As of the month of September, the College of San Mateo (CSM) has implemented the DegreeWorks program so that students can track their progress toward a degree, and stay constantly up to date regarding their academic goal.

This program works by providing a visual aid so that students have a convenient and quantifiable method of measuring their progress. Students can access DegreeWorks by logging onto WebSmart, and clicking on the DegreeWorks link under Student Services.

Once on the page, the user can see what requirements have been fulfilled up to that point and what classes that the student needs to take next. All of the information available on DegreeWorks is the information on their transcript that’s been compiled in an easily accessible
form.

Students can see the classes they’ve taken in the past, which includes the classes that they’ve passed, failed and officially withdrawn from.

“I think it has a lot of untapped potential.” Said Skyline’s Dean of Counseling, Rick Wallace. Each school has tailored the program so that it conforms to their individual standards, and reflects the degree requirements of that particular school.

What’s more pertinent, however, is that the program is tailored to each student’s individual purposes. The required classes shown on the program reflect the student’s chosen major. “It allows students to look at [their academic] history from different perspective,” says Skyline counselor, Imelda Hermosillo.

Prospective transfer students might find the “What If” tool to be its most valuable feature. The What If tool, which is located right under the Worksheets tab, this tab boasts the ability to see the prerequisites seen on the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) .

If a student is pursuing a specific major for the purpose of transferring, then they can supplement their use of DegreeWorks with Assist.org, a “computerized student-transfer information system.”

Students can check a literal progress bar to determine how much work they have remaining to complete—in order to achieve their goal. It allows them to be proactive with how they approach this goal, and gives them more specific questions when talking with their counselors.

With community colleges’ new policy of getting students in and out of their doors as fast as possible, time has become a commodity that we can’t afford to squander. This program gives students the ability to check their progress at any time and allow them to have more informed meetings with their counselors.

Perhaps the most useful feature for many students is the ability to check any given degree’s requirements at any time. For those who don’t bother picking up the various fliers available at the counseling center, and for those concerned about preserving trees, this is probably a huge relief.

Now that CSM has utilized this system, this means that the program is available to the entire San Mateo Community College District.

The College of San Mateo is offering a workshop to its students every month to teach them how to use this program. CSM’s next DegreeWorks information workshop is Thursday, Oct. 18.