Digitizing Graduation Reviews
Session Number: 5096
Track: Academic Advisement
Sub-Categorization: Advisement/Degree Progress Reports
Session Type: Presentation
Tags: Academic Advisement, Academic Advisement Report, Graduation, Graduation Processors
Primary Presenter: Jennifer Volpe [Assistant Registrar for Graduation - University of Maryland, Baltimore County]
Co-Presenter: Pheng Xiong [Associate Registrar for Systems & Registration - University of Maryland, Baltimore County]
Time: Mar 26, 2018 (03:45 PM - 04:45 PM)
Room: 250 A
Session Length - Primary Choice: Mini Session
Knowledge level : Basic
Target Audience: Functional
Learning Objective 1: Attendees will learn how to use delivered functionality to enhance the graduation process at their institutions.
Learning Objective 2: Attendees will gain an understanding of the interconnectedness of the academic advisement and graduation processes.
Learning Objective 3: Attendees will learn about the struggles and successes we’ve had in implementing these enhancements to our graduation process.
Prerequisites : None
Advance preparation: No Advance Preparation Required
Product: PeopleSoft
Version Presenting: PS 9.0
Level of Customization: None or N/A
Level of Partner Integration: Institution Alone
Project Phase: Production
Project Go Live: Earlier than 2017
Your Training in this Area: Jennifer Volpe - Degree Audit Specialist since 2008 and current assistant registrar for graduation
Pheng Xiong - Previous degree audit coordinator and assistant registrar for graduation
Description: UMBC up until recently had a manual paper process for graduation reviews. Leveraging graduation tracker, communication generation, the degree audit analysis tables, and queries, we reduced processing for each phase of the graduation process.
We have been using graduation tracker since Fall 2014, replacing the Microsoft Access database, which was used to store student academic and personal information throughout the review process. Using the Access database, we could not obtain up to date information about students who applied to graduate, as the information was just a snapshot of the student’s information at the point of application. This meant that students who did not meet graduation requirements were not caught until the final graduation review period. Therefore, these students would have assumed they were pending graduation.
Using graduation tracker, we have been able to provide students a more accurate graduation status and given them the ability to check their graduation status through self-service.
Communication is an important part of the graduation review process – not only in informing students of their graduation status in a timely fashion, but also informing them of what they are missing and any next action steps they must take.
Our original communications with students were very general and left some of our students and advisors confused about what they needed to do. Additionally, the letters were generated using the access database and word merge, so at times we could not go back and look at the original communication students received.
In Fall 2014, using the analysis database and the 3Cs, we implemented changes that improved communication and efficiency. Information we provided students were much more clear, concise, and student friendly. While the process has much improved, we continue to look for ways to make our communication process better for our students.
The greatest challenge for us was creating queries using the academic advising report analysis tables. This allowed us to semi-automate much of our graduation process. Through testing and refinement, the queries have become critical in how we process graduation. The queries allow us a fast initial and final graduation review process, and allow us to communicate with specific students.
Leveraging these three functionalities in PeopleSoft have greatly improved our graduation process. Our goals were to create a process that was streamlined, efficient, and transparent for students and advisors.
Session Number: 5096
Track: Academic Advisement
Sub-Categorization: Advisement/Degree Progress Reports
Session Type: Presentation
Tags: Academic Advisement, Academic Advisement Report, Graduation, Graduation Processors
Primary Presenter: Jennifer Volpe [Assistant Registrar for Graduation - University of Maryland, Baltimore County]
Co-Presenter: Pheng Xiong [Associate Registrar for Systems & Registration - University of Maryland, Baltimore County]
Time: Mar 26, 2018 (03:45 PM - 04:45 PM)
Room: 250 A
Session Length - Primary Choice: Mini Session
Knowledge level : Basic
Target Audience: Functional
Learning Objective 1: Attendees will learn how to use delivered functionality to enhance the graduation process at their institutions.
Learning Objective 2: Attendees will gain an understanding of the interconnectedness of the academic advisement and graduation processes.
Learning Objective 3: Attendees will learn about the struggles and successes we’ve had in implementing these enhancements to our graduation process.
Prerequisites : None
Advance preparation: No Advance Preparation Required
Product: PeopleSoft
Version Presenting: PS 9.0
Level of Customization: None or N/A
Level of Partner Integration: Institution Alone
Project Phase: Production
Project Go Live: Earlier than 2017
Your Training in this Area: Jennifer Volpe - Degree Audit Specialist since 2008 and current assistant registrar for graduation
Pheng Xiong - Previous degree audit coordinator and assistant registrar for graduation
Description: UMBC up until recently had a manual paper process for graduation reviews. Leveraging graduation tracker, communication generation, the degree audit analysis tables, and queries, we reduced processing for each phase of the graduation process.
We have been using graduation tracker since Fall 2014, replacing the Microsoft Access database, which was used to store student academic and personal information throughout the review process. Using the Access database, we could not obtain up to date information about students who applied to graduate, as the information was just a snapshot of the student’s information at the point of application. This meant that students who did not meet graduation requirements were not caught until the final graduation review period. Therefore, these students would have assumed they were pending graduation.
Using graduation tracker, we have been able to provide students a more accurate graduation status and given them the ability to check their graduation status through self-service.
Communication is an important part of the graduation review process – not only in informing students of their graduation status in a timely fashion, but also informing them of what they are missing and any next action steps they must take.
Our original communications with students were very general and left some of our students and advisors confused about what they needed to do. Additionally, the letters were generated using the access database and word merge, so at times we could not go back and look at the original communication students received.
In Fall 2014, using the analysis database and the 3Cs, we implemented changes that improved communication and efficiency. Information we provided students were much more clear, concise, and student friendly. While the process has much improved, we continue to look for ways to make our communication process better for our students.
The greatest challenge for us was creating queries using the academic advising report analysis tables. This allowed us to semi-automate much of our graduation process. Through testing and refinement, the queries have become critical in how we process graduation. The queries allow us a fast initial and final graduation review process, and allow us to communicate with specific students.
Leveraging these three functionalities in PeopleSoft have greatly improved our graduation process. Our goals were to create a process that was streamlined, efficient, and transparent for students and advisors.
