Workday@Clemson Updates

As we prepare to transition to Workday, it’s helpful to get familiar with how academic appointments are represented in the new system. Workday’s Academic Foundation makes it easier to track faculty roles, appointments, and academic structures—all in one place.

• In Workday, an Academic Appointment connects a person to an Academic Unit through a Position—linking role, pay, and hierarchy all in one place.
• Academic appointments in Workday will replace several separate tracking tools and spreadsheets currently used across campus.
• Faculty with multiple roles (for example, dual appointments across departments or colleges) will have more than one appointment, clearly displayed in Workday.

n this post, we’ll break down the essential terms related to Academic Appointments in Workday.

Academic Unit

Think of this as the organizational home for faculty. It could be a department (e.g., History), or a college (e.g., College of Science). Academic appointments are tied to these units.

Primary Academic Unit

When an individual has multiple appointments, this unit identifies the faculty member’s  home department or school.

Academic Appointment

The academic appointment is the cornerstone of faculty position management in Workday. An Academic Appointment records a faculty member’s formal relationship with an academic unit (like a department or school).  A person can hold multiple academic appointments.

Appointments can be primary, secondary, or joint.  An Academic Appointment consists of the academic track, rank, and tenure status (defined below).

Academic Track

This defines the category of the faculty member’s position. Common tracks that will be included in Workday at Clemson will include but are not limited to:

• Tenure-track series (Instructor, assistant, associate and full professor;  librarian, assistant and associate librarian)
• Research Faculty (research assistant professor, research associate professor, research professor)
• Extension Faculty (extension assistant professor, extension associate professor, extension professor)
• Clinical Faculty (clinical assistant professor, clinical associate professor, clinical professor)
• Lecturers (lecturer, senior lecturer, principal lecturer)
• Professor of Practice
• Post Doctoral Fellow

Tenure Status

This shows whether a faculty member:

• Has tenure
• Is on a tenure track
• Is in a non-tenure role

Academic Affiliate

An individual affiliated with the institution, like a visiting scholar or adjunct faculty, who may not be a paid employee but still contributes to academic activities.

Academic Period

Defines how long an appointment lasts (e.g., 9-month, 12-month, or semester-based) and often aligns with payroll schedules.

Period Activity Pay (PAP)

A method of compensating faculty for specific activities beyond their typical workload, for additional duties outside of their primary appointment, or for faculty primarily hired for temporary instruction.

Academic Pay Basis

Describes how pay is distributed over the appointment period—such as 9-month or 12-month pay.

Name Professorships

These are academic appointments funded by gifts. They often come with recognition and sometimes financial benefits.

Why It Matters

Understanding these terms helps faculty and staff navigate Workday more effectively, ensuring accurate records, timely compensation, and proper alignment with institutional goals. Whether you’re onboarding new faculty or managing academic HR processes, clarity around these concepts is key.

As we move closer to go-live, you’ll see these terms appear in training materials and job aids related to Academic Staffing and Faculty Management.

Clemson’s move to Workday will streamline the staff* recruitment and hiring processes into one system. As we prepare for this transition, we’re introducing new terms you’ll start hearing when it comes to recruiting and hiring. Whether you’re a hiring manager, HR Service Manager, HR Liaison, or part of a search committee, understanding these words will help you navigate the new system with confidence. Our December What’s Up With Workday Series focuses on Staff Hiring; join us to learn more!

^{*Some of the terms are applicable to Faculty and Student Hiring (in addition to Staff), but not all.  Faculty Recruitment will remain in Interfolio.}

Terms to Know

Here are some of the key Workday Recruiting terms and what they mean — in plain language:

Position

A position defines the responsibilities and attributes of a specific role to which an employee is assigned. Think of a position as a chair; you must have a chair in place for a new employee to sit in.

Job Requisition

This is the official request to fill a position. It includes details like title, pay range, and department. Once approved, it gives you permission to start the hiring process.
Think of the approved job requisition as the green light to recruit.

To complete a job requisition, a position must be created and available.

Job Posting

Once a requisition is approved, it becomes a job posting that appears on Clemson’s internal and/or external career sites.
The job posting is what applicants see when they’re browsing for jobs.

Candidate

Anyone who applies for a job through Workday is a candidate. Candidates remain in the system throughout the process — from application to hire (or dispositioning, if they’re not selected).
Basically, candidate refers to anyone “in the running.”

Candidate Pipeline

A visual tracker that shows where each candidate is in the process — application review, interview, offer, hire, etc. 
The candidate pipeline like a progress bar regarding candidates for recruiters and hiring managers.

