Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) met last Wednesday, October 2, in the Mills Hall event room and discussed the upcoming implementation of Workday Student as Bowdoin’s academic information management system.

Professor of History and Associate Dean for Curriculum Dallas G. Denery II, Registrar Martina Duncan and Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Michael Cato were present at the meeting to offer an in-depth explanation of the reasons for the change in registration systems and how the new one will work.

Denery explained that registration in the spring of 2025 for classes the following semester will be the first time the campus will use Workday instead of Polaris. He noted that videos, FAQs, guides and training sessions if necessary will be available to guide students in learning the new system.

Cato went on to explain the reasons for the switch, saying it was unavoidable.

“The challenge was that the other options were much more expensive and more problematic,” he said. “It became clear that we were spending a ton of money and effort and people resources that were keeping us from doing other things.”

Cato explained that Polaris is a collection of systems stitched together and requires a lot of behind the scenes maintenance. Workday, on the other hand, is a global company with a streamlined registration system used by colleges and universities across the United States.

Duncan took over to explain how student registration on Workday will work. Classes will be available in March, and students will build preliminary “save schedules” with their advisors that they will submit during their registration time. Registration will open up to anyone eligible for pre-registration on April 3, rising seniors on April 7, and then rising juniors and sophomores on April 9 and 11, respectively. The save schedules will be inputted by students with the click of one button. It is first-come, first-served, and students will be notified immediately whether they got a course.

Duncan noted that a benefit of the new system is that students can add themselves to waitlists and will be notified if spots become available. Additionally, Denery emphasized the speed at which students will have their schedules solidified. He also noted that students will be free from other responsibilities during their registration window, including on-campus jobs and practices.

“Within five or ten minutes, you’re going to actually know all your classes,” Denery said. “We’ll do everything we can to make sure everybody is freed up to actually focus on that time.”

Following this segment, BSG members asked questions about the new system, many of whom asked on behalf of other students who had concerns about how registration will work. Several students asked how Workday will affect first years and rising sophomores that have the last slot to register in their ability to get their desired classes. Administrators responded by saying the new system will help ensure that students have access to the classes they want.

“There are levers we can pull that make sure that the appropriate students are getting the appropriate [classes] at the appropriate times in their career,” Duncan said.

Some BSG members also raised concerns about the recent change to course registration for first years, who registered for classes this summer instead of during orientation. Representative on the Facilities and Sustainability Committee Ainsley Morrison ’26 noted what she had heard from first years.

“I definitely heard a lot of feedback in terms of how summer registration went,” Morrison said. “I think that it puts first years at an extreme disadvantage when they have to pick everything ahead of time with no advising.”

Denery emphasized that feedback is important to those working on the registration system to improve it for everyone. He said a survey will be coming out to assess the new method for registering first-year students and that feedback on the coming changes will be appreciated as well.

“We want you to be here, we want you to be happy, we want you to get the classes you want and the only way we’re going to know what worked and what didn’t is if you let us know,” Denery said.

This Wednesday, BSG met for their third meeting and held their first vote on proposals for the year. BSG also discussed collecting dining feedback, facilitating transportation within Brunswick for first years and increasing the number of water fountains on campus.

BSG passed a proposal to offer the student body 100 additional subscriptions to the mindfulness app Headspace.  An amendment to decrease the subscriptions to 50 was proposed but did not pass. BSG discussed advertising the Headspace subscriptions both through emails to students and through Counseling Services.

BSG also unanimously passed a proposal specifying the budget for the Ivies Main Quad Day. The student group will maintain the same budget for the event as previous years, allotting $10,000 for food trucks, $2,500 for portable restrooms and $3,000 for merchandise.

Additionally, BSG discussed distributing more laundry detergent sheets in campus residential buildings. BSG President Eisa Rafat ’25 said BSG is exploring which distribution methods are most cost-effective, which is taking longer than expected.

At the meeting, student representatives also discussed their yearly budget. BSG Vice President Elliott Ewell ’27 mentioned that BSG’s budget two years ago was $90,000, but that BSG only asked for $50,000 this year. Rafat encouraged BSG to make the most out of their yearly budget.

“As we have seen over the past couple years, our budget has been dropping as a result of the different initiatives that we are doing that may not cost as much,” Rafat said. “We are trying to push this year to spend more.”