FAQs

As the University continues the staggered release of new functionality in BisonHub, specific dates for when students will have access to BisonHub will be provided closer to the launch date. 

BisonHub (Workday) is a cloud-based application that serves as a single system for the University's business operations in finance, human resources, procurement, payroll, and many of the student processes. BisonHub (Workday) leverages a modern technology platform that will provide the Howard University community with greater access to information, efficient processes, and paper conservation, which will create a better Howard University experience.  

In Summer 2021, Howard University implemented Workday for finance, human resources, procurement, and payroll, and is in the process of implementing Workday Student, which will add additional student-specific modules to Workday.  

In Fall 2022, as part of the socialization of Workday at the University, the University voted to change the name of the system to BisonHub to better reflect the culture and history of the University.

BisonHub (Workday) is a cloud-based Student Information System (SIS).  The BisonHub (Workday) modules support all major components of the student experience at Howard including Recruiting and Admissions, Academic Advising, Registration, Curriculum, Financial Aid, and Student Finance. It changes the way faculty and staff process admissions, support student registration, manage curriculum, manage financial aid and student financial transactions. BisonHub (Workday) will allow for streamlined tasks, standardization of processes, and transparency in the approvals processes. And most importantly, save time.  

The initial modules of the BisonHub (Workday) system were implemented in Summer of 2023 and the next major milestone is scheduled for Spring of 2024.  Additional functionality will be released in Summer and Fall of 2024 as the University fully transitions into BisonHub (Workday) and Bison Web is replaced. 

All departments at the University that support the student experience at Howard will be impacted by the BisonHub (Workday) implementation including but not limited to the Colleges and Schools, the departments under the Office of the Chief Operating Officer, the Office of the Provost, and the Vice President of Student Affairs. 

A comprehensive role-based training program that will include in-person and on-demand learning opportunities is now available for students, faculty, and staff.  Training for faculty and staff is available in Workday Learning within the BisonHub system and can be accessed here.  Training for students is available in Canvas and can be accessed here.

BisonHub (Workday) is hosted in a secure cloud environment, which means Workday will maintain the application on its servers, and the Howard community will access Workday using the internet.

As part of the Howard Forward Initiative, BisonHub (Workday) is being implemented to increase efficiency and effectiveness across all areas of Howard University. Howard University moved to Workday to effectively integrate, streamline, and improve financial and human resource administrative functions across the University. We will continue with the same goals as we implement the Workday Student modules in 2023-2024.

Some of the benefits of Workday are:

• Accessibility: cloud-based access from anywhere, anytime, on multiple devices 
• Single source of information: increased collaboration between departments, breaking down silos 
• Improved reporting capabilities 
• Visualization of data for tracking KPI’s (Dashboards) 
• Access to data at a departmental level 
• Standardization and automation of processes 
• An improved user experience

The core team of Howard University functional leads and subject matter experts are from across the campus and they are collaborating with experienced Workday consultants to ensure the University’s business requirements are appropriately configured in the system In January 2023, a Change Agent Network of trusted and respected individuals from across the Howard University community was established and these individuals are supporting, influencing, and driving change within their departments. The Change Agent Network keeps the larger University community informed about the BisonHub (Workday) project, helping the campus understand what is happening and when, and sharing information and resources needed to prepare the campus for a new way of working.  

BisonHub (Workday) will be changing the way faculty and staff process admissions, manage curriculum, manage financial aid and much more by creating one place to support all students. BisonHub (Workday)  will allow for streamlined tasks, standardization of processes, and transparency in the approvals processes. While this will change the way many employees perform their work, it will also free up more time to spend actively advising and assisting students throughout their Howard University journeys.

Howard is committed to ensuring that employees have the support and access they need via the multiple sources of support listed below:  

• The BisonHub powered by Workday website
• Training available in Workday Learning. Access training here.
• Reach out to the Organizational Change Management Team or use the Contact Us resources

BisonHub (Workday) will - 

• Replace old systems that do not communicate with one another 
• Reduce work processes that are labor intensive and replace them with efficient and user-friendly ones  
• Direct access to reports and dashboards
• Provide up-to-date data across all departments in real-time  
• Increase efficiency across institutions  
• Reduce pen and paper systems 

Howard University is making sure that internal processes within Colleges and Schools are accounted for during the Functional Area workstream discussions. Representatives from the Colleges and Schools are part of the discovery, design, configuration, and testing of the BisonHub (Workday) modules.

The Change Agent Network is a coalition of trusted and respected individuals from across the Howard University community who work closely with the Organizational Change Management team to learn more about the BisonHub (Workday) project and champion the change with their peers.  These Change Agents will share information with their departments to help socialize the changes brought on by the BisonHub (Workday) project.  

• Advocate for and raise the visibility of the BisonHub (Workday) Project 
• Educate and engage stakeholders (faculty, staff, and students) about the changes to their department
• Build support amongst their teams and peers before, during, and after the implementation 
• Communicate BisonHub (Workday) Project updates to their teams and peers to support awareness and knowledge building across the campus  
• Collect questions from their teams and peers and relay those back to the BisonHub (Workday) Project team so that communications can be updated and remain relevant
• Attend regularly scheduled meetings with the BisonHub (Workday) Project team
• Support stakeholder (faculty, staff, and students) engagement events and activities
• Serve as early testers and adopters of the new BisonHub (Workday) modules
• Encourage their teams and peers to attend training