Faculty, staff, and administrators recently previewed a new software application that will make it easier for students and their advisors to create individualized education plans and track students’ progress toward degree completion.

The Degree Map tool is being developed by Civitas Learning with input from six universities and colleges, including ACC.

ACC President/CEO Dr. Richard Rhodes says Degree Map supports college completion rates because it leads students to make more informed course decisions.

“The reason students come through the front door is because they have a dream,” he said. “This tool supports student success by helping us use data we already have to easily and efficiently track their progress beyond the front door.”

In the coming months ACC advisors and staff will review and test the application’s initial degree detail and degree comparison functions.

The degree detail feature displays a snapshot of a student’s degree plan, including:

• Completed courses
• In-progress courses
• Courses not applicable to the degree
• The percentage of the degree completed

The Degree Comparison feature shows the impact of switching degrees, including remaining courses required and tuition cost.

With the degree comparison feature, students and advisors can view a side-by-side comparison of the student’s current degree with other degree options. For each, students can see the percentage of the degree they have completed, the number of courses still needed, and remaining tuition costs – valuable information for students considering switching majors.

Future versions of Degree Map will allow students and advisors to view and select recommended courses for upcoming and future semesters.

“The ability to click on recommended classes to build a student schedule will be a great time saver,” says Kathy James, advising supervisor at the Round Rock Campus. “The degree completion comparison program with estimated cost was exceptional.”

ACC and Civitas plan to launch the application in the fall to assist with spring 2014 registration. Civitas plans to continue to add features to the program, such as local job market data for career planning, and articulation information that will help students intending to transfer map out their entire four-year plan.

For more information about the Civitas partnership and the degree mapping tool, contact Dorado Kinney, dean of student services at Eastview Campus, [email protected] or 223.5129.