that will ultimately bring together many of the systems and processes that support our employees, students, finances and operations. Workday will replace Anthology.
I also want to acknowledge the significant work colleagues across the College have put into implementing and supporting Anthology. Many people have devoted considerable time, effort and expertise to making that system work for St. Mary’s, and I am deeply grateful for that commitment. I also recognize that moving to Workday means asking our community to navigate another significant change. You have learned new systems, adapted to new processes and continued to do the work of the College throughout those transitions. We know that another change will require more from you, and we do not take that lightly.
That is one reason we are beginning with Phase 0: Readiness, Strategy and Planning. We are not implementing Workday yet. This first phase gives us the opportunity to do important work upfront: confirm our strategy and scope, assess the resources and capacity we will need, establish clear governance and identify potential challenges before implementation begins. It also gives us time to learn from our previous experiences with major system changes. The time we invest in planning now will help us reduce risk, use our resources wisely and build a stronger foundation for the work ahead.
Why make this investment? Because the systems that support our work should help us move the College forward, not make that work harder. Workday gives us an opportunity to simplify how we work, better connect information and processes, and give our community better access to the information and tools they need. It can help us reduce manual processes and workarounds, strengthen reporting and decision-making, and create a more consistent experience across the College. Ultimately, this is an investment not simply in technology, but in our people and in our ability to support the College’s mission effectively.
We will take a staged approach rather than trying to change everything at once. We will begin with the systems and processes that support Finance, Human Resources and Payroll. The systems and processes that support the student experience will follow later.
As the work progresses, we will communicate at meaningful milestones and provide opportunities for members of the community to learn more, offer input and prepare for changes that affect them. Those directly involved in the project will play an especially important role in helping us design processes that serve the College well into the future.
Our goal is not simply to implement Workday. It is to use this opportunity thoughtfully, learn from our experience and build a stronger foundation for how St. Mary’s College works and supports its people.
Thank you for your continued engagement and commitment to St. Mary’s College.
Best wishes,
Rhonda Phillips, Ph.D., FAICP
President
