Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Degree Planner in the Student Center.
Degree Planner is an interactive planning tool that allows students to map courses towards degree completion and provides students with a personalized, best-recommended sequence of courses each semester to graduation. Students can explore various scenarios and view which plan fits their needs to graduate on time.
Student FAQs
Adviser/Staff FAQs
Student Questions
How do I access Degree Planner?
Answer: Degree Planner can be accessed from the Student Center dashboard in the left-hand navigation under Academics.
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What are helpful tips for using Degree Planner?
The following are tips to help you get familiar with Degree Planner.
- When you enter Degree Planner, you will reach a splash screen where you can choose whether to walk through some tips. (You can disable this function once you're comfortable with the tool.)
- The center icon at the top of the screen will show your primary path. It will also give you the option to create a new path or create a "What If" path.
- Path Actions, at the top right, allows students to schedule, print, edit, copy, reset, or delete a path.
- The bell icon is a notification tool to view warnings that need resolution and changes that have been made to a path.
- The Past Courses section allows students to see their past enrollments, current enrollment, and awarded transfer credit.
- The Progress Bar header block shows progress towards degree completion based on an estimate of the total average of courses required for a degree. Students can find out if a course is complete, in progress, planned, or remaining.
- Green boxes indicate a requirement is satisfied.
- Red boxes indicate a requirement is in progress.
- Blue boxes indicate the requirement is planned.
- Grey boxes indicate a requirement that is still needed.
- Simulate GPA allows a student to adjust grades based on projections to view a simulated GPA with those new grades.
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What is the "What If" Feature?
The What If feature allows you to create a hypothetical degree plan for a different major using your academic history. You can use this option if you are considering a major change and would like to view how completed and transfer courses apply to a different major. This feature does not officially change your major. Please contact your Office of Student Records for information on changing your major.
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Can I print a copy of my degree plan?
Yes, degree plans can be printed.
- Navigate to the Path Actions icon.
- Scroll down and select print. This will open a new window. Select your print icon to print your program path.
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What degrees are available in Degree Planner?
Degree Planner is available to undergraduate students at the University of Southern Maine. Pathways help Degree Planner sequence courses in your academic career; two major and two minor pathways have been set up:
- BS Biology: Human Biology Concentration
- BA Social and Behavioral Sciences
- Minor Psychology
- Minor Holistic and Integrative Health
If you are not associated with these majors or minors, you can still use Degree Planner if you are an Undergraduate student at USM. You can use the tool to move your remaining requirements to terms with the assistance of your advisor.
We will continue to make more USM degrees available in the future, as well as configure Degree Planner for other University of Maine System institutions.
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What does course sharing mean?
Course sharing allows courses to be used in multiple requirement groups (or academic areas) without duplicating course information. This is achieved by using course share sets, which are essentially tags defining which requirement groups can share courses.
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Am I enrolled in a course in Degree Planner?
Degree Planner will show you if you are enrolled in a course, but the existence of a course in your pathway does not necessarily mean you are enrolled in it. A course will appear as enrolled if there is a green enrolled icon to the left of the course details. Once you are term activated and eligible to enroll, you can use the three vertical dots to the right of the course to enroll in courses that are planned in your pathway.
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How do I move courses to different terms in Degree Planner?
Degree Planner gives you two options to move courses. The first is drag and drop. You can use the six vertical dots to the left of the course information to drag and drop courses. This is best used if you are only moving the course to the next term. The other option is to use the three horizontal dots to the right of the course details to move the course. Once Move is selected, you can choose a term to move the course to.
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Does my advisor have access to my degree paths to update it?
Yes, your advisor can adjust your degree path and create alternative paths for you to review. Advisor paths that are locked can not be deleted or adjusted by the student.
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Why don't I see Degree Planner?
Currently, Degree Planner is only configured for Undergraduate students at USM. We will continue to roll out this tool to other University of Maine System institutions in the coming months.
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Advisor/Staff Questions
How do I access Degree Planner for a student I am working with?
- From your Academic Homepage in MaineStreet select the Student Center tile.
- Choose to "Look Up" a student from the left-hand navigation.
- Enter the ID or student name and select Search to search.
- Select Act As User and agree to the FERPA statement.
- You are now viewing the Student Center as the student. Use the left-hand navigation to select Academics, then Degree Planner.
- A splash screen will appear that will let you view tips.
- You now have the same access as the student does. Please read the student section for more information. You can adjust student paths and create new paths for students. Paths created by the advisor can be locked if you prefer that a student not delete or modify the path.
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What are helpful tips for using Degree Planner as an advisor?
- Advisors have the same access to Degree Planner as students. They can help students plan their pathway to successful degree completion. The student section provides additional helpful tips.
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