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 |
|---|---|---|
| Midterm Grade | Interim Grade | A check-in grade provided by the instructor roughly midway through the term. The grade is not part of the student's permanent academic record and does not factor into the GPA. |
| Course | Course | A class. For example, BIO 120 |
| Emphasis / Concentration | Focus | A concentration area within a program of study. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Substitution, Waiver | Academic Override | Allows one course to be swapped for another to meet a specific academic requirement. |
| 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 |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Hold | Hold | A tag on a student's account that may restrict the ability to register and/or receive pertinent account information such as diplomas. |
| Workflow | Business Process (BP) | Automated workflow that routes tasks to designated users. |
| Student Profile | Student Profile | Central location for information specific to a student, including contact and personal information, academic details, holds, and financial information. |
| Course Definition | Course Definition | Central source of data related to an individual course, such as title, credit value, description, eligibility rules. |
| Student Academic Record | Academic Record | Collection of student's academic activities (GPA, registrations, academic history), at specific level. |
| Graduation/Degree Completion | Program Completion | Confirms a student has met all academic requirements and any special conditions for a prograam. The student becomes eligible for graduation processing. |
| Free Electives | Unused Registrations | Courses that do not fulfill any academic requirements. |
| Banner | Legacy System | Current technology system or application in use that will be replaced. |
| Attribute | Course Tags | Custom identifiers that attach to courses or course sections to categorize them and make easier to track and manage. |
| Effective Date | Effective Date | Date when a version of something goes into effect. Based on the action being completed it may be past, present, or future date. |
Page last modified February 11, 2026