At the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), the Student Union operates like a small city staffed almost entirely by its own residents. On any given week, the department calls on as many as 70 to 80 student workers to keep it running: opening doors each morning, staffing the information desk, running the game room, setting up the ballroom and theater for university events, and keeping the campus’s busiest food court clean. A team of eight full-time staff, led by Assistant Director Massiel Munoz, keeps everybody rowing in the same direction.
For years, Munoz and her team managed student schedules using WhenToWork, a TCP scheduling solution designed for small teams. Munoz found WhenToWork a “simple and reliable” system, but as UTRGV’s student workforce grew and its responsibilities expanded, they needed a comprehensive workforce management solution. Now, the department is upgrading to TimeClock Plus and Humanity Schedule to bring time and attendance, dynamic employee scheduling, and student records into one connected solution.
A student union that graduated from basic scheduling
Managing student worker hours and eligibility across GPAs, graduation dates, enrollment status, work-study hour caps, and certifications meant Munoz and her team had a lot to keep track of. They built a small library of Excel sheets to make sure every person was eligible for work and accounted for.
“We were doing their GPAs, we were doing their graduation date, we were doing their enrollment, we were doing their hours,” Munoz said. “There’s a lot of back and forth.”
Payroll added another layer. Every pay period, Munoz cross-checked paper timesheets, WhenToWork schedules, and the university’s PeopleSoft system by hand. At a minimum, the process took 2-3 hours every 15 days.
“I’m having to look at a paper, look at the computer, and look at WhenToWork to make sure it’s all lined up,” said Munoz.
Happy with her TCP experience with WhenToWork, Munoz looked to other TCP solutions to meet the scheduling and time tracking demands of her growing team.
One place for schedules, certifications, and time tracking
With TimeClock Plus and Humanity Schedule, Munoz will run employee scheduling, time capture, and student eligibility from one place.
When evaluating the solutions, two features stood out immediately: geofencing and skills tracking. The Student Union’s operations stretch well past the building itself, including a new tailgating operation at football games. Students working off-site events need to capture their time accurately from their scheduled shift location, not just from a fixed spot on campus. And, with several student worker roles requiring active qualifications, like food handler certification and driving credentials, Munoz needed a solution that automates skills and certification tracking and flags status changes before they turn into a compliance problem.
Self-serve reporting was also hugely important. Today, pulling a roster for her director means walking someone else through which of several Excel tabs holds the right data. With TimeClock Plus and Humanity Schedule, Munoz knows any supervisor can pull an accurate report without needing her to translate it first.
And with their systems aligned, Munoz expects her previously hours-long payroll prep every pay period to shrink down to minutes.
An implementation backed by real support
Implementation support has been a highlight of the change process so far.
“TCP has been fabulous, very professional,” Munoz said. “You can tell this is what they do.”
The confidence that runs through the team’s calls, webinars, and training sessions has done more than teach Munoz about the software. It’s reassured her it will meet their needs and hold up against any hiccups. “If something breaks, I know I can call and it’ll get fixed,” she said.
Once her team was cleared to sign, which can take a little longer for higher ed institutions working through their own layers of approval, implementation has moved quickly. They’ve completed training sessions and a sample rollout, and a go-live date is on the calendar in the next few months.
Software already trusted elsewhere on campus
After years of running on WhenToWork, the Student Union already trusted TCP. Munoz knew TCP could continue to support her team as their operations scaled, and that confidence only grew when Munoz learned that UTRGV’s facilities and grounds crews and the School of Medicine already run on TimeClock Plus. Seeing full-time staff at that scale already using the software without issue made the case easier to bring to her own team.
What UTRGV is looking forward to
- Faster, more accurate payroll – No more manually cross-checking paper timesheets, schedules, and employee records
- One record per student worker – Certifications, work-study hours, and schedules together in one place, not scattered across Excel tabs
- Self-serve reporting – Any supervisor can pull an accurate report themselves
- Reliable time capture – Confidence that punches accurately reflect the scheduled hours and location
- A simpler way to collect availability – Easier student worker onboarding and scheduling each semester
- IT-approved security – Employee records stay audit-ready and safely archived
What’s next
Munoz sees her team continuing to grow with TCP.
Beyond the software’s capabilities, she has access to multiple customer resources to understand the solution even before go-live, like regular webinars, training sessions, and newsletters that highlight new features, product updates, and learning materials.
For now, the goal is simple: go live in the coming months and finally close the door on Excel.
“I don’t want to have any more Excel sheets,” Munoz said. “That’s my personal goal.”
TCP Software’s employee scheduling and time and attendance solutions are flexible and scalable to accommodate your business and employees as you grow.
From TimeClock Plus, which automates even the most complex payroll calculations and leave management requests, to Humanity Schedule for dynamic employee scheduling that saves you time and money, we have everything you need to meet your organization’s needs, no matter how unique. Plus, with Aladtec, we offer 24/7 public safety scheduling solutions for your hometown heroes.
Ready to learn how TCP Software takes the pain out of employee scheduling and time tracking? Speak with an expert today.
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