Transfer Credit and Degree Audit: Automation, Workflows and Business Processes to Speed Evaluation

Greg von LehmenThe University of Maryland University College

What Contemporary students want and need to know up front

• What does it take to complete a degree with UMUC? How credits earned elsewhere match up against the

UMUC catalogue How those credits will be applied to their desired UMUC

degree

• Why are these questions important? Lack of answers can: Result in duplicated courses Wasted financial aid funding Delayed time to degree completion

UMUC’s Goal

• To reduce student waiting time, once all information is received, to as close to zero as possible.

UMUC: Thumbnail Sketch

• Member institution of University System of Maryland

• Headcount of over 90,0000 students• Large DoD contracts to provide f2f

instruction across Europe, Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East, including Afghanistan and Iraq

• Average age is 32• Each student has an average of five

transcripts• Many have military credit (AARTS and

SMART)

Transfer Credit & Degree Process

• UMUC’s transfer credit process is automated through Singularity software and PeopleSoft.

• Will demonstrate process step-by-step for a sample student.

Electronic Application Data

Electronic Application Data

Scan Incoming Paper Transcripts

Process for the Paper Transcript

• Create an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) template for the transcript, if none exists

• Scan the transcript into OCR module

• Verify the accuracy of the OCR process

• Upload the data into PeopleSoft and Singularity

• Scanning replaces manual data entry of transfer course information.

View Transcript in Singularity

Receive Electronic Transcripts

• UMUC is part of the SPEEDE electronic transcript network

• Electronic transcripts automatically enter our PeopleSoft and Singularity systems.

Image Created for Electronic Transcripts

Course Equivalency Workflow

• Any course entered into PeopleSoft that does not have a equivalency is sent to the Workflow Module for a Course Equivalency Workflow.• UMUC currently has a course equivalency database of over

450,000 courses

• Faculty use this workflow system to evaluate transfer credit for incoming courses.

Degree Audit Workflow

• Once UMUC receives all transcripts for a student, and all courses entered are articulated (have course equivalencies) the Workflow Module generates a Degree Audit Ready Workflow for the student

• Our degree auditors pull student files ready from this workflow for the final step: deciding how credits previously earned elsewhere can be placed in the student’s degree plan

Complete the Degree Audit

View the Degree Progress Report

View the Degree Progress Report

View the Degree Progress Report

Student Portal View

Everything is Complete!

• In PeopleSoft, student and advisors can now run an updated degree progress report anytime.

• In Singularity we have:

• Image of the paper transcripts, which was scanned

• Image of the transcript received electronically

• Course equivalency form documents

• A degree audit ready form document

• A copy of the original Official Evaluation (which was completed in PeopleSoft)

Degree Audit Turnaround Time

Thank you