Evergreen Requisition

Some positions are hired continuously. An Evergreen Requisition keeps the posting open all year so new applicants can apply anytime, for example, the Administrative Temporary Employee Pool.
Think of an evergreen requisition as an “always hiring” post.

Reference Check

The hiring manager or Recruiting Coordinator will be prompted by Workday to collect and review information about a candidate from individuals who can speak to the candidate’s past performance, experience, and qualifications.  While Workday prompts you to do the reference checks, the actual activity of checking references happens outside of Workday.

Verbal Offer

Once a recruiter or hiring manager is satisfied that they’ve selected the right person for the role, a verbal offer will be assigned as a “To Do” task in Workday. When the candidate accepts the verbal offer, the final steps in the hiring process can proceed.

Background Check

After the offer is accepted, Workday automatically triggers a background check to verify employment history and other compliance details.

Offer Letter

When a candidate is selected, Workday generates an offer letter that includes title, pay, start date, and other details. Before it reaches the candidate, the offer letter will route through approvals which allow each approver to see the necessary details related to the offer.  The candidate can review and accept it directly in Workday.
The offer letter is the “Congratulations, you got the job!” step. It’s the final step before hire.

Ready for Hire

Once all steps are complete, the candidate is marked Ready for Hire, and their information moves into the hiring and onboarding process.
This step is the green light to make the hiring decision and candidate acceptance of the offer official.

Onboarding

After hiring, onboarding tasks appear in Workday to help new employees get started — from completing required forms to setting up direct deposit.
Workday makes it easy to welcome new Tigers!

Workday Security Roles for Recruiting

In Workday, different people have different responsibilities. The Workday Security roles listed below will be assigned to individuals in centralized and decentralized roles. The security role name may not align with a position title someone holds. Find out more about Workday Security.

Central HR Workday Security Roles related to recruiting include:

• Recruiting Partner: Manages job postings and the recruiting process.
• HR Partner (currently HR Service Manager): Supports approvals, compliance, offers and the hiring process.

Decentralized Workday Security Roles related to recruiting include:

• Cost Center Manager/Cost Center Hierarchy Manager: Approves the compensation in the recruiting and hire processes.
• Hiring Manager: Reviews applicants, conducts interviews, and dispositions candidates.
• HR Liaison: Initiates, reviews and supports recruiting, staffing and compensation transactions for faculty, staff and students.
• Recruiting Coordinator: Initiates, reviews and supports recruiting transactions for faculty, staff and student positions.

Why It Matters

Workday Recruiting will help Clemson:

• Simplify the hiring process across departments.
• Create a consistent candidate experience.
• Reduce manual work and improve transparency.

Together, these features make hiring more efficient — and help bring great talent to Clemson faster.

Stay tuned for more “Workday Words of the Week” as we continue exploring the terms and features that will make Workday@Clemson a success!

Workday Financials

Workday is more than a new system—it’s a new way of managing Clemson’s finances with greater transparency, consistency and flexibility. As we prepare to go live, it’s important to become comfortable with the language you’ll see when using Workday. Below are some key financial terms, grouped by theme, to help you navigate the system with confidence.

Foundational Terms

You’ve seen some of these before, but it may help to review them with a bit more context.

Foundation Data Model (FDM)

The FDM is the backbone of Workday Financials. Think of it as the system’s “chart of accounts”—a structure that organizes financial information using worktags. It ensures every transaction is coded consistently so reporting and analysis are clear and accurate.

Worktags

You’ve seen this term before if you’ve been keeping up with the Workday Words of the Week Series.  Workday’s structure is more flexible and intuitive. Where PeopleSoft used long strings of ChartField values, Workday uses worktags that can be mixed and matched to give transactions full financial meaning—making reporting, tracking, and analysis much easier. Worktags are labels used in Workday to tag financial transactions. Examples include Cost Center, Program, Fund or Project.

Organizational and Funding Elements

Cost Center

A cost center represents the organizational unit responsible for a financial transaction (such as a college, department, or administrative unit). Cost centers make it easier to see where spending is happening across Clemson.

Fund

A fund represents the source of money being used for a transaction. Examples include state appropriations, grants, student tuition, or restricted gifts. Funds help ensure money is spent according to donor, state, or federal requirements.

Gift

A gift is a special type of fund created when Clemson receives philanthropic donations. Each gift carries restrictions or purposes defined by the donor—such as scholarships, endowed professorships, or research support. Workday makes it easier to track these gifts and ensure they are used as intended.

Revenue and Expenses

Spend Category

Spend categories describe what is being purchased (e.g., office supplies, lab equipment, professional services). They replace object codes used in our current system and make financial reporting more streamlined.

