Student information team relies on campus input

Professional and Scientific Council members heard from two guests at their Nov. 6 meeting.

Director Geoff Janes provided an update on the 19-person office of student information, which launched in the academic affairs division about 18 months ago to maintain and enhance students' and employees' experiences in Workday Student.

Janes said his team serves both internal roles and a liaison role to Workday to coordinate and request improvements to existing processes for future release. Before Workday's semi-annual release of new functions, his team, with stakeholders, tests all of them for potential hiccups. They perform the same final-test role for all weekly fixes from Workday, too.

On campus, his team guides collaboration among units and ensures the overall direction of a project aligns with unit and university priorities. Sometimes his team is able to identify solutions; other times they send issues or requests on to Workday. 

The numbers can seem formidable. For example, in the last 12 months, his team has resolved 4,154 service tickets. The volume eased in the most recent six months, when fewer than half of that figure (1,738) were submitted. So, as issues are addressed, the number of issues reported by campus users declines. Janes said that lets his team spend less time triaging problems and more time on projects in progress.

Currently, the student information team has more than 1,400 student projects planned or underway -- with several created daily based on user feedback, analysis by his team or Workday releases. Examples include course registration and waitlisting improvements or an overhaul of the graduate academic plan to create a "hub" or central dashboard.

He told council members that information and feedback from campus audiences is critical to their work, particularly for setting priorities. Employees can submit issues, requests or suggestions anytime to go.iastate.edu/workdayhelp in the ISU service portal.

His team also hosts workshops around specific service topics, during which they offer demonstrations and share help resources and tips. No pre-registration is required. Upcoming workshops are:

• Academic planning and academic progress report (APR), Nov. 13 (9:20-10:50 a.m., 1002 Gilman)
• Reporting, notifications and support, Nov. 18 (3:40-5 p.m., 1001 Troxel)
• Workflow, roles and access, Dec. 2 (3:40-5 p.m., 101 Design)

Students who are AI-proficient

Provost Jason Keith also addressed council members. He summarized fall enrollment data, noting that the majority of the 673-student increase this fall came from out-of-state undergraduates. The retention rate into the sophomore year was 89.1%, closing in on the goal of 90%, he said. Improving second- and third-year retention requires connecting with every student. The goal, he said, is to give every student a world-class education and experiences. 

"All of you play a role in that," he said. "Every day, you make a difference in the lives of our students. We appreciate our partnership with P&S and merit staff."

Keith also promoted the university's recently launched AI website. For maximum data security and privacy, he reminded his audience to log in to the ISU network before they access AI tools, and avoid using the public version of tools for work tasks. He noted how quickly expectations about artificial intelligence have evolved.

"For the students we're bringing in today, there will be an expectation they're fluent in AI when they graduate from Iowa State," he said. "Integrating AI topics into courses and into student experiences will best equip them for what employers will need."

Announcements

• The council's annual food drive to benefit SHOP student food pantry in Beyer Hall concludes Thursday, Nov. 20. The drive is focused on collecting four items: rice, peanut butter, toothbrushes and toothpaste.
• Proposals for breakout sessions at the annual professional development conference for P&S employees (Feb. 26, 2026) are requested by Nov. 14. Proposals should tie into one of four tracks: health and wellness, human interactions, leadership or professional resources. Use the online proposal form.
• Benefits director Ed Holland reported a 42% overall response rate to this fall's employee benefits survey, with P&S employees recording the highest response rate (52%). Survey results will be shared in the future.