Degree progress report stalled

Antonella Cangelosi
Staff Writer
The Degree Progress Report – an online program created by York University to allow students to track their degree requirements for graduation – is proving to be a highly effective tool, though some students are wondering when their program will be made available.
According to Lucy Bellissimo, the director of registrarial systems and communications, the development process is lengthy and labouring.
“We’re progressing at the pace I was expecting,” she said, mentioning that developers also have to keep in mind how to present the information conveniently on the web. “It is a very large project that requires the collaboration with the faculties to try and go through individual degree requirements, program by program.”
The Degree Progress Report is currently functioning for students in the faculties of health and fine arts, with the exception of the digital media program, because it is a fairly recent program.
Other majors currently on the system include philosophy, sociology and administrative studies majors.
The registrar is currently working to make this tool accessible for Schulich students as well as science and engineering students, but these ventures are still in the early stages of its development.
Jennifer Lavigne, the director of academic services in the faculty of science and engineering, explained the registrar and the faculty have met once to discuss the project, but that a lot more work needs to be done before the tool would be made available to students in science and engineering.
Jacqueline Ramsey is a third-year political science major who finds it very disconcerting her program has yet to be set up with the Degree Progress Report.
“It’s really inconvenient for me, especially when I’m trying to pick the summer courses I have to take,” she said. “It would just make the process a lot easier and a lot less confusing to be able to log on and look up my requirements.”
Bellissimo noted the remainder of the Report will be developed with the help of academic advisors, and that the development team will be devoting more time to have the program working smoothly.
“This project is a major priority for us, but because of the volume of work that you have to go through, it takes time to do it right,” she said.
For Maxine Hayle, a student services representative from the faculty of health, the tool is a godsend to both students and academic advisors. She also noted that since the Degree Progress Report was made available to students in her faculty, it has definitely reduced wait times for students looking to speak with academic advisors.
“The Degree Progress tool is an amazing instrument for students since it allows students to sign in and see a breakdown of their degree so that they know what courses they have taken and what course they have to take,” she raved. “It also gives them the opportunity to plan ahead and to ensure that they don’t make mistakes with their course choices.”