Project PERALTA
Academic Advising
Consolidated Fit/Gap Document
Version: 1.1 (Draft)
Date: 3/23/2011
Prepared by: Murali Bontha, Business Analyst
PERALTA Community College District | 333 East 8th Street
Oakland, CA 94606 | www.peralta.edu
PERALTA Academic Advisement Fit/Gap
Participants
Names
1. Debbie Budd
2. Michael Orkin
3. Tony Hale
4. Minh Lam
5. Kerry Compton
6. Adrienne Riley
7. Steve Pentell
8. Hermia Yam
9. Dominique Benavides
10. Charlotte Smith
11. Joyce Brown-Wills
12. Derek Lee
13. Jo Ann Smith
14. Sheryl Queen
15. Beth Tripp
16. Raja Chivukula
17. Murali Bontha
Document Version Control
Version
1.0(Draft)
1.1(Draft)
Primary Author
Murali Bontha
Murali Bontha
PERALTA Community College District
Version: 1.1 (Draft)
Description of Change(s)
Initiated document
Updated
Date
03/21/2011
04/28/2011
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PERALTA Academic Advisement Fit/Gap
Introduction
Campus Solutions – Academic Advisement (CS-AA) is the application within PeopleSoft Campus Solutions that is
configured to track requirements that a student must satisfy in order to graduate. As a student progresses towards
graduation, the Academic Advisement audit engine analyzes all courses, restrictions, pre-conditions, or conditions
completed (both successfully and unsuccessfully) by the student. The application determines what requirements
are still outstanding.
Using data specified on PeopleSoft Enterprise Student Records pages and requirements entered on Academic
Advisement pages, this application automatically tracks a student’s degree progress. Academic Advisement is
separated into two parts: how to enter requirements into the system using the appropriate pages and how to
analyze student data against the requirements in order to report degree progress.
As per the requirement and need of the PERALTA many Meta data elements which need to be mapped to
PeopleSoft Campus Solutions – Academic Advisement (CS-AA). Upon analysis and going through the FIT/GAP
working sessions to understand existing academic advisement functionality and determined new setup or
configurable elements in Campus Solutions – Academic Advisement (CS-AA).
Academic Advisement provides these business processes:

Define and track graduation requirements.

Design degree audit reports.

Evaluate student degree progress.
The Concepts Used in Academic Advisement
PeopleSoft Academic Advisement is a powerful yet flexible tool because of the underlying concepts used to
establish requirements and to execute degree audits. Traditionally, the academic structure of an institution is built
from the top level down (for example, the total number of units needed to graduate through specific requirements
for programs/plans). This traditional approach to academic structure is still valid and very necessary; however,
while making use of this approach, the PeopleSoft Academic Advisement application is built from the bottom level
up (for example, course lists are defined first, followed by academic requirements, then requirement groups).
Course lists, requirements, and requirement groups are the building blocks of this versatile and effective degree
audit system. Academic requirement groups consist of academic requirements that are satisfied by course lists.
under Setup, components are listed in this order. However, in order for the Academic Advisement portion of
Student Administration to work correctly, you must set up or establish the pages in the reverse order. First, define
course lists, then set up academic requirements, and then establish requirement groups.
In the Academic Advisement Concepts diagram, course lists, requirements, and requirement groups are presented.
Course list is a group of courses that can be used to satisfy an academic requirement. By using the mathematical
concepts of union, intersection, subtraction, and complement, course lists can interact in countless ways. As a
result, different course lists interacting in different ways can often satisfy the same requirement. The system is
designed to maximize the reuse of requirement groups, requirements, and course lists by means of set operations,
including and/or/subtraction/intersection/union.
Academic requirements contain requirement parameters, pre-conditions, connector types, partitions, detail
requisite/restrictions, and line item parameters. Requirements can be very simple (for example, the only required
element may be a GPA of 3.000) or very complex (for example, the required elements may be expressed in
multiple requirement line items using partition sharing).
Academic Requirement groups consist of detail lines pointing to conditions, courses, and requirements as well
as parameters that include unit and course requirements. The advisement engine evaluates each student's career,
program, plan, and sub-plan (plus other pertinent academic data) and determines which requirement groups apply
to that student.
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Traditional approach to academic advisement concepts
Business Need
Document to show the existing Meta data configurable functional data elements which currently exist in Academic
Advisement (CS-AA).It requires additional setup and configuration. This section describes PERALTA‘S current
Academic Advisement business processes and associated implementation requirements, and comments
accordingly on the findings.
In Scope






