Campus Spotlight: Lynn University

Institutional Moment

Building Internal Capability

Institution Snapshot

Institution: Lynn University

Institution Type: Private University

Location: Boca Raton, Florida

Technology Initiative: Workday Student

Engagement Style: Reporting Optimization, Coaching, and Knowledge Transfer

Engagement Length: Post-Go-Live Reporting and Capability-Building Engagement

Moving from Workarounds to Confidence

Like many institutions transitioning from legacy systems, Lynn had complex reporting processes that could not be easily maintained in a new Workday environment. But the biggest challenge wasn't simply producing the reports in Workday. It was understanding the logic behind them and maximizing the functionality.

As reporting needs grew more complex, Lynn needed something more sustainable.

The goal was not only to build reports. It was to build confidence and mastery in Workday reports and the team's ability to manage them moving forward.

You Might Be Here If...

• Important reports depend on spreadsheets, manual workarounds, or legacy logic.

• Staff understand the outputs but not always the logic behind them.

• Reporting questions often require technical intervention to resolve.

• Teams struggle to determine whether an issue is caused by reporting logic or underlying data.

• Complex calculations have become difficult to maintain or explain.

• Leadership needs confidence in the accuracy and sustainability of institutional reporting.

  
  

The Challenge

Lynn's reporting environment included complex requirements related to student categorization, billing, status tracking, multiple matriculations, discounts, historical enrollment activity, and Kaplan revenue share calculations.

Many of these processes had evolved over time and relied on logic developed outside of Workday.

As the university moved forward with Workday Student, that logic needed to be translated into Workday-native reporting structures and calculated fields that could be maintained within the system itself.

Accuracy was essential, but transparency was equally important.

When unusual results appeared, staff needed to understand whether they were looking at a reporting issue, a historical data issue, or something requiring review by the Registrar's Office. Without that visibility, reporting could become difficult to trust and even more difficult to sustain.

The Turning Point

The defining realization was that reporting confidence comes from understanding, not just outputs.

A report can deliver the correct numbers and still create risk if no one understands how those numbers were produced.

Lynn recognized that long-term success would require more than replacing legacy reports. The institution needed to understand the relationships between Workday data, calculated fields, student status logic, program activity, and historical records.

That shift transformed the engagement from a reporting project into a capability-building effort.

The Partnership

Legato partnered with Lynn to help translate complex legacy reporting into sustainable Workday-native solutions while strengthening the institution's understanding of how those solutions worked.

Working alongside university stakeholders, the engagement combined report development, validation, coaching, and hands-on knowledge transfer.

The team developed reports to support student status tracking, multiple matriculation analysis, registration activity visibility, and Kaplan revenue calculations. Legacy SQL-based logic was translated into Workday-native calculated fields and reporting structures, reducing dependence on spreadsheets, integrations, and manual interpretation.

As reports were developed and refined, the work also focused on helping staff understand the underlying logic.

Working sessions explored calculated fields, reporting structures, validation techniques, and the relationships between student data, program activity, and financial calculations. Validation and exception reports were created to help distinguish between reporting issues and underlying data conditions requiring additional review.

During the process, the team identified potential overpayment risks tied to pre-contract enrollments and surfaced other anomalies that may have otherwise remained hidden within legacy reporting approaches.

The result was greater visibility, stronger controls, and a clearer understanding of how the institution's reporting environment actually functioned.

The Outcome

Lynn developed stronger, more sustainable Workday-native reporting capabilities.

Complex reporting processes that previously relied on external tools and manual interpretation became easier to maintain within Workday. Validation processes improved. Data transparency increased. Financial and compliance-related reporting risks became easier to identify and address.

Most importantly, staff gained a deeper understanding of how reporting logic worked.

The university was no longer simply receiving completed reports. Teams were developing the knowledge needed report with mastery.

Why This Story Matters

Many institutions focus on report development when what they really need is reporting understanding.

The most sustainable reporting environments are not necessarily the ones with the most reports. They are the ones where institutional teams understand the logic, data relationships, and assumptions behind the results.

Lynn University's experience demonstrates that building internal capability means helping people understand the work, not just delivering the final product.