DRAFT

 

 

DATE:                        October 27, 2004

TO:                 Undergraduate Council

FROM:           Wendy Mitchell, Jeanne Coe, Heather Bottorff, Hilary Gerdes

RE:                  Statewide Degree Audit Pilot Program Proposal

 

We believe that the State Board of Higher Education should give priority to developing a comprehensive, statewide course degree audit system. 

 

The Governor’s stated goal is “to help students transfer smoothly from community colleges to universities by connecting curriculum, coordinating degree requirements and offering simultaneous enrollment.” 

 

In order to achieve this goal, several initiatives have been proposed.  Successful implementation of these initiatives requires attention to the quality and accessibility of advising, and ready access to accurate information.  In particular, implementation of “transfer programs,” such as the one year module, make it critical that we equip students and advisors with the information they need to plan effectively.  Electronic tools, such as the Course Applicability System (CAS), described below, will greatly enhance effective advising, and thus successful transfer among our institutions. 

 

Implementation of a Statewide Degree Audit System:

Many OUS schools and a few community colleges have degree audit systems in place. These electronic systems enable students to track their progress toward specific degree requirements.  What is needed is a statewide system to link the campus-based degree audit with relevant course offerings at other institutions.  The Course Applicability System (CAS) is such a system (see attached information).  It’s important to point out that a system such as CAS is significantly different from an electronic course articulation catalogue.  A linked degree audit system such as CAS tracks how a course applies to the degree requirements for any contemplated degree, rather than simply listing individual course equivalencies. 

 

CAS is currently used successfully by institutions across the country.  Within Oregon, Portland State University uses CAS to provide students and advisers with transfer course applicability and to report progress toward degree completion. Initial feedback from PSU advisors indicates that the system is working well and has made interactions with community colleges and individual students seeking transfer more effective.

 

We understand that a variety of electronic articulation aids are available, but not all of them are sufficiently robust to be worth significant investment. For maximum utility and efficiency, a statewide degree audit system must be able to do the following:

 

·      Translate transfer courses from one institution into specific course equivalencies at the receiving institution. 

 

·      Compare completed coursework with degree requirements at multiple institutions, enabling students to view their progress toward degree requirements for various programs.

 

·      Track progress toward completion of general education coursework.  (The existing AAOT degree and the proposed general education transfer module are examples of “packages” that are applied to general education requirements, as articulated by each institution).

 

·      Track progress toward completion of major-specific requirements.  This information could also be used for efficient selection of general education coursework, necessary or desirable for particular majors.

 

·      Provide “around the clock” access to accurate information regarding degree requirements, course descriptions, equivalencies, and applicability.

 

·      Create an individual web based “file” unique to individual students and their specific coursework and potential transfer scenarios. 

 

The statewide Committee of Business Deans and Department Chairs, whose members come from community colleges and four year schools throughout the state, have proposed piloting a CAS program.    We hope that the Undergraduate Council will choose to encourage the State Board of Higher Education to seriously consider such a pilot.