The University of Rhode Island is considering whether to process more of its own payroll as it develops a Workday-based administrative system, Rhode Island Current reported September 29.
URI Vice President for Administration and Finance Abby Benson told the outlet that the university and state were exploring several options, including bringing payroll processing in-house. No final decision was announced in the report.
The university currently relies on the state for payroll processing for full-time employees while handling other parts of its workforce internally. Its modernization project had been designed around that division of responsibilities.
The Current reported that Benson warned trustees a change in payroll responsibilities could affect the project's cost and schedule. State and university officials were continuing discussions about how their systems would work together.
URI's own project website describes the transition as bringing finance, human resources, payroll-related functions, budgeting and faculty administration into one platform. Teams are reviewing processes, preparing data and configuring the system.
The university says testing is the next major implementation stage, expected to begin in December. Its published resources include project updates and training information for employees preparing for the transition.
The Current reported an expected October 2027 launch and said the existing student-information system would remain in place and connect to Workday.
Expanding URI's payroll role would therefore add a decision about who processes employee pay to an administrative project already underway. The discussions reported September 29 remained an evaluation of options.
Sources