There are plenty of things in the life of every college student that make building a clear degree plan slide onto the back burner. Assignments. Tests. Work. Social lives. Not to mention that many degree planners are boring and confusing to begin with, along with students’ expectations of being guide. This leaves no incentive for students to take control and build a plan until they need to. Often after the damage is already done.
As a campus, it’s important for students to understand how planning their degree pathway sets up their future for success. And that includes more than just a quick review when their registration window rolls around. Providing the right tool for the job is important in any scenario. Especially when it comes to helping students become active participants in planning their future.
Stephen Geerlof of EDUCAUSE cited two important features all degree planners should have.
“We want to see it from an easily understood path from our first steps on campus to our last steps across the graduation stage.”
The software needs to support students. And student expectations. As the technology which we carry in our pockets becomes more advanced and personalized, degree planning tools should do the same. Integrating features for data visualization (like charts and progress bars) make degree planning immediately more engaging.
Additionally, creating an intuitive interface making use of common interactions. Like a drag-and-drop feature to build course model sequences. This gives students the ability to see the relationships and effects course planning has on their academic career.
Best of all, creating a tool that students want to use relieves some pressure on academic advising. If students know what courses they want to take–and that they fit into their degree coursework–then advisors are empowered to take the time and patience to work through core issues with at-risk students.
Students need to play an active, not passive, role in planning their degree coursework. Understanding the different variables is key to a successful academic career. DegreeSight captures the relationships and impacts of different course plans. This degree planning software is not only visually engaging, but empowers students to take charge of their educational success.
Get your students engaged by inviting them to be an active partner in the degree planning process. Check out DegreeSight’s student view and increase achievement rates today!