In preparation for the March 11 launch of the new system set to replace BisonWeb, a six-hour event dubbed “BisonHub Day” was hosted in the Armour J. Blackburn Center to provide information about the forthcoming change and career preparation.
BisonHub is a university-wide platform powered by WorkDay that will allow students to manage their enrollment, registration, financial aid, WorkStudy and more from the system.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Sameen Mansoor, the training lead of the project’s Learning and Development team.
The Learning and Development team believes BisonHub will be easier for students. Last semester, the team held a mock semester session to introduce students to BisonHub before the system officially launched for the rest of the university. BisonHub Day, hosted on Feb. 21, was the next step in showcasing the students to the system to help them prepare for the transition.
“Myself and my team have been working really hard to make sure that this experience is easy and smooth for everybody, especially for our students, because this will also impact staff and faculty,” Mansoor said.
One change that Sierra Pegues, an organizational change management and training specialist from Human Resources, believes students will find helpful is the modified requirements regarding registration. Students will no longer need pins to register for their courses.
“You definitely want to still meet with [your advisor] but it is not a requirement to register for your classes,” she said.
Pegues said that while the new system will be implemented in the upcoming fall 2024 semester, a transition period will occur where students will have access to both BisonWeb and BisonHub from March 11 until then. During this transition, students will register for summer classes using BisonWeb, while registration for the fall semester will occur through BisonHub. Registration for the fall semester begins April 15.
Pegues collaborated with the project team to create BisonHub Day. A Class of 2022 Howard graduate, Pegues spoke on the differences between the systems and how BisonHub will service students.
“I’ve used BisonWeb personally to register for my classes, and I would say personally BisonHub is smoother,” she said. “It really allows you to take control.”
Another change to be implemented in the fall semester is the migration from G-Suite to Office365, powered by Microsoft. Citing security as one of the main reasons for the change, Jasmine DeVaughn, a representative from Enterprise Technology Services (ETS), spoke in depth about what students can expect from the transition.
“We want to make sure all student data is secured,” DeVaughn said.
Office365’s capacity to offer twice the amount of storage compared to the students’ Google Drive was another factor in this change, according to DeVaughn.
While the change will occur during the summer, current students should look out for email notifications regarding the migration from G-Suite to Microsoft. Over the summer, students will receive up to three notifications informing them about the transition and encouraging them to ensure all needed documents are switched over.
DeVaughn said students will have three business days to make any changes and confirmations before losing access to their Gmail accounts. These emails will be released in alphabetical order, regardless of class standing.
Amina Wague, a sophomore human development major and psychology minor, is excited about the change.
“I had a lot of problems with BisonWeb starting off as a freshman, especially DegreeWorks,” she said. “I’m really happy they’re getting rid of that.”
Wague believes BisonHub will deliver a positive experience for students, given her familiarity with the system.
“I have a lot of experience with Workday; I’ve used it for different jobs and so I love the way that it’s formatted and I think it will be easier for user experience,” she said.
Copy edited by Jalyn Lovelady