Academic Advisement Setup
Foundation Tables – Academic Structure, Term Setup
Verify Academic Advising/Course Catalog Configurations
Configurations of Course Lists, Academic Requirements, Academic Requirement Groups
What-if Academic Advisement
Multiple plans for Academic Advisement Reports for matriculation applicants
Out of Scope


Environment Management
Setup related to Student Records
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

Student Records Configuration
Student Records Data
Solutions
In order to provide accurate academic requirements for students pursuing multiple plans, configuration efforts will
include configuration and modifications to:

Course Lists

Academic Requirements

Academic Requirement Groups

Configurations to limit the application of Plan-level (specialization) courses shared amongst multiple Academic
Plans

PeopleSoft delivered “What If” functionality
PS - Academic Advisement
Fit/Gap Analysis
CS-AA001. Effective Dating in Advisement
FIT: YES
Effective Dating tells when the record was created. There will be an effective date for each Course List,
Requirement, Requirement Group, etc. The effective date must be equal to or less than the effective date of the
course to which this course requisite is attached in order to see the requirement. PeopleSoft comes with default
Effective Date values, 01/01/1900. PERALATA is intended to use 08/01/1988 (fall)
For Academic Advisement (CS-AA), Requirement term = Catalog year visibility. The requirement term for which the
student is coded determines the version of the plan that will print on the student‘s (CS-AA) audit report.
CS-AA002. Academic Structure and Academic Advisement
FIT: Yes
PeopleSoft CS-AA discussion on how academic Structure impacts the Academic Advisement Module build and
tagging.
Reviewed the Career/Program/Plan stack, its components, and the impact on the Academic Advisement Module in
regard to Career, Program, Plan and Requirement Term
PERALTA wants to continue with existing Academic Structure which means all the Plans are pinned to Careers
NOT to the Programs.
Typical PERALTA Academic structure is
a)
b)
c)
d)
Academic Institution = PCCD1
Academic Career = UGRD/FEE
Academic Program = EXMPT/ FEE/MATR/SPX
Academic Plan = e.g.: AAABUS732 (Plans are pinned to careers)
A (1) - Campus
AA (2-3)-Type of award: AA, AS, certificate
BUS (4-6) - Subject area
732(7-10) - Numeric code, relates to legacy codes.
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2. Alameda
5. Laney
6. Merritt
8. Berkeley
PCCD1
PCCD1
2. Alameda
5. Laney
6. Merritt
8. Berkeley
SPX / UGRD
FEE / UGRD
Around 300 Subjects
E.g.: ACCTG
ACCOUNTING
EXMPT
FEE
MATR
SPX
Around 300 Plans
E.g.: AA001 - AVIATION
Plan Types
Associate of Arts
Associate of Sciences
Certificate of Achievement (6 < 18)
Cert of Completion (18 < 30)
Cert of Completion (30 < 60)
Cert of Completion (60 Units)
Cert of Completion
Intended Major
Around 300 Plans
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a) Academic Institution
No Changes required
Navigation: Main Menu > Foundation Tables > Academic Institution Table
b) Academic Career
No Changes required
Navigation: Main Menu > Foundation Tables > Academic Career Table
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c) Academic Program
No Changes required
Navigation: Main Menu > Foundation Tables > Academic Program Table
d) Academic Plan
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CS-AA003. Course Catalog
FIT: YES
An advisor can search for courses in the catalog. This is equivalent to the master course catalog and contains all
the courses for all campuses. Enter the search criteria and retrieve your results. The more you can limit the search
the faster the information will be retrieved and the less information you have to work with.
Navigation: Main Menu > Curriculum management > Course Catalog
Use the Catalog Search page to search for courses within a specific institution and subject area.
CS-AA004. Requirement Terms
FIT: YES
Core curriculum Requirement Term can be tied to either the Career to catch catalog year of entry for core
requirements. Plan level Requirement Term is tied to plan level for major requirements. For CS-AA, Requirement
Term = Catalog Year.
PERALTA tracks the student‘s First Term, i.e. University Catalog of Entry, and Major Program Catalog Year. Both
catalog years are used in evaluating the appropriate requirements for the student. PeopleSoft has the ability to
store the career requirement term, program term and plan term. There is no delivered process for populating the
career requirement term. Career requirement term is typically not converted or defaulted. Career requirement term
is usually left blank. The degree audit will still process if the career requirement term is left blank.
CS-AA will default to plan level requirement term. We can audit for career based requirements/rules at the plan
level. If career requirement term is prior to the Effective Date of the degree audit requirement group, a message will
be generated that the degree audit is out of date.
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CS-AA005. Creating Academic Course List
FIT: YES
Course Lists are the basic building block of Academic Advisement. A course list is a group of courses that can be
used to satisfy an academic requirement. Course lists must be set up before academic requirements or academic
requirement groups can be established. Course Lists can contain one course, multiple courses, courses from all
four schools, and other variations of courses.
