Creating a connected campus

Inside Gallaudet University’s operational and digital transformation

• Gallaudet wanted to enhance the student experience and improve the ways in which students and faculty interact across the university by aligning their processes, technology, and communication methods.
• By refreshing their administrative and digital processes, streamlining the relationship between students and faculty, and invoking a culture of empowerment among students, they were able to refine the student experience and align students and faculty.
• Moving forward, Gallaudet is equipped to handle the needs of its students and is well positioned to grow and thrive with updated digital and operational strategies.

Gallaudet University is a private, federally chartered institution for the deaf and hard of hearing that sits in the heart of Washington D.C. As part of a larger transformation story, Gallaudet wanted to enhance their student experience by refreshing their administrative and digital processes, streamlining the relationship between students and faculty, and invoking a culture of empowerment and readiness so students would have more ownership in their transition to life on campus.

Gallaudet sought to unite their students, faculty, and staff by aligning their processes, technology, and communication methods. In addition to overcoming the typical challenges associated with a major transformation—such as data migration, change management, and time constraints—the team also had unique communication considerations to address. As a leader in the deaf and signing community, Gallaudet ensured the presence of ASL/English interpreters during meetings and debriefs to foster effective communication between their team and external partners. This additional layer of coordination helped facilitate cultural understanding and identify opportunities to enhance the student experience.

Break down silos and encourage collaboration
The team used data and analytics to grasp how faculty and administration could optimize their time and identify any gaps in administrative workflows. This helped break down legacy silos and segmented workstreams and encouraged stronger collaboration across the institution. From there, they introduced tools that helped prioritize, automate, and complete repetitive tasks more efficiently. It was a major step forward in human capital management that laid out the groundwork for the subsequent initiatives.

Implement Workday Student across the institution
One of the biggest changes during the effort was transitioning Gallaudet from their legacy platform to Workday Student. To assist the process, the team developed a conversion toolkit that minimized the manual cleanup for the client post-conversion. The team’s knowledge of both platforms helped expedite the process and move things forward. Once implemented, Workday Student helped Gallaudet streamline the financial aid process by engaging students earlier; helping students sign up for health insurance, housing, a meal plan, and other enrollment tasks; and connecting the entire institution with a digital tool that assisted with admissions, academic records, and curriculum management among other features.

Prioritize accessibility throughout all efforts
In addition to the student body, most of the staff at Gallaudet are also deaf or hard of hearing. With this in mind, accessibility was prioritized in every step of the effort. The team brought in skilled interpreters to help facilitate meetings and workshops and guide the institution across the new Workday platform. They also worked together with Workday to ensure that the platform was optimized across the board to better serve the deaf community.

At the project's end, Gallaudet is better equipped to serve its students, staff, and faculty. This effort was a true collaboration between stakeholders and a testimony to what real transformation looks like across an institution. Key highlights include:

• Implemented Workday Student in a condensed timeframe
• Deployed academic plan templates institution-wide
• Fostered a culture of adaptability and empowerment
• Increased collaboration between schools, departments, and faculty and students
• Streamlined administrative tasks associated with enrollment and student development
• Guided Gallaudet in leveraging Workday Student to gather insights