The Degree Planning and Audit Initiative was implemented in 2011. The initiative was designed to dramatically enhance student degree planning services across the University through the implementation of state-of-the-art software tools for students and advisors. The Initiative had the dual objectives of providing students considering transfer essential information about their progress toward degree completion and improving degree planning services for all enrolled students, thereby, increasing degree completion rates and lowering the time to degree for students. The Initiative was funded largely by a P-20 grant through the State Education Department.
Every student will have fundamental degree planning services at every institution with the ability online for students considering transfer to assess degree progress at other SUNY institutions. All campuses will participate in SUNY’s Degree Planning and Audit program to promote student degree completion. The following principles apply to all undergraduate students at all SUNY institutions:
• Every student must have access to effective degree planning services.
• Professional advisement is essential to student degree planning and must be available to students. Degree planning systems and other tools are intended to supplement professional services.
• Every student enrolled at an institution must be able to assess degree progress (perform a degree audit) at that institution through an online system.
• Students considering transfer must be able to assess their degree progress for general education and identified mobility programs (lower division and upper division requirements) at all institutions through a common, university-wide online system. Institutions must maintain their requirements for general education and the identified mobility programs, and campus course equivalencies, in the common, university-wide degree planning system.
• It is preferred that all institutions use Degree Works for degree planning. Campuses must minimally use Degree Works to support SUNY-to-SUNY transfer.
• It is preferred that all institutions provide students with advanced degree planning services (e.g., multi-semester course plans, comparison of multi-semester course plans to scheduled course offerings, "what if" degree analyses) through an online system.
• Degree requirements are maintained by every institution in a degree planning system in a timely and accurate manner.
• Best practices will be promoted in the definition of degree requirements, and opportunities for greater standardization will be explored.
• The Degree Works implementation will promote collaboration and cost-effectiveness among campuses.
• Campuses will work in clusters of three to four campuses to implement the Degree Works software.
• The Degree Works software will be installed at a common site for all students and campuses to access. The degree planning services must be available on a 24x7 basis with complete business continuity in place.