Transition to Workday

Transition to New Student Information System

As of April 2024, Suffolk University transitioned from its legacy student information system Colleague to Workday Student. As a result, there are differences between Suffolk University transcripts produced from Colleague vs Workday. Transcripts for students who attended prior to 2018 will remain in Colleague. Transcripts for students who attended since 2018 will be produced from Workday. The following is a breakdown by section of the transcript of the differences between the two transcripts:

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  • Student Name: The Workday transcript uses students full name including full middle name. The Colleague transcript used a middle initial.
  • Program of Study: The Workday transcript lists student’s degree, program, major and/or minor(s) as their program of study. There may be slight differences in naming conventions between the two transcripts as many programs were translated into Workday with their own academic department in the name.
  • For students in Suffolk University’s Law School Juris Doctor program, the Workday transcript indicates Day or Evening division in the program of study.
  • If a student transferred credits into Suffolk University, the name of the institution with the total number of transfer credits will show at the top of the transcript. The details of each transfer course will appear at the bottom of the transcript. On the Colleague transcript, all transfer credit details and totals appear as the first semester completed. In cases where the legacy system did not have the name of the home institution, the Workday transcript will list Other as the institution with transfer credit total.

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  • The Workday transcript displays the start and end dates for each academic period listed. Law School transcripts show in progress coursework for the current academic period whereas College of Arts and Sciences and Sawyer Business School transcripts do not.
  • For records converted from Colleague to Workday, the Workday transcript will show the current title of a course rather than the title at the time the course was taken. In some instances, older courses titles are in all capitalization.
  • The Colleague transcript indicated the section number of the specific section the student completed. The Workday transcript lists course subject and number only.
  • The Colleague transcript notated a course that was later repeated with the notation of (R). The Workday transcript will list “Repeated Course” next to the original course.
  • On the Colleague transcript, the honor points for the term in which a student repeats a course reflect the total number of honor points for that term minus the number of honor points from the first time the student took the course. On the Colleague transcript, the cumulative honor points for the academic period of the first instance of the repeated course reflect the cumulative honor points up until that point minus the number of honor points from the first time the student took the course. The cumulative GPA after the first instance’s academic period does include the first instance of the repeated course.
  • The Workday transcript includes courses with grades of W, WV, P, T, PC, NP in attempted credits.
  • The Workday transcript lists GPA credits as a column for both the cumulative and academic period totals.
  • The Colleague transcript displayed individual semester totals and GPA for the non-standard periods of Winter Session, Summer 1, Summer 2, Summer 3. The workday transcript includes winter session courses in the totals after the spring academic period. The Workday transcript combines the summer periods into one summer period total section.
  • The Colleague Law school transcript listed annual GPAs and ranks at the top of the transcript. The Workday law school transcript lists annual GPAs and ranks after the spring academic period. Law school students who were converted from Colleague to Workday will only have their annual GPA display not the annual attempted credits, annual earned credits or annual GPA credits.
  • The Workday law school transcript allows requestors to determine if their ranks are shown on each request for their transcript. On the Colleague transcript, ranks would continue to show after the initial request to display. On the Workday transcript, all ranks will show if requested.
  • The naming convention of some academic period honors was simplified in the conversion from Colleague to Workday Student. The following academic periods honors listed on the Colleague transcript will be listed as “Dean’s List” on the Workday transcript:
    • CAS Dean’s Honors
    • CAS Dean’s High Honors
    • CAS Dean’s List
    • SBS Dean’s List
    • SBS Part Time Deans List
  • Historical students in Colleague (pre-2018) who re-enter Suffolk post Workday may have coursework designated in Workday with the subject of ‘UNIV’ to reflect coursework taken at Suffolk prior to data conversion if the course is not in Workday.
  • In Workday, if a student has articulated credit in an academic period with course registrations, the transcript will separate it into two sections with an identical period header for each.

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  • The Colleague law school transcript listed honors, prizes, scholarships at the top of the transcript. The Workday law school transcript lists these either after the academic period they were awarded in or at the end of the transcript.
  • The Workday transcript will indicate the current status (as of print date) of the student’s academic record with one of the following statuses:
    • In progress
    • Completed
    • Withdrawn
    • Dismissed
  • The Workday law school transcript’s status date will be the date the decision of the status was made not the last date of attendance.
  • The Workday transcript will list completed dissertation titles as an accomplishment for students in the PhD and Doctor of Juridical Science programs.