Revenue Category

Revenue categories classify the type of income Clemson receives, such as tuition, research grants, athletic revenues or donations. They work hand-in-hand with ledger accounts to show where money is coming from and help with accurate budgeting and forecasting.

Accounting and Tracking

Ledger Account

Ledger accounts classify the type of transaction—such as revenue, expense, asset, or liability. They work alongside other worktags in the FDM to provide the full financial picture.

Journal

A journal is an entry used to record financial activity that isn’t tied directly to procurement or payroll. For example, moving funds between cost centers or adjusting balances would be recorded in a journal.

Operational Journal

An operational journal is a specific type of journal entry u That originates from operational events like supplier invoices, customer invoices and payroll.

Obligation

An obligation in Workday is a financial commitment that hasn’t yet been paid, such as an open purchase order or contract. Obligations help departments manage budgets by showing both actual spending and pending commitments.

Supplier Transactions

Supplier Invoice

This is the electronic version of a vendor bill. In Workday, invoices are matched to purchase orders and receipts before a payment is issued, helping to ensure accuracy and accountability.

Why These Terms Matter

Financial terms in Workday aren’t just jargon—they’re a part of how Clemson will track, manage, and report on every dollar. Learning these terms now will make it easier to understand budgets, monitor spending, and  pull the data you need to make informed decisions.

Stay tuned for more Workday Words of the Week as we continue building familiarity with the system before go-live.

From PeopleSoft to Workday: Key Financial Terms

As Clemson transitions from PeopleSoft to Workday, you’ll notice new terminology. While the words may be different, the concepts will feel familiar. Here’s a quick comparison to guide you:

Workday Term	What it Means	PeopleSoft Equivalent
Foundation Data Model (FDM)	The structure of Workday Financials that organizes all financial information using worktags.	Chart of Accounts
Worktags	Labels (like Cost Center, Program, Fund) used to code and track financial transactions.	ChartField Values
Cost Center	Represents the unit responsible for financial activity (college, department, office).	Department
Fund	Identifies the source of money (e.g., state appropriations, tuition, restricted gifts).	Fund Code
Gift	Tracks donor-restricted funds for specific purposes (scholarships, endowments, research).	Project
Spend Category	Classifies what is being purchased (office supplies, services, equipment).	Expense Account
Revenue Category	Classifies income (tuition, grants, donations, fees).	Revenue Account
Journal	Entry to record financial activity not tied directly to procurement or payroll.	Journal Entry
Operational Journal	A day-to-day journal for reallocations, corrections, or internal transfers.	Journal Entry (same function, less distinction)
Obligation	A financial commitment not yet paid (open PO, contract).	Encumbrance / Pre-Encumbrance
Supplier Invoice	Electronic vendor bill matched to POs and receipts.	Voucher / Invoice

Procurement in Plain Language

As Clemson transitions to Workday, one area that will see big improvements is procurement—how we buy goods and services for the University. Workday streamlines the procurement process, making it easier to request, approve and track purchases. To help you get familiar with the terminology you’ll see in Workday, here are some key words to know.

Supplier

Suppliers are the companies or individuals we buy goods or services from. In Workday, suppliers are managed within the system, making it easier to track orders, invoices and payments.

Requisition

A requisition is a request you submit in Workday when you want to purchase something, like lab supplies, office equipment or software. It’s the first step in the procurement process, and once approved, it becomes the basis for creating a purchase order.

Requisition Type

Requisition types identify the purpose or category of a requisition. They might separate things like goods vs. services, catalog vs. non-catalog, or standard vs. capital purchases. Choosing the right requisition type ensures the request routes correctly for approval and reporting.

Purchase Order (PO)

A purchase order is the official document sent to a supplier after a requisition is approved. Think of it as the “green light” to the vendor that Clemson intends to buy the goods or services.

Purchase Order Type

Purchase order types in Workday categorize different kinds of purchase orders. For example, they might distinguish between a standard purchase order (a one-time order), a blanket purchase order (used for ongoing goods or services within a set amount), or other specialized orders. The PO type helps track the nature of the purchase and how it will be managed.

Catalog Item

A catalog item is a product or service available through Workday’s online catalogs—like shopping on Amazon but within Clemson’s system. You can browse, add items to a cart, and create a requisition directly from the catalog.

Punchout

A punchout is a way to shop directly on a supplier’s website from inside Workday. When you select a punchout supplier (like Staples or Grainger), Workday temporarily “punches out” to their catalog. You can browse items, add them to your cart, and then return to Workday where your selections automatically create a requisition.

