This fall, West Chester University introduces the new interactive Degree Progress Report (DPR) to students and staff.
Once students log onto their MyWCU account and click on the link for “Degree Progress Report,” they are immediately greeted with their credit summary. This includes their cumulative GPA and total number of credits. The added feature to students’ DPR is that it is now interactive.
In the “Advisor Comments” box students can now view the comments their Advisor and Graduation Analyst made on their academic record. These comments are one way of assisting students in planning their future schedule and reminding them of what courses they still need to take.
“I like this feature because my advisor specifically reminded me that I still need to fulfill my Culture Cluster requirement before I graduate in the spring,”
WCU student Junior Smith said. “It always helps when someone, such as an advisor, shows interest in your progress and has taken the time to look over your schedule and make notes.”
The page also includes active links of courses required for students’ General Education major and/or minor. Here students can view courses that may be used to satisfy these requirements and then schedule their classes accordingly directly from the DPR.
Students may also click on courses offered to fulfill a requirement and the link will take them to a separate page which gives the course description. This feature eliminates the need for students to go to their actual student handbook to read a course description.
The DPR uses symbols next to a course to show students the status– a green check-mark means a student has taken a course and fulfilled a requirement and a yellow diamond means the student is currently taking the course and it will fulfill a requirement.
“I like the new system much better than the previous due to its clarity. Before the update I think there was still an air of confusion as to what you still needed and what requirements you had already met– it was just a list of everything you might need and it didn’t make much sense to me before,” WCU student Matthew Burke said.
The new DPR takes all of the courses students have completed, scheduled and are currently taking, and shows how they map into a student’s specific General Education and major/minor requirements.
“I also like how it minimizes any heading you’ve satisfied, which keeps the interface uncluttered. I know for me, personally, it’s a huge help because, let’s face it, with all of our schedules, meetings, projects, and papers, it’s hard to keep track of where you are at and where you need to be,” Burke said.
WCU student, Alanna Smothers, also received the new interactive DPR in a positive light.
“I like the way it shows you everything you need practically all on one page. I also like how it is divided up into subcategories, letting you know how each of the courses you took (or are taking) aligns with the requirements,” Smothers said.
Each section of the DPR also immediately shows whether or not a student has satisfied that requirement by stating either “Satisfied” or “Not Satisfied.”
“It tells you right off the bat if you need anything or if your requirements are complete. Since I am a senior graduating this coming December, it’s a relief to see that I have taken everything that I need,” said Smothers. “It definitely makes me happy seeing that little green check-mark next to a requirement.”
Hannah Burner is a fourth year student majoring in English with a minor in journalism. She can be reached at Hb674784@wcupa.edu.