Setup Considerations: Multiple Academic Records

You can use this topic to help make decisions when planning your configuration and use of multiple academic records. It explains:

Why to set them up.

How they fit into the rest of Workday.

Downstream impacts and cross-product interactions.

Security requirements and business process configurations.

Questions and limitations to consider before implementation.

Refer to detailed task instructions for full configuration details.

What They Are

Each time a student matriculates into a program of study, Workday creates an individual academic record. Academic records contain details about a student's educational pursuits such as:

Educational objectives.

Expected completion dates.

Academic plan.

Coursework.

Grades.

You can maintain multiple academic records for students who pursue more than 1 educational objective at your institution.

Business Benefits

With multiple academic records, you can:

Track student progress toward distinct educational goals.

Reduce the manual effort associated with record keeping for students who pursue more than 1 educational objective.

Keep statistics, credits, and academic histories separate.

Use Cases

You can use multiple academic records to track:

Consecutive enrollment for returning students.

Overlapping enrollment for students pursuing more than 1 program of study.

Concurrent enrollment for students pursuing more than 1 degree at the same time.

Questions to Consider

Question	Considerations
What happens to a student's academic record when they matriculate into a program of study?	Workday automatically creates an academic record each time a student matriculates into a program of study unless you've set up an append policy. When you append or manually add a program of study, Workday stores the program in an existing academic record. All programs are subject to combined statistics and policies. Consider the circumstances under which you would select 1 or multiple academic records.
How does applying coursework from one educational objective to another impact the academic record?	All coursework and credit on 1 academic record count towards a student's academic history, which includes: Academic requirements. Academic standing. Class standing. Cumulative units. Grade point average (GPA). Load status. Repeated coursework. When a student has multiple academic records, the student's academic history will display each record individually.
If a student is pursuing multiple programs of study, how can I report on only 1?	You can use multiple academic records when you want to maintain separate academic histories, such as for reporting purposes. Example: A student is pursuing Business and Law degrees concurrently and you only want to report on their Business GPA.
How does Workday manage course credits that I want to count on more than 1 academic record?	When a student has multiple academic records, you can only grant credit for a course on the academic record that the course registration is under. You can use internal articulation to enable course credit from 1 academic record to count towards credit on a different academic record.
How do academic policies interact with single and multiple academic records?	A student’s policies are based on the primary program of study on their academic record. When a student has 1 academic record with multiple programs of study, Workday uses the policies associated with the primary program of study. When a student has multiple academic records, Workday assigns multiple primary programs of study, each with its own set of policies. Example: The course repeat policies of 2 programs of study might differ. When you have an academic record for each program of study, the student is subject to the course repeat policy of the academic record that the registration is under.
How do multiple programs of study affect the academic record?	To maintain multiple programs of study on a single academic record but enable students to complete them independently of one another, configure programs of study to be stackable. You can create a separate academic record for each program of study when: There are reasons that programs of study can't or shouldn't be stackable. You want to enable students to complete programs of study at different times.

Recommendations

Set up an append policy to define when Workday should append incoming programs of study to an existing academic record.

Requirements

No impact.

Limitations

Workday automatically designates 1 academic record as the student's reporting record if you haven't designated 1. The reporting record impacts National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) and student financial services. You can change the reporting record manually when needed.

Tenant Setup

No impact.

Security

Domain	Considerations
Manage: Programs of Study for Load Status in the Financial Aid functional area.	Enables you to use the Get Reporting Records web service.
Set Up: Academic Records in the Student Records functional area.	Enables you to maintain academic record append policies.

Business Processes

Business Process	Considerations
Change Student Reporting Record Event	Enables you to change: A student's reporting record using the Change Student Reporting Record task. Student reporting records in bulk using the Import Reporting Record Changes web service.
Mass Matriculation Event	Initiates matriculation and creates the student academic record.

Reporting

Reports or Dashboards	Considerations
Find Academic Records	Enables you to view all academic records in your tenant.
Academic Records for Advising and Records	Enables you to analyze academic trends and view and maintain: Policy configurations. Programs of study. Transfer credit.

Workday provides an

Academic Records

report data source that you can use in custom reports.

Integrations

Item	Considerations
Get Reporting Records web service	Enables you to retrieve reporting records for a financial aid record, student, or institutional academic unit.
Import Reporting Record Changes web service	Enables you to change student reporting records in bulk.
NSC Enrollment Reporting Outbound integration template	Enables you to send enrollment data to the NSC. When a student has multiple academic records, Workday uses the academic record designated as the reporting record when sending enrollment data to the NSC.

Connections and Touchpoints

Features	Considerations
Student Registration	You can assign registration appointments to students based on: Each of their academic records. The first available appointment across all of their academic records. When students who have multiple academic records register for courses, Workday matches registrations to the appropriate academic record. Example: A student has separate academic records for a business degree and a law degree. When the student registers for a high-level business course, Workday stores the registration to the academic record where business is the primary program of study. You can manually reassign registrations, including transfer credit, from 1 academic record to another.
Transfer Credit Evaluation	For automatic transfer credit evaluations, Workday awards transfer credit to a student’s academic records in this order: An active academic record that already has transfer credit for the same educational institution or education test. The earliest active academic record, based on the academic record start date, followed by creation date and time. You can also manually assign and manage transfer credits on a specific academic record.
Academic Advising	Students have different academic plans and requirements based on each individual academic record.
Financial Aid	Students have 1 financial aid record and attendance plan regardless of how many academic records they have. The student's primary program of study on their reporting record drives these areas of financial aid: Attendance plans. Cost of attendance. Financial aid packaging. Financial charges.

Workday offers a Touchpoints Kit with resources to help you understand configuration relationships in your tenant. Learn more about the Workday Touchpoints Kit on Workday Community.