Navigating the academic landscape can sometimes feel like charting a course through uncharted waters, especially when the tools of navigation themselves are evolving. At GRCC, ensuring our students successfully reach their academic destinations is a collective endeavor, requiring precise information and collaborative planning. This very mission is at the heart of our recent enhancements to academic advising resources, moving us towards more dynamic and student-centric support systems. The video above provides an excellent overview of these pivotal changes, demonstrating how two robust platforms—PeopleSoft Academic Advisement and EAB Navigate—are revolutionizing how faculty and staff guide students.
For those of us dedicated to fostering student success, understanding these new platforms is not merely about learning software; it’s about unlocking greater potential for our students’ futures. While the previous MyDegreePath served its purpose, the transition to these integrated tools marks a significant leap forward in accuracy, real-time data, and personalized planning capabilities. Let’s delve deeper into how these powerful academic advising tools work, their distinct functions, and how you can leverage them to empower our students on their educational journeys.
PeopleSoft Academic Advisement: Your Real-Time Degree Compass
Imagine a student walking into your office, uncertain about their progress toward graduation, perhaps even contemplating a change in major. In the past, manually cross-referencing catalog requirements could be a time-consuming and sometimes error-prone process. However, the PeopleSoft Academic Advisement tool, which went live for students and staff on August 31st, fundamentally shifts this paradigm, acting as a real-time, interactive graduation audit tool. It’s akin to a sophisticated GPS for academic programs, instantly outlining every requirement a student needs to meet their credential goals at GRCC.
This system’s immediate benefit lies in its ability to clearly distinguish between completed and outstanding requirements, presenting this information in an easily digestible format, often complemented by a color-coded pie chart in the student’s online center. Such visual clarity not only aids advisors in their discussions but also empowers students to actively monitor their own progress. The shift from MyDegreePath, which remained accessible to faculty and staff until the end of October, was driven by the desire for this kind of real-time data, enabling GRCC to better understand student enrollment patterns and program progression, even assisting with future program discontinuation planning and scheduling adjustments.
Accessing and Utilizing the Academic Advisement Report
Whether preparing for an advising session or needing to review a student’s record remotely, accessing the academic advisement report is straightforward, though the specific path may vary based on your role. Faculty teaching classes will typically find access through a dedicated “Academic Advisement” tile within Faculty Self-Service. On the other hand, staff members or faculty not currently teaching may access the system via Campus Solutions. It is paramount that all users complete their FERPA training to ensure student privacy and data security, a prerequisite for gaining access to these sensitive records.
Once you’ve navigated to the system, you’ll encounter two primary report types: ADVIPP and WIF. The ADVIPP report is your standard “Actual” report, providing a comprehensive audit of the student’s currently declared program. This report meticulously details all requirements, marking each as satisfied or not satisfied, offering a definitive snapshot of their academic standing. In contrast, the WIF, or “What If” report, is a powerful simulation tool. This feature allows advisors to explore hypothetical scenarios, such as how a student’s progress might change if they were to declare a different academic program or pathway. For instance, if a student in the Culinary program considers switching to Pre-Business, a WIF report can instantly illustrate the impact on their remaining requirements, guiding informed decision-making without commitment.
Understanding the Audit Details and Key Considerations
When reviewing an advisement report, particularly the PDF version, key details such as the student’s declared academic program are prominently displayed at the top. As you scroll, you’ll observe distinct indicators, like gold-shaped diamonds, signifying requirements not yet met, or clear statements affirming completed sections, such as a satisfied Social Science requirement. This granular view is invaluable for pinpointing specific courses still needed or understanding where electives might fit within a student’s plan. Importantly, the Academic Advisement tool is currently available for academic programs starting from 2017 and onward; older catalog requirements typically require manual comparison with the online catalog, highlighting the system’s ongoing evolution and development.
Furthermore, it’s crucial to remember that this tool focuses on current catalog courses. Brand new offerings will not appear on a student’s audit until their official start date. A subtle but significant detail to note is the distinction between “credits or courses” versus “units needed for the degree.” While often used interchangeably, understanding the precise terminology within the report ensures accurate advisement. This system serves as a foundational “final check on graduation requirements,” assessing degree requirements met against declared programs and course completion. It’s truly a degree auditing tool, designed for evaluating progress rather than acting as a schedule planner or providing transfer guidance.
