Transitioning Transfer Evaluation:Paperless, Automated, PowerfulSession 2A

Ted CainReporting & Data Integrity AnalystTed.Cain@unco.eduRMACRAO 2014

• Profile of UNC• History of Transfer Evaluation Process• Goals of Transition• Procedural Changes• What Did We Learn?• Next Steps• Q & A

Schedule of Discussion

• Located in Greeley, Colorado• Founded in 1889• 12,000+ students

• 9700+ undergraduate• 2300+ graduate

• 100+ undergraduate academic programs among nearly 50 majors

• 1700+ employees, including 500 full-time and 250 part-time faculty

• Large population of First Generation students

Profile of UNC

Previously Housed in the Office of Admissions

• All transcripts data was evaluated and entered prior to admission.

• During Banner implementation, the report created to communicate information to students and faculty was modeled off the legacy system.

• Report was created outside the standard University reporting structure in order to accommodate established process.

• Process followed legacy system, as well, which included printing three copies: one for the student, one for the department, and one to keep on file.

• Copies to students and faculty were physically mailed.

History of Transfer Evaluation Process

The “Salmon” Sheet

• Faculty could return physical copy with equivalencies noted, but equivalencies (including approvals to our Liberal Arts Core requirements) were handled via any method available, including undocumented phone calls.

• Equivalencies were made by faculty in the department of the student’s major rather than faculty in the department of the course discipline.

• Equivalencies were often applied individually, with no consistency from student to student.

• Equivalencies were frequently used in place of substitutions/waivers.

History of Transfer Evaluation (Cont.)

• Establish a more efficient method of communication.

• Establish consistency at as many levels as possible.

• Establish clear definitions of “transfer equivalency”, “substitution”, and “waiver”.

• Establish the course discipline’s department as the authority to approve equivalencies.

Goals of Transition

• New report built within the University reporting structure (using WebFocus).

• Duplicated the relevant info on the “Salmon” sheet, but included several upgrades:• Eliminated page breaks for different

institutions.• Included transfer GPA elements.• If the student had multiple majors/minors, they

were listed.• Used term descriptions instead of codes.

The Transfer Equivalency Report

The Transfer Equivalency Report

• Two versions of the report were created:

• Students – When the link is selected, the student ID feeds through from the web portal login and gives the student their own information.

• Faculty/Advisors – When the link is selected, a window pops up prompting entry of the student ID.

Transfer Equivalency Report (Cont.)

Deletion of the transfer course libraries (SHATATR)

• We created backup data for each library, coordinating with IT to ensure that if something went wrong, they could repopulate the data by script rather than manually re-entering all 81,106 records.

• We scanned local job postings.

• We pushed the button.

Second Step – It Was A Biggie!

Deletion of the transfer course libraries (SHATATR)

• Necessary to ensure that all incoming transfer work was treated with transparent consistency.

• We headhunted our biggest feeder institutions (especially the Colorado Community College system) and rebuilt our libraries to encompass their current course offerings.

Second Step – It Was A Biggie!

• Transcript evaluation occurs ONLY after student is admitted.

• Upon receipt, transcripts are imaged and the raw course data is entered into the system.

• “Perform Articulation” in SHATAEQ is used to award any equivalents built in the libraries.

• Transferrable courses without established equivalents are manually given a general equivalent (i.e. – ENG 1X, BIO 3X, etc).

New Procedure – Administrative

Information Sent to Academic Department

• Notification is sent to department of courses without equivalencies (divested of student data).

InstitutionInst Code

TR Prefix

TR Number TR Title

TR Term

Course Hours

UNC Prefix

CAL State U-Long Beach 000302 ANTH 120 Intro to Cultural Anthro 200730 3.000 ANT

Cabrillo College 000173 ANTHR 2 Intro Anthro:Cultrl 201150 3.000 ANT

Colorado College 000498 ANTH 208 Topics in Anthropology 201050 3.500 ANTDanville Area Community Colleg 001010 ANTH 107 Cultural Anthropology 200630 3.000 ANT

Mills College 000332 ANTH 057 Human Evolution 201350 3.500 ANT

Mills College 000332 ANTH 058 Cultural Anthropology 201430 3.500 ANT

Pima Community College 000101 ANT 101 Human Origins and Prehistory 201050 3.000 ANT

Regis University 000526 AN 204 Intro to Cultural Anthropology 201230 3.000 ANT

St Mary's College Of Maryland 001736 ANTH 101 Intro to Anthropology 201250 4.000 ANT

St Mary's College Of Maryland 001736 ANTH 201 Anthropology Toolkit 201330 4.000 ANT

St Mary's College Of Maryland 001736 ANTH 202 Archaeology Practicum 201350 4.000 ANT

St Mary's College Of Maryland 001736 ANTH 281 Archaeology and Pre-History 201350 4.000 ANT

St Mary's College Of Maryland 001736 ARTH 224 Ancient Amer Art/Architecture 201350 4.000 ANT

Direct Departmental Equivalency – Can the course be given a direct UNC course equivalency within your discipline?

General Departmental Credit – If not a direct equivalent, would you accept the course as a general elective within your discipline?

• Transfer Credit Equivalency Update Form (requested equivalents that fall within the Liberal Arts Core require additional review by the Liberal Arts Core Council)

Other Departmental Equivalency – Is there an equivalency outside your discipline that you feel is appropriate (i.e. – a Psychology Statistics course (PSY) that should be given a STAT equivalent)?

• Transfer Credit Equivalency Update Forms from both disciplines are necessary (in the above example, notification from both Psychology and Mathematics).

Academic Review Guidelines

• Department must specify the time frame that an equivalency applies to.

• If none of those three options, the department can identify the course as “reviewed, not equivalent”.

New Procedures – Academic

Transfer Credit Equivalency Update Form

• Once forms are submitted to the Office of the Registrar, equivalencies and departmental elective credit are built into the library.

• Existing transfer coursework is searched and updated if appropriate.

• Non-equivalent courses are given a course attribute in the library to prevent them from going out for review again.

New Procedures – Academic

• Once a week, notification is sent to students whose coursework was updated within the last week.

• Includes transfer policy information and instructions on accessing the Transfer Equivalency Report.

• If students want to contest a decision, they can contact the department of the discipline of the course and provide course descriptions/syllabi.

Procedural Changes – Student

Email Notification to Student

• Don’t be afraid to rip the bandaid off!

• Transfer coursework had been entered using a single attendance period method.

What Did We Learn?

• Now in the process of manually fixing thousands of records for current students.

• Does the left hand know what the right hand is doing?

• Degree Works implementation obsoleted an equivalent title solution.

What Did We Learn?

• Don’t be afraid to speak up!

• New data entry process created attendance periods with null values…which was a problem!

What Did We Learn?

• Bringing it to Ellucian’s attention resulted in a suggested workaround and a patch is in the works!

Upgrades to the Transfer Equivalency Report

• Liberal Arts Core indicators• “Reviewed” indicators

Report Automation via ReportCaster

• New Coursework for Review to Academic Departments

• Student Notifications

Next Steps

Questions?

Ted CainSession 2A