Advisor Resources

Degree Works & Degree Planner

Degree Works is a web-based, degree audit review program that monitors student progress by syncing with Banner. Advisors explain Degree Works to students while helping them plan their courses each semester.

Review the FAQs for Degree Works

• Only one Active Plan is allowed per student
  • Students will have one Active Plan.  
    • May have multiple inactive plans if needed.
  • If a student is pursuing multiple majors, minors, etc., the Active Plan includes courses required for each academic pursuit and graduation requirement for the program(s) of study.  

  Exploring Majors: Ensure degree plans are maintained for all Exploring majors. We will be building “meta major exploring templates” over the course of AY 23/24. 

  Double Majors: Primary Advisors will coordinate with one another to check accuracy and workability of semester plan BEFORE advising season begins. 

  Minor and Certificate Program Advising: Major advisors will create the major graduation plan and add minor courses and/or minor placeholders.  Advisor Caveat: If you are unfamiliar with a minor you're adding to a student's degree plan, please get in touch with the minor advisor for immediate consultation before adding placeholders.  

  *When a student changes their major, advisors are welcome to create a new degree plan at their discretion. They should de-activate earlier plans, but they should not delete them, as these inactive plans will still be used for data collection purposes.

• Active Plans will be locked

  Each Active Plan will be locked by the respective advisor.  Inactive plans may still be locked but will not be used in “on - track/off - track monitoring” data pulls. 

  Only advisors will have the privilege to lock/unlock plans. IMT will run a script that checks for locked and active plans and only allow plans that are active to be locked; everything else will be unlocked. This practice will run on a schedule and on-demand when needed.  

• Standardization of usage and practices in naming conventions

  Advisors will use the prepopulated placeholder feature when inputting a LAC course recommendation(s) into student degree plans.

  Advisors will also only use the “critical” indicator for courses designated as required in that semester for timely degree completion. Advisors will create the “critical” distinction, not managed centrally by the office of the registrar.

  In place of the critical indicator, advisors can use the “note” function on course card. Major and university wide elective choices will also be documented the same way via a placeholder course card.

• Timing for regular review of plans

  Advisors will review the current term and two subsequent registration terms.

  • Deadlines for reviewing the accuracy of Degree Plans:
    • November 30th for current fall semester plan & courses
    • April 30th for current spring semester plan & courses
    • Pre-spring registration for subsequent fall semester plans
    • Pre-fall registration for subsequent spring semester plans
    • Interim courses should be updated by December 31st and summer courses should be updated by July 31st

  Degree Planner course data will be pulled on the first Monday of December and May to support course management efforts within the respective Colleges and academic units.  

EAB Navigate

Navigate is a web-based tool from the Education Advisory Board (EAB) that allows advisors to document outreach, view support history, and review data to make informed decisions on student success. Coordinated and informed approaches to supporting students reflect the 2030 Strategic Plan for being a Students First campus while using tools to Connect & Celebrate with advisees. 

Log In to Navigate

• Access to the Navigate Platform 

  EAB Navigate identifies different “roles” within the tool, which depend on your job responsibilities. If you are interested in how these roles are determined, please contact stephanie.torrez@unco.edu.

  • All faculty with Banner Advisor access are added to Navigate during the onboarding process.
    Professional staff advisors and support specialists are given access as appropriate to their job function. To request access to the platform, they must submit an SSC Navigate Security form via OnBase.
  • Students do not have access to Navigate and will not see the notes or activity you input unless they work as student employees and require a limited access role.
    • All students can schedule appointments, reply to emails, and respond to text messages sent by advisors through the platform.

  You will log in using your first.last@unco.edu and password.

• Data and Updates

  The data in Navigate is refreshed each night and syncs to our Banner system.

  • Navigate shows the student's major, minor, any holds, and class schedule along with contact information.
  • Notes and appointment reports created by advisors can be viewed immediately in the student history.

  Navigate provides a predictive score for student success based on the synced data. UNC uses a persistence model to predict the likelihood of a student to persist to the next term.  As an advisor, you can see a low, medium, or high support indicator to help you identify student performance and adjust outreach practices. 

  Low/Green = low level need for added support

  High/Red = high level need for added support

  The level of support indicator is intended to inform outreach and intervention campaigns to those who would most benefit from additional support.

• Training and Support 

  The EAB Navigate Help Center is also a great resource for tips and tutorials – just click on the “?” in the top right corner when you’re logged into the platform.

  Advisors and appropriate support staff can complete a self-paced training in the Undergraduate Advising Canvas Shell for EAB Navigate. The training includes:

  • Overview of the platform features
  • How to Input and View Notes and Reports
  • Advanced Uses for Retention and Success Strategies

  You can also start with the UNC Campus Advisors Guide.
  

• Categories and Tags

  Categories and Tags list

• Errors and Troubleshooting

  If you encounter technical difficulties with the platform, please submit a Technical Support Center Ticket.

  In your ticket, provide details about what page you are trying to load and the nature of the issue.

Progress Reporting

UNC uses a mid-term progress report to identify students who may be struggling in their classes to direct them to advisors and faculty who can give them timely help and direction. Around the 5th week of classes, the AVP for Student Academic Success will send a Request for Feedback.  

The Request for Feedback is sent to instructors by email with a hyperlink to a list of students preselected by students’ respective college advising/success centers. Instructors can limit their feedback to students on the list that are having difficulty and to specify the reason for concern (e.g., excessive absences. failed tests, etc.).  

• Student Selection

  What if there is a concern about a student who isn’t on the list? There is an option to provide feedback on a student whose name isn’t on the provided list. Submitting the request for feedback initiates a thank you email to the faculty/instructor and an invitation to share additional students of concern that were not included on the original list.  

  Who selects the students included in the request for feedback? The college advising and success centers select the students included on a faculty/instructor request for feedback. Students are included on the list for various reasons, and advising/success center leadership is encouraged to leverage data to inform their selection of students. It may be that the student was included on the list because they are enrolled in one or more courses with historically high DFW rates, or perhaps the student is participating in a program that requires mid-semester course check-ins as part of their funding. Even if the advisor is most concerned about one or two courses a student is registered for, the platform is set up to include all their classes.  

• Advisor/Success Coach Intervention 

  Once the report is submitted, the student’s advisor/success coach shares the information with the student. In cases where faculty/instructors provide student feedback that includes health and wellness concerns, the advisor/success coach or AVP for Student Academic Success coordinates with the faculty/instructor to submit a Dean of Students SOC referral.  

• Intended Outcomes 

  Timely faculty feedback paired with adviser intervention positively impacts UNC student retention. The progress report intervention is designed to leverage academic advisers’ and academic success coaches’ connections with students to ensure students stay on track by addressing issues before they become too serious.  

• Progress Report Campaign & Intervention Timeline 

  The Request for Feedback campaign is sent out around the 5th week of fall and spring terms. Faculty/Instructors teaching full-term courses will have approximately five weeks to provide feedback. Advisers and success coaches will check for new submissions daily.  

  Weekly reminder emails are sent to faculty who have yet to submit feedback. Early feedback provides students with the greatest opportunity for improvement.