Support

The two foundational principles supporting Project SPARK:

1. To replace the existing ERP system (Ellucian Banner) to provide a stable solution for HR, Finance, and Payroll, and ultimately to service our students.  
2. Identify and improve upon common business policies and procedures for efficiency. Processes need to be changed where they no longer support/serve the university optimally. The ERP alone will not ‘fix’ things, we need to put better practices in place so when we use them in the new system we become more efficient.

Project SPARK officially kicks  off on January 30th, 2025 with the initial implementation of Workday’s Human Resources (HCM), Payroll and Finance modules targeted for July 1, 2026. The Budget Planning module (Adaptive) is targeted to go-live the last quarter of 2026.

Student implementation will begin subsequent to the Budget Planning go-live and a stabilization period. The Student modules will likely be phased in over a period of multiple years.

For more detailed information on Project SPARK’s timeline, please visit our Project Timeline page.

Workday is a centralized administrative system of record for Human Resources, Finance and Payroll-related activities. Within Workday, faculty and staff can maintain their personal information, view payslips, enter time worked, enter expense reports, and review and manage budgets among many other day-to-day functions. 

• Provide a modern platform that will: 
  • Address integration inefficiencies between core ERP and other key
  • systems
  • Reduce reliance on shadow systems and eliminate disjointed data and reporting practices
• Introduce operating efficiency by:
  • Reducing time spent by staff on manual processes and navigating paper-based or disconnected systems
  • Reducing payroll processing errors and addressing the need for automation of labor distribution approvals
  • Addressing time & labor challenges such as recording of manual leave balances, resolving time-tracking inconsistencies, entering overtime, etc.
• Improve constituent experiences by:
  • Removing inefficiencies and barriers due to outdated interfaces and
  • counter-intuitive navigation
  • Address the lack of interoperability between core technologies
  • Mitigate employee and / or student retention risks related to administrative delays and bottlenecks

To meet the evolving needs of its faculty and staff, NJIT is modernizing its ERP to align the current business demands of the university with a technology partner and toolset that delivers the functionality and user experience that is needed by the NJIT community.

While Banner Student will ultimately be replaced with Workday Student, this implementation will be years in the making. The initial Workday rollout is only applicable to NJIT’s HCM, Finance, Payroll, and Budget processes and supporting tools.

Project team members, with input from key stakeholders, will design foundational elements for the Workday Implementation, including business process redesign for key processes. The team will engage in a broad range of preparatory activities around project management, change management, initial review, and analysis of the HCM and Finance data and an inventory of integrations. After a successful configuration of a Workday application that meets the needs of the NJIT community, rigorous testing and training will be conducted prior to final deployment.

The full project timeline can be found here.

• Stay informed! Look for community announcements and check the Project SPARK website regularly
• Get Involved! Engage honestly and productively when called upon; Be a part of the conversation; Participate in feedback and testing session; Ask questions; Follow through on commitments and help us stick to the timeline
• Keep an open mind! Approach the project with an open-mind; respect your colleagues as we listen to different perspectives and experiences.
• Be a champion! Help spread the word about the project in a positive way; Participate in future conversations and sessions, as needed; be a voice of your peers

Human Resources (HCM), Finance, Payroll, and Budget processes and tools will be impacted by the transition.

A detailed training plan will be designed for the implementation and deployment. Every member of the NJIT community will have access to relevant training / help materials.

Depending on your role on the project, training will be made available in alignment with when you need it to ensure that you are prepared for that role. If you are an end user of the system and not involved in the configuration and setup, training/ help materials will be made available closer to go-live (July 2026) so that you are prepared to use the system when we go live.

Any questions regarding Project SPARK can be directed to this contact form.

We will continue to update this website as the project evolves and as more information becomes available, so keep checking back here. Additionally, we will offer informal department-level updates/information sessions, as well as university-wide information sharing sessions. Routine messaging will be shared via emails, news stories, and even videos. We will announce any important developments and provide meeting information on this page.