Campus Spotlight: Western Colorado University

Institutional Moment

Strengthening Adoption

Institution Snapshot

Institution: Western Colorado University

Institution Type: Public University

Location: Gunnison, Colorado

Technology Initiative: Workday Student

Engagement Style: Post-Go-Live Stabilization and Adoption Support

Engagement Length: Ongoing Post-Go-Live Optimization and Staff Enablement Engagement

Moving from Live to Confident

When Western Colorado University launched Workday Student, the hard work of implementation wasn't over. In many ways, it was just beginning.

Like many institutions after go-live, WCU was learning what it meant to operate Workday Student in a live campus environment. Staff were managing the countless operational details that emerge once students, faculty, and staff begin relying on the system every day.

The next challenge was helping the institution feel confident using it and ultimately, enjoy a return on its investment.

You Might Be Here If...

• Your Workday Student implementation is complete, but operational questions keep surfacing.

• Staff are spending significant time troubleshooting issues or researching answers.

• Reporting and dashboard visibility still need refinement.

• Teams want greater confidence in student data and academic records.

• Users struggle to understand how configuration decisions affect day-to-day operations.

• You need practical documentation, training, and guidance to support long-term success.

  
  

The Challenge

WCU had entered a phase many institutions underestimate. Go-live had been achieved, but the work of stabilization, optimization, and adoption was still underway.

The university was working through reporting accuracy concerns, student status tracking needs, transcript configuration questions, academic requirements visibility, National Student Clearinghouse reporting challenges, historical academic record validation, and release-related changes.

None of these issues were unusual.

What made them challenging was that they touched multiple areas of campus operations at the same time.

Staff needed answers. Processes needed refinement. Reporting needed improvement. Documentation needed to be created. New knowledge needed to be transferred to the people responsible for supporting the system moving forward.

The goal was not simply to solve individual problems, but to make Workday Student easier to understand, easier to trust, and easier to operate.

The Turning Point

One realization shaped the university's approach.

Go-live is not the finish line. It is the beginning of a new phase of institutional ownership.

WCU recognized that long-term success would depend not only on resolving immediate issues but also on helping staff develop the confidence and capability needed to manage the system independently. The focus shifted from troubleshooting individual challenges to building a stronger operational foundation.

Instead of asking, "How do we fix this issue?" the university began asking, "How do we make sure we understand, support, and improve this process moving forward?"

The Partnership

Legato partnered with WCU as an extension of the team, helping address immediate operational needs while building longer-term institutional capability. Working alongside stakeholders across academic and student records functions, the engagement focused on improving both system usability and staff confidence.

The team helped refine academic standing reports, validate historical academic records, resolve transcript and Program of Study configuration issues, and strengthen enrollment reporting processes.

Dashboards and reports were developed to improve visibility into student status, census activity, leave-of-absence tracking, and other key operational areas.

As questions emerged, Legato provided hands-on troubleshooting support that helped staff resolve issues quickly while also understanding why those issues occurred.

Equally important, the work emphasized knowledge transfer. Documentation was created for reporting processes, NSC configuration, EIB troubleshooting, academic requirement overrides, profile configuration, and other critical operational activities. Staff received practical training on reporting tools, dashboards, calculated fields, business objects, and system functionality so they could continue building expertise internally.

Throughout the engagement, the focus remained on helping WCU strengthen its ability to manage Workday Student long after immediate issues were resolved.

The Outcome

WCU gained a more stable, usable, and sustainable Workday Student environment.

Reporting accuracy improved. Student status visibility increased. Academic requirement information became easier to access and understand. Operational processes became clearer and more consistent. Just as importantly, staff gained practical knowledge, documentation, and tools that reduced dependence on outside support and increased confidence in managing the system.

The university emerged from the engagement with stronger reporting, better visibility, improved troubleshooting practices, and a clearer understanding of how to maintain and improve Workday Student over time.

The result was not simply a more stable system. It was a more confident institution, positioned to maximize its investment.

Why This Story Matters

Many institutions treat adoption as something that happens during implementation. In reality, adoption continues long after go-live.

The period following implementation is often where institutions determine whether users will trust the system, whether processes will be sustainable, and whether teams will feel equipped to manage ongoing change.

Western Colorado University's experience demonstrates that post-go-live support is about more than fixing issues. It is an opportunity to strengthen reporting, improve usability, build internal capability, and create confidence in the system's role in daily operations.

By investing in both operational improvements and staff enablement, WCU moved beyond simply being live in Workday Student and toward something more valuable: a campus better prepared to sustain, improve, and benefit from the system over the long term.

"Legato was an extension of our team. They worked to understand our goals, correct us where they may not be achievable or in our best interests, provided solutions and work arounds as needed. Legato team members have made this journey more than once. We simply would not have met our deadlines without their help and guidance."

— Aaron MacLennan, Workday Project Manager, Western Colorado University