Apel Consulting | Higher Education ERP & Project Management
Higher Education Solutions

Leading the way in Higher Education with Innovative Strategies

Welcome leaders to the realm of innovative project management solutions. Discover executive strategies, hands-on solutions, industry experts, and support for driving extraordinary outcomes.

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Our Services

Increase Student Success

Embrace the journey of creativity and innovation alongside us. Whether you are initiating a new venture, elevating a passion project, or showcasing your school’s vision to the community, Apel Consulting is here to help.

Executive Project Management Leader

Executive project management and higher education systems leadership across multiple initiatives, with client advocacy, business relationship-building, and alignment to executive strategy.

Multiple Synchronous Projects

Manage and oversee multiple projects while keeping work on track and under budget for higher education clients, backed by proven execution and relationship skills.

Projects Over $1M

Project management and strategic planning experience for higher education, non-profit, and commercial clients with major enterprise initiatives.

Communication

Communicate effectively with executives, functional teams, and technical developers to improve outcomes through targeted project oversight.

Long-term Projects

Experience leading year-long upgrade projects across departments to modernize ERP student systems, automate backlogs, and improve operational delivery.

Top Leadership

Recognized for leadership, system upgrade expertise, business relationship building, and customer advocacy.

13+years in higher education
$1M+project experience
ERPBanner, Workday, DegreeWorks, and MORE!
PMOGovernance, Strategies and Execution 
Workday Student

Workday Student Core Expert

The team has worked on projects revolving around Workday Student and making sure schools and universities are prepared for their Workday Student implementations.

Just started with Workday Student?

We can help your team make decisions, understand impact, and cover project management needs.

About to Go Live?

Need last-minute help to make your go-live successful? We have experienced experts with multiple go-lives who can help.

Already Live?

Our team is equipped to come in post go-live and support stabilization and optimization of your system.

Apel Consulting at Workday Rising
Nicholas Apelquist headshot
Meet the Team

Nicholas Apelquist

Founder & CEO

Nicholas Apelquist is a higher-education technology and ERP transformation leader known for turning complex system overhauls into data-driven success stories. As Founder and Principal Consultant of Apel Consulting, Nicholas partners with colleges and universities nationwide to modernize operations, strengthen governance, and drive measurable outcomes across ERP, SIS, and enterprise integrations.

With a career spanning leadership roles in enterprise project management, IT governance, and higher-ed transformation, Nicholas brings both strategic and functional expertise. He has guided institutions through multi-year ERP implementations—including Ellucian Banner, Workday, DegreeWorks, and Ethos integrations—with a focus on interoperability, fiscal accountability, and user adoption.

  • Higher Ed Experts
  • Data integrity always
  • People at the core

Pat Tretina headshot


Pat Tretina 

Executive Advisor & Workday Principal Consultant

Pat is an Executive Advisor and Workday Principal Consultant with more than a decade of experience leading complex Workday transformations for enterprise organizations. Recognized as a Workday expert, he brings deep expertise across the full HCM suite, advanced reporting, strategic configuration, and holistic solution design. He has successfully led full-scale Workday implementations, launched targeted module deployments, and built sustainable post-production support models that help organizations maximize long-term value from their Workday investment. Pat combines hands-on technical depth with executive-level project leadership, making him a trusted advisor for large-scale transformation, operational excellence, and scalable HR technology strategy.

  • Higher Ed Experts
  • Data integrity always
  • People at the core

="Liam


Liam Charlebois 

Marketing Team Lead

As Marketing Team Lead, Liam supports Apel Consulting’s brand growth by developing strategic marketing content that engages higher education leaders and decision-makers. His work focuses on communicating how Apel Consulting helps colleges and universities strengthen project management, improve technology initiatives, and drive meaningful institutional outcomes. Liam creates and manages digital content across platforms, aligns marketing strategy with business goals, and collaborates closely with leadership to highlight the value small businesses bring to higher education technology. Through clear messaging and purposeful brand storytelling, he helps position Apel Consulting as a trusted partner for institutions navigating complex transformation efforts.

  • Higher Ed Experts
  • Data integrity always
  • People at the core

="Caitlin


Caitlin Regan 

Business Analyst  Lead

 Caitlin is a Business Analyst with a strong foundation in education and a practical understanding of how people, process, and technology come together to support student success. Her background in classroom-based education gives her a valuable user-centered perspective when working with academic teams, administrators, and technology stakeholders.

  • Higher Ed Experts
  • Data integrity always
  • People at the core
About Apel Consulting

Established after a decade in higher education

After a decade inside the higher education ecosystem and alongside teams managing higher education projects, founder Nicholas Apelquist formed Apel Consulting to bring dedicated higher education experts and consultants together for institutions that need momentum.

Strategic Planning

Align project work to executive strategy, institutional goals, and measurable student-success outcomes.

System Optimization

Improve ERP, SIS, integration, and reporting environments so technology supports people instead of slowing them down.

Operational Execution

Support one-off projects, urgent workstreams, and enterprise programs that need structure, accountability, and speed.

Reviews

Trusted by higher education teams

★★★★★
“On top things and a standout! Asks the hard questions and raises things we might not be thinking about. We really appreciate it. If you’re looking for a top-quality company you can trust, you’ve found it!”
★★★★★
“Ability to understand complex concepts and break them down for others in an easier to understand way is especially impressive… understood the interconnections and complexity at the deepest level.”
★★★★★
“Can apply soft skills to a very technical job; this is crucial especially as it concerns training staff, faculty, and students on new software and upgrades to existing software.”
Consultant Network

Become a Partner with Apel Consulting

Discover how Apel Consulting can transform your reach into higher education without recruiters. Establish a profile on our Higher Education Team without your name being shared, helping keep side gigs private while opening the door to higher education systems work.

  • Flat rates can be published for schools before they ever reach out.
  • Public rates are not the rates paid to consultants.
  • Payment may be flat rate minus vendor hourly deduction or W-2 percentage/hour deduction.
Partner Inquiry
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Contact

Connect with Apel Consulting

Discover how our executive project management leaders can transform your initiatives. Whether it is a project need or a team member you want to hire, nothing is too big or too small.