Non-Catalog Items

Non-catalog items are goods or services that are not listed in Workday’s supplier catalogs. If what you need isn’t in a punchout or catalog, you can enter the details (description, supplier, price,  quantity, etc.) manually, so a requisition can be created.

Spend Category

Spend categories classify what you’re buying (e.g., office supplies, lab equipment, professional services). They help Clemson track spending, manage budgets and report on purchasing trends.

Receipt

When goods or services arrive, you’ll confirm receipt of them in Workday =. This step helps ensure Clemson only pays for what was actually delivered.

Invoice

An invoice is a bill from a supplier for the goods or services provided. In Workday, invoices are matched with purchase orders and receipts to ensure everything lines up before payment is issued.

Why it Matters

Learning this terminology now will help you feel more comfortable to manage the procurement process in Workday. These words aren’t just “system language”—they reflect the new, streamlined way we’ll manage purchasing across campus.

Find out more during our What’s Up With Workday Sessions series. In November, we’ll be taking a look at Procurement in Workday. Our next Workday Words of the Week will focus on other Finance terms related to budgeting and accounting.

Security in Workday: What You Need to Know

When most people hear the word security, they think about locks, keys, or passwords. In Workday, security has a slightly different meaning. It’s about who can see what information and who can take what actions in the system. Security in Workday is designed to make sure employees can access the tools they need, while protecting sensitive information and maintaining compliance.

For Clemson, security is especially important because Workday will be the single system for HR, finance, payroll, procurement, and more. That means the correct people need access to the correct information — and only that information. Because of this focus on securing information to protect people and the institution, your access may look very different in Workday than in PeopleSoft.  PeopleSoft tends to be a much more open system and the implementation of Workday along with its security functionality has provided an opportunity to rethink access to data for all functional areas.

Security Roles in Workday

In Workday, security is built around roles. Roles define what you can see and do in the system. Here are a few role types and roles you’ll hear about often:

Assignable Role

• Security roles are most often assigned to a position. Think of a position as a chair. Whoever sits in the chair (the faculty or staff member holding that position) gets the security roles attached to it. When someone leaves that chair for another job, the roles stay with the chair. The next person who fills the position automatically has the security they need to do their work.
• The person who moved on will then receive the security roles tied to their new chair (new position).
• Finally – a person or a position can have more than one security role in Workday.

“As Self” Roles

• There are several roles that are considered “As Self” roles, these include: Employee as Self, Contingent Worker as Self, Academic Affiliate as Self and Manager as Self.
• These “as self” security roles enable the self-service capabilities in Workday.  They are security roles that are applied automatically in Workday based on job attributes.  These roles enable individuals manage their own personal information, like updating your address, viewing your paystub or requesting time off, as well as submitting time, expense reports, etc.
• The Manager as Self role gives those who have individuals reporting to them access to information and tasks related to their direct reports. For example, managers can approve time-off requests, view team specific information, or start job changes for employees on their team.

Planned Workday Roles for Clemson

Below are some of the security roles currently being tested in Workday* and examples of tasks that can be completed by people in those roles (Note: The names and responsibilities of these roles are subject to change.)

Academic Dean/Vice President

• Review and approve recruiting, staffing and compensation transactions for college or unit.

Academic Faculty HR Analyst

• Support Academic Chairs and Deans with new and updates to academic appointments for the Academic unit.

Cost Center Manager

• Oversee cost center (a budget area within the university).
• View financial transactions and reports tied to their area, approve certain expenses.

Timekeeper

• Support managers with employee time entry, time off & leaves of absence
• Act as a liaison between college or department and centralized Time and Leave, and Payroll teams.

Expense Data Entry Specialist

• Verify procurement card transactions.

Sponsored Programs Analyst

• Oversee the administration and tracking of one or more grant awards.
• Approve selected grant-related actions, such as funding allocations or compliance reviews.

HR Liaison

• Initiate, review and support recruiting, staffing and compensation transactions.
• Act as a liaison between college or department and centralized HR teams.

Why This Matters

Security roles ensure that Workday data remains both useful and safe. You’ll only see the information you need, and you’ll have the right tools to do your job without being overloaded with data that doesn’t apply to you.

For most employees, your experience will center around the Employee as Self role or managers as the Manager as Self role. Other assignable roles (like Cost Center Manager, Timekeeper or HR Liaison) are only given when needed for specific job duties.

Your assigned security roles will also determine your specific training pathway.  We want to make sure you know exactly what you need when Workday goes live.  We’ll keep you updated on training early in 2026.

Looking Ahead

As we approach Workday Go-Live in July of 2026, you will receive more information regarding security roles. For now, know that Workday’s role-based security is there to protect information and keep your work streamlined.