The Student Program Plan in Campus Solutions is a key feature within the Oracle PeopleSoft Campus Solutions suite, designed to manage and track a student’s academic journey. It is used to define the academic structure for students, including their degree programs, majors, minors, concentrations, and other academic plans.
Key Functions of the Student Program Plan:
- Program Structure Definition: It allows academic institutions to define and manage various academic programs offered to students, including undergraduate, graduate, professional, and certificate programs.
- Tracking Student Progress: The program plan tracks student progress through their academic program, ensuring that they meet the necessary requirements for graduation, including required courses, credits, and prerequisites.
- Curriculum Management: Faculty and staff can use the program plan to create and update curriculum structures, including majors, minors, concentrations, and course lists that align with academic regulations.
- Advising and Counseling: The program plan enables advisors to provide students with accurate academic counseling, helping them select courses, plan their academic journey, and stay on track for graduation.
- Customization: Institutions can customize program plans to reflect unique academic offerings, including specialized tracks, dual degree programs, or interdisciplinary majors.
- Academic Reporting: The program plan generates reports that reflect a student’s academic achievements, current enrollment, and remaining requirements for degree completion.
- Integration: It integrates with other modules in Campus Solutions, such as course registration, academic history, and student records, providing a holistic view of a student’s academic status.
Student Program Plan
The Student Program Plan serves as the foundation for managing a student’s educational experience and progression, ensuring they meet academic requirements while facilitating seamless communication between students, advisors, and academic administrators.
Below page is the Student Program Plan with navigation, where we can track the student program, plan, admit term, Academic Career, Program Action, etc.
Fig 1: Student Program Page to track the student courses along with term and status
Student Plan Page
Fig 2: Student Plan which consists of the detailed info of the academic plan under the program
In Campus Solutions PeopleSoft, the “Student Plan” is part of the broader academic planning system used to help students map out their academic journeys. This includes tracking progress toward degree completion, selecting courses, and managing various academic requirements. The Student Plan feature typically involves several key components:
1. Academic Plan:
- Curriculum Setup: Students select their academic programs, which include their major, minor, concentrations, and other fields of study. The system allows students to view all the courses required to complete their degree programs.
- Program Requirements: These are linked to the university’s catalog and define the courses, credit hours, and prerequisites needed for completion.
2. Plan and Schedule:
- Course Scheduling: Students use the system to plan which courses they want to take in upcoming terms. They can map out their schedules, ensuring they meet requirements and prerequisites.
- Academic Year View: Students can see a long-term view of their academic plan, often for the next few years, helping them stay on track for graduation.
3. Advising:
- Advising Tools: The system can link students with academic advisors who can help review and approve their academic plans. Advising tools allow both students and advisors to track progress, discuss course selections, and make adjustments as needed.
- Alerts and Holds: Notifications related to holds, prerequisites, or other academic requirements can be incorporated into the plan.
4. Degree Audit:
- Progress Tracking: The degree audit function provides students with a snapshot of their progress toward completing their degree requirements. It helps students identify completed and outstanding courses, as well as any elective or requirement gaps.
- What-If Scenarios: Students can explore different academic plans by adjusting majors, minors, or concentrations and see how the changes affect their degree progress.
5. Course Registration:
- Registration Setup: Once the student’s plan is in place, they can use the system to register for classes, ensuring the courses are aligned with their plan and requirements.
6. Integration with Other Campus Systems:
- The Student Plan feature is integrated with other areas of PeopleSoft, such as Student Records, Admissions, and Financial Aid, helping to maintain a cohesive view of the student’s academic and financial standing.
- The goal of Student Plan in PeopleSoft Campus Solutions is to ensure that students can plan their academic journey efficiently, track their progress, and receive necessary academic support in a structured manner.
Student Sub-Plan Page
Fig 3: Student Sub Plan
In Campus Solutions PeopleSoft, a Sub Plan is a specific component used within the broader Academic Plan to provide additional granularity in academic planning. The Sub Plan allows universities to structure and track a student’s academic path in a more detailed way, especially when students have multiple concentrations, specializations, or tracks within their primary academic program (e.g., major).
Here’s how Sub Plans are typically used:
1. Additional Specializations or Concentrations:
- A Sub Plan is often used to represent a specific track or concentration within a broader academic program or major.
- For example, a student in a Computer Science major might select a sub-plan for Data Science or Software Engineering as a concentration within the major.
2. Differentiating Between Program Variants:
- A sub-plan helps differentiate between different program options that a student might pursue within the same degree or major. For example, students pursuing a Business Administration degree may have sub-plans such as Marketing, Finance, or International Business.
3. Tracking Additional Requirements:
- Each sub-plan can have its own set of requirements that must be met in addition to the main program requirements.
- This allows students and advisors to see if the student is on track to meet the requirements for both their major and any concentrations, specializations, or tracks they are pursuing.
