Holyoke Community College

Challenge

Audit 25 transfer pathways and report the results on the transcript in a user-friendly way

Results

• Simplified the pathways audit process for students and staff
• Saved 175 hours by eliminating manual processes
• Evaluating all pathways using a single what-if audit

Summary

Holyoke Community College (HCC), a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution located north of Springfield, Massachusetts, participates in a state program that provides pathways for Massachusetts community college students to transfer to a state university or University of Massachusetts campus. The state mandates that community colleges evaluate students for all pathways for which they qualify and report the results on the official transcript.

Auditing for 25 pathways and displaying the results in a user-friendly way for students and advisors presented a challenge for HCC. The transfer coordinator had to manually review and hand-stamp 2,100 individual transcripts each year in order to comply with the mandate. They needed a better way.

So, HCC decided to leverage the technology they already had—Ellucian Degree Works™. They added a section to the student worksheet that evaluates all pathways for completion using a single what-if degree audit. After each term, the Registrar runs the audit and the results are noted on the transcript under Academic Achievements.

For students and staff, there is less paperwork involved in the process and the information provided is easy for everyone to understand. Students can see which pathways they are in the process of completing and work with their advisors to complete them so they can transfer to the school of their choice.

And the transfer coordinator now has more time to work directly with students and universities to ensure transfer success.

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