To the editorial board,

Thank you for your thoughtful editorial about the College’s decision to move from Polaris/Banner to Workday Student. You correctly note that this will represent a significant change in how Bowdoin students will register for courses and that some questions remain unanswered. The Workday Student implementation team has begun information and training sessions that will continue through the coming weeks and months to explain the changes in more detail. We write to offer a few points of clarification.

First, it is important to not allow a registration system to be confused with Bowdoin’s dedication to the liberal arts or our academic values. A registration system is the mechanism that formalizes course rosters, not an engine to drive curricula or dictate pedagogy. “The unique liberal arts spirit of the College” resides in you and your faculty, in the conversations you have about what inspires you, and the decisions you make about your courses.

To be sure, Bowdoin’s existing registration process is unique, and while this could suggest it is especially suited to our educational community and values, it hardly means we have a perfect registration system. In fact, there is no such thing. Every system has its advantages and disadvantages.

Our current system allows all students to submit their enrollment preferences simultaneously (an advantage). It then uses a predictable set of patterns to prioritize student enrollment, which can be gamed by students in the know to give them advantages over others requesting the same classes (a disadvantage).

Additionally, Polaris is a collection of home-grown and heavily customized systems that have become increasingly unreliable. We regularly experience crashes during registration, the time when we need the system most, causing anxiety for students and immense amounts of administrative and technical effort to resolve. Given the nature of the technologies that undergird Polaris, rebuilding them would require a significant increase in personnel and resources that would have to come at the expense of other areas. The cost—both monetary and administratively—to maintain Polaris is no longer worth those trade-offs.

Workday Student uses a registration method that reflects how most colleges and universities conduct registration. It is different from how we currently do things, but probably similar to how your friends at other institutions register for courses. It is a first-come, first-served process that happens in phases, with seniors registering first, then juniors and so forth. Students will be given assigned times to register based on their class standing, and after meeting with their academic advisors, students may register for and drop classes freely online. While this might raise concerns that students will not be able to get the classes they need, the system includes various tools (e.g., reserving seats for first-year and second-year students, utilizing course prerequisites and formalized waitlists) to help ensure that students get the courses they need when they need them.

Again, no registration system is perfect, and sometimes students will be shut out of classes they need or want. Of course, it’s important to keep in mind this also happens regularly with Polaris. And as we do currently when this happens, we will do what is necessary to make sure students get the courses they need to graduate.

We realize we have not answered all the questions raised in your editorial, but a series of opportunities have already begun to inform students about the transition and to answer questions. As reported in the Orient, earlier this month, members of the project team met with BSG, and the team began “Workday Wednesday” drop-in sessions at the Tech Hub every second Wednesday of the month.

Two open forums will be held on Monday, October 28, and Tuesday, October 29 at 7:00 p.m. in Hatch 212. You can learn more about the project and these opportunities at the project website. As we move closer to our go-live date next semester, more detailed information will be released to campus about what to expect.

Sincerely,

The Executive Sponsors of the Workday Implementation Projects:

Michael Cato, senior vice president and chief information officer

Matt Orlando, senior vice president for finance and administration & treasurer

Jen Scanlon, senior vice president and dean for academic affairs