4. Degree Audit and Progress:
- The Sub Plan is incorporated into the Degree Audit process, so the system can track the student’s progress not just toward the degree but also toward meeting the specific sub-plan requirements.
- It helps the system provide more precise information about which courses have been completed and which remain, specifically for each sub-plan.
5. Course Registration:
- When a student is registering for courses, the sub-plan helps identify the exact courses required for their specific concentration or track.
- This ensures that students are selecting courses that align with both their primary academic plan (e.g., major) and any sub-plan they have chosen.
6. Advising and Academic Support:
- Advisors can use the Sub Plan information to better guide students in selecting courses and ensuring they are meeting both major and sub-plan requirements.
- It enables a more personalized advising experience since the system can reflect the exact requirements the student is following.
7. Customizable by Institution:
- The specific types of sub-plans and how they are used in PeopleSoft can be customized by each institution. Some schools may use them extensively for tracks or concentrations, while others may not use them at all.
Benefits Of Student Program Plan for Faculties
For Faculties: The Student Program Plan feature in PeopleSoft Campus Solutions offers several benefits to faculty members, enabling them to provide more personalized, efficient, and effective support to students. Here’s a breakdown of the key benefits for faculty:
1. Improved Advising and Academic Support:
- Clear Overview of Student’s Academic Journey: Faculty can access a student’s program plan to get a clear, up-to-date view of the courses they have taken, the courses they are planning to take, and their progress toward degree completion.
- Tailored Academic Advice: Faculty can provide more targeted academic advice since they can view the specific program plan, including specializations, concentrations, and requirements. This allows them to guide students based on their unique academic path.
- Easy Identification of Gaps or Issues: Faculty can identify any missing requirements or courses that students need to complete, making it easier to help them stay on track for graduation.
2. Efficient Course Planning:
- Course Sequencing: Faculty can see which courses are planned for each semester, helping them understand whether students are meeting prerequisites and whether their course schedule aligns with the program’s structure.
- Streamlined Curriculum Guidance: Faculty can help students who may be unsure about which courses to take next, ensuring that students meet program requirements without unnecessary delays.
- Plan Adjustment: If a student changes their program plan (e.g., switching majors or adding a concentration), faculty can easily review and adjust their advice to align with the new academic path.
3. Enhanced Communication with Students:
- Real-time Updates: Faculty can stay informed on changes to students’ academic plans in real time, which helps in providing timely advice or support.
- Collaboration with Advisors: Faculty can coordinate more effectively with academic advisors, ensuring that everyone involved in a student’s academic journey is on the same page regarding progress and requirements.
4. Streamlined Administrative Tasks:
- Fewer Scheduling Conflicts: With insight into a student’s program plan, faculty can help avoid course scheduling conflicts, as they can check if students have already registered for required courses or if they are likely to need any specific electives.
- Efficient Tracking of Academic Progress: Faculty can use the system to quickly check the student’s progress within a specific sub-plan, concentration, or track, making it easier to monitor their progress.
- Fewer Errors in Degree Audits: Faculty can cross-check program plan data with degree audit tools to ensure students meet all graduation requirements, reducing the chances of errors that might occur in manual tracking.
5. Improved Student Retention:
- Early Identification of Struggles: If students are behind in their program plan or not following their academic track properly, faculty can identify this early and intervene with appropriate support, which can help prevent students from falling too far off track or dropping out.
- Proactive Support for Students: By reviewing students’ plans regularly, faculty can proactively offer guidance and ensure students are taking the correct courses and making satisfactory progress toward their degree.
6. Enhanced Reporting and Analytics:
- Tracking Program Success: Faculty can analyze trends within student program plans to identify which courses or sub-plans are most popular, which can help in course planning, curriculum design, or improving academic offerings.
- Informed Curriculum Adjustments: If there are consistent patterns in student choices or course difficulties, faculty can provide feedback to department chairs or curriculum committees to improve programs or offer better alternatives.
7. Personalized Learning Pathways:
- Support for Diverse Student Needs: Faculty can better understand each student’s unique academic journey and provide support that is aligned with the student’s specific goals, such as helping them manage dual majors or complex minors.
- Encouragement of Interdisciplinary Learning: With insight into program plans, faculty can encourage students to explore interdisciplinary opportunities by recommending courses from other programs that align with their academic goals.
8. Reduced Administrative Burden:
- Less Manual Tracking: Faculty no longer need to manually track student progress or course requirements, as the program plan and degree audit tools automate much of the process.
- Better Integration with Other Campus Systems: The Student Program Plan integrates with other areas of PeopleSoft, such as Student Records and Course Registration, providing faculty with a unified, up-to-date view of each student’s academic information.
