Workday Student Glossary

Browse and search common Workday Student terms and definitions to quickly understand the language you’ll see across registration, academics, and your student record. This glossary helps translate Workday terminology into familiar GVSU concepts, making it easier to navigate tasks and find the right information when you need it.

GVSU Term	Workday Term	Description
Academic Calendar	Academic Calendar	Provides the time framework for creating academic years and academic periods (semester).
Academic History	Academic History	A list of all completed courses and grades. Also shows transfer/test credit,GPA, units attempted and earned, class and academic standing.
Academic Level	Academic Level	The level of study of the program: undergraduate, graduate, doctorate
Substitution, Waiver	Academic Override	Allows one course to be swapped for another to meet a specific academic requirement.
Semester	Academic Period	Typically referred to as term, a length of time with defined start and end dates (i.e. Fall semester, Winter semester, Summer semester). Also includes accelerated sessions within a semester.
Four-Year Curricular Guides	Academic Plan	Optional tool to help students plan out what courses they should take during an academic period (semester) to satisfy academic requirements for their program of study (major).
MyPath	Academic Progress	A list of requirements to complete the student's program of study (major, minor, certificate, badge). The report indicates which requirements are satisfied, in progress and not satisfied.
Student Academic Record	Academic Record	Collection of student's academic activities (GPA, registrations, academic history), at specific level.
Degree Requirement	Academic Requirement	An element of the academic progress tool that outlines the requirements to complete a program of study (major). An academic requirement is a required course or set of courses that enables advisors, staff, and students to track and verify student's progres
Academic Standing	Academic Standing	To remain at GVSU, students must meet certain academic requirements such as a minimum GPA. Students can have good standing, be on probation, jeopardy of dismissal, or dismissal.
College/Department/School	Academic Unit	The primary organizational structure in Workday Student. Used to represent school, division or any other unit that admits students and offers courses. Academic units are organized to manage business processes, security access, and reporting.
Academic Year	Academic Year	The academic year includes Fall, Winter, and Summer semesters. GVSU awards financial aid based on academic year.
Workflow	Business Process (BP)	Automated workflow that routes tasks to designated users.
Class Standing	Class Standing	First-year, sophomore, junior, senior, non-degree or graduate. For undergraduates, the standing is determined by the number of credits earned including transfer/test credits, not by the number of years in attendance.
Class Standing	Class Standing	First-year, sophomore, junior, senior, non-degree or graduate. For undergraduates, the standing is determined by the number of credits earned including transfer/test credits, not by the number of years in attendance.
Attributes, Special Populations	Cohort	A specific group of students defined based on certain criteria. Cohorts are used to provide effective advising, report on student populations, and manage student applicants.
Course	Course	A class. For example, BIO 120
Course Definition	Course Definition	Central source of data related to an individual course, such as title, credit value, description, eligibility rules.
Course Section	Course Section	An offering in a specific academic period (semester) of a specific course. For example, BIO 120-01
Deptarment Prefix (i.e. BMS)	Course Subject	Area of study for a course, such as Accounting or Biomedical Science. In Workday these align with "departments" and can be used to filter courses.

Page last modified February 11, 2026

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