EAB Navigate: Your Personalized Academic Map
If PeopleSoft Academic Advisement acts as the definitive compass for degree completion, then EAB Navigate serves as the detailed, customizable map that helps students chart their actual course semester by semester. This system is specifically designed to facilitate advisors and faculty in working with students to map out their specific academic program plans. It goes beyond auditing completed courses; it helps students sequence their upcoming courses, make strategic decisions around general education and elective selections, and truly visualize their path to graduation. As Aaron Busker, Program Director for Academic Advising and Transfer Center, explains, Navigate empowers a more proactive and personalized approach to student planning.
Accessing Navigate typically involves logging into your single sign-on portal and clicking on the “Navigate staff” tile. A common point of interest for classroom faculty is the distinction between “Professor Home” and “Staff Home.” While your Professor Home displays class listings and students, clicking the “Staff Home” provides access to advising tools. Fortunately, regardless of which profile you are in, the system allows you to search for students by name or ID, making it convenient to access their information. A unique system limitation might show a student designated as “coach” rather than “student” if they are also employed on campus; however, clicking on their name will still reveal their academic details and allow for identification verification through their uploaded Raider card photo.
Student Profiles and Collaborative Planning in Navigate
Once you access a student’s profile in EAB Navigate, you’ll find a wealth of information organized under tabs like “Overview,” “History,” and “Academic Plan.” The “Overview” tab provides a snapshot of key academic metrics, such as cumulative GPA, withdrawn courses, repeated courses, and D/F grades, offering a quick diagnostic of a student’s academic standing. The “History” tab, however, is a treasure trove of communication, displaying all notes, alerts, cases, and appointments recorded for the student within the system. This comprehensive log ensures continuity in advising, allowing any advisor to quickly get up to speed on previous interactions and recommendations.
The “Academic Plan” tab is where the magic of collaborative planning truly happens. On the left side of the screen, students will see their most current declared academic program, with all required classes built directly from the catalog and sequenced according to faculty recommendations. This visually organized layout helps students understand the precise order and timing of courses. Crucially, advisors with the appropriate access can utilize the right-hand side of the screen to send “suggestions” to students. This involves dragging and dropping courses from the official program requirements or searching for specific classes to populate a personalized semester-by-semester plan. Advisors can also add specific comments, offering tailored advice or outlining next steps, such as retaking a placement test. Once these suggestions are sent, students are notified, receiving a clear, actionable roadmap for their academic journey. The overnight refresh of Navigate ensures that any program declaration changes made by students in their online center are accurately reflected the very next day, maintaining real-time relevance.
Seamless Integration: Academic Advisement and EAB Navigate in Concert
Understanding the distinct roles of PeopleSoft Academic Advisement and EAB Navigate is key to maximizing their impact on student success. Academic Advisement is primarily a diagnostic tool, providing a definitive audit of degree requirements and verifying completion status. It answers the question, “What has been done and what still needs to be done according to the catalog requirements?” EAB Navigate, by contrast, is a prescriptive and planning tool, addressing the question, “How will a student complete what still needs to be done, and when?” While Academic Advisement assesses where a student is at with their degree progress, Navigate assists them with course planning and sequencing.
Neither tool entirely replaces the critical human element of advising, but they significantly enhance its effectiveness. When used in concert, these academic advising tools create a powerful ecosystem for student support. An advisor might first run an Academic Advisement report to identify outstanding requirements, then use EAB Navigate to collaborate with the student on designing a detailed, personalized plan to fulfill those requirements over subsequent semesters. This dual approach ensures that students not only understand their academic standing but also possess a clear, actionable strategy to achieve their graduation goals. Continuous updates via GRCC Today and training videos like the one provided above will ensure all faculty and staff can effectively wield these powerful resources.
Your Advising Toolkit: Questions & Answers
What are the new academic advising tools at GRCC?
GRCC has introduced two new academic advising tools: PeopleSoft Academic Advisement and EAB Navigate, which help faculty, staff, and students with degree planning and tracking.
What is PeopleSoft Academic Advisement primarily used for?
PeopleSoft Academic Advisement is a real-time degree audit tool that helps you see what academic requirements a student has completed and what they still need to fulfill for their degree at GRCC.
What is the main function of EAB Navigate?
EAB Navigate is a planning tool that helps students and advisors map out their academic course plans semester by semester, visualizing their path to graduation.
How do PeopleSoft Academic Advisement and EAB Navigate work together?
PeopleSoft Academic Advisement diagnoses what requirements are left to complete, while EAB Navigate helps you plan the specific courses and sequence needed to fulfill those remaining requirements.