Benefits Of Student Program Plan for Students
The Student Program Plan in PeopleSoft Campus Solutions offers several benefits for students, helping them manage their academic journey more effectively. Here’s a breakdown of the key advantages for students:
- 1. Clear Academic Pathway:
- Structured Degree Plan: The Student Program Plan provides a clear roadmap of the courses and requirements a student must complete to graduate. This helps students visualize their entire academic journey from start to finish.
- Reduced Uncertainty: With a detailed program plan, students can clearly see what courses they need to take each semester, reducing confusion about what to prioritize or what is still needed to complete their degree.
2. Efficient Course Selection and Scheduling:
- Course Planning: Students can plan out their course schedule for upcoming semesters, ensuring they’re selecting the right courses that fulfil major, minor, or concentration requirements.
- Avoid Course Conflicts: By using the Student Program Plan, students can avoid course scheduling conflicts and ensure they’re meeting prerequisites or co-requisites for courses they wish to take in future terms.
- Optimized Graduation Timeline: The program plan helps students identify the most efficient route to complete their degree requirements, which can reduce the time it takes to graduate.
3. Progress Tracking and Degree Audit:
- Real-time Progress Updates: The system provides students with a real-time view of their academic progress, showing which requirements they’ve completed and which ones are still pending.
- Degree Audit: The built-in degree audit functionality helps students track their progress toward graduation. It will highlight completed courses, missing requirements, and potential course substitutions, helping students stay on track.
- What-If Scenarios: Students can explore different program options, such as changing majors or adding a minor or concentration, and see how those changes would affect their graduation timeline.
4. Personalized Academic Experience:
- Customizable Program Plans: Students can tailor their program plan to reflect their academic interests, such as selecting a concentration, specialization, or specific course options within their field of study.
- Track Multiple Goals: Students who are pursuing dual degrees, minors, or special concentrations can use the program plan to ensure they are meeting all requirements for each program simultaneously.
- Flexibility: The system allows students to adjust their plans as they go, whether they need to change their courses due to unforeseen circumstances or decide to explore a new academic interest.
5. Informed Decision Making:
- Better Decision Making on Course Load: The program plan helps students understand the intensity of their workload each semester, making it easier to manage academic stress and plan accordingly.
- Preview Future Requirements: Students can preview the courses they will need to take in future semesters and plan their academic careers accordingly, allowing them to balance difficult courses with lighter ones in the same semester.
6. Advising and Support:
- Access to Academic Advising: The program plan allows students to share their academic progress with their advisors easily. Advisors can help students make informed decisions about course selection, academic goals, and career planning.
- Proactive Support: The system helps advisors provide more proactive support by notifying them of students who may be off track or have missed requirements. This early identification can help prevent delays in graduation and ensure students get the support they need.
7. Increased Self-sufficiency and Autonomy:
- Independence in Planning: Students can independently review their academic plan and degree audit, helping them feel more in control of their academic journey and reducing their reliance on advisors for basic course selection.
- Time-Saving: By having access to all their academic information in one place, students save time by not having to search for individual course requirements or meet with advisors for routine questions about graduation requirements.
8. Transparency and Clarity:
- Clear Expectations: Students know exactly what is required to complete their degree, which reduces confusion or uncertainty about what courses they need to take and in what order.
- Improved Communication: The program plan improves communication between students, advisors, and faculty by ensuring everyone has access to the same up-to-date information on the student’s academic path.
9. Increased Retention and Graduation Rates:
- Staying on Track: By clearly outlining the path to graduation, students are more likely to stay on track with their studies and meet their academic goals. This reduces the risk of delayed graduations and increases overall retention.
- Early Identification of Issues: If students fall behind or miss important requirements, the program plan alerts them and their advisors, allowing for early intervention to help keep them on track for graduation.
10. Better Career Planning:
- Exploring Career Paths: By showing all available concentrations, minors, and electives, the program plan allows students to explore different career paths that may align with their academic interests.
- Informed Course Selection: As students select courses, they can align their choices with their career goals, ensuring that they take courses that will prepare them for their future profession.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Student Program Plan in PeopleSoft Campus Solutions is a powerful tool that benefits both students and faculty by providing a structured, clear, and efficient approach to academic planning. For students, it ensures a transparent view of their academic journey, helping them track progress, select courses wisely, and make informed decisions about their future. The program plan allows for a personalized academic experience, supports proactive advising, and helps students stay on track to meet graduation requirements.
For faculty and advisors, the Student Program Plan offers streamlined support for academic advising, improved tracking of student progress, and the ability to identify potential issues early on, enabling timely intervention. It helps reduce administrative burdens and ensures better alignment between student goals and program requirements.
Overall, the Student Program Plan in PeopleSoft Campus Solutions enhances academic success by fostering a collaborative, well-organized environment where students can navigate their degree path with confidence, and faculty can provide more effective support and guidance.
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Author: Anand Dubey, PeopleSoft Consultant