CS-AA provides a way to ― wild card when combining groups of courses. Course List parameters provide the
flexibility to attach additional structure to the Course Lists. Base unit for the Academic Advisement Module is the
Course. Course ID is pulled from the Course Catalog. Course must be greater than or equal to the Effective Date
on the Course List. When a course is updated in the catalog, as long as the Course ID still contains the valid
course, the course is used by the audit report. Currently in Degree Audit report, if there are changes to courses,
PERALTA must globally renumber audit reports. Course Lists are lists of courses or wild card course lists. Course
lists identify which courses comprise the Course List, define detail parameters, and may be used to satisfy
requirements for graduation completion. Course Lists are attached to Academic Requirements.
Naming Conventions should be established. The description fields are free text fields. The text needs to make
sense and really define what is contained in the Course List. It is recommended that the print commands are left at
default for the build. Then, once ensured that the report is working properly, go back and set the print controls for
cosmetic purposes.
PERALTA is using 08/01/1988 as the Effective Date for Course Lists.
Though Course listing is delivered functionality from CS-AA, course list data uploading to the CS-AA system
technically considered as gap as it requires many scripts and application engines with different logics and
conditions to be developed.
Navigation: Main Menu > Academic Advisement > Academic Requirements > Define Course List
Academic Course Lists Description
Use the Course List Description page to establish the academic institution, career and plan information for a new
course list.
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Academic Course List Details
Use the Course List Detail page to establish exactly which courses comprise the course list.
WILD CARD INDICATOR
If the Wild Card Indicator box is not selected, Course ID field will be used to specify the individual courses. You
can wild card any position in the field. When using wild cards, equivalent courses are not checked. If the Wild Card
Indicator box is selected, Academic Group, Subject and Catalog Number fields are available to select the
values.
Academic Course List Parameters
Use the Course List Parameters page to establish the detail parameters for each course contained in the course
list.
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CS-AA006. Capturing Academic Requirements
FIT: YES
CS-AA contains requirement parameters, pre-conditions, connector types, partitions, detail requisite/restrictions,
and line item parameters. Academic Requirement component are used to establish the requirements needed for
graduation or to provide you with verifications of ongoing academic progress.
CS-AA is the application within PeopleSoft that is configured to track requirements that a student must satisfy in
order to graduate. Define auditable graduation requirements (Example: GPA requirements and defining minimum
grades for a particular course) using the academic advisement module. Begin looking at requirements at the
PERALTA level by building general rules that will be true of everyone in a particular career (UGRD). Then, look at
what is required in the major/plan (UGRD = # of units, GPA). Build Academic Requirement Groups, Academic
Requirements, Course Lists, Course Share Sets, Entity Groups, and Condition Processes. The advisement engine
analyzes the student’s progress toward graduation automatically as complete/incomplete, using data from Student
Records and requirements from Academic Advisement
Academic Requirements
Use the Requirement page to establish the institution, career, program, plan, and sub-plan information for a new
academic requirement. Because of the complex task of setting up requirements it is recommended that you set
them up and test incrementally. If you set up too many any then try to find a problem, it is difficult to locate which
requirement contains the problem.
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Academic Requirement Parameters
Use the Parameters page to establish the parameters or filters for the specific academic requirement as well as
what type of requirement information prints on the degree audit report. None of the fields on this page are required.
Academic Requirement Line Item
Use the Line Item page to create a Requirement Line Item. This page contains the detail line type for a specific
academic requirement. Click the View All link to view all detail lines (including connector types) that affect the
requirement.
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Academic Requirement Line Item Parameters
Use the Line Item Parameters page to establish Requirement Line Item parameters. This page contains line item
parameters for the specified academic requirement line. The fields that are available depend on the Line Type that
is recorded on the Line Item page. The Line Item Parameters page is also used to indicate additional controls on
requirement line items. You can determine the number of times that a student takes a course, split units and
courses, and control what kind of requirement line item information is printed on the degree audit report. In
addition, any courses still needed to fulfill a requirement can be printed as part of the academic advisement report.
The values recorded here take precedent over the parameters recorded at the requirement level and at the
requirement group level. For example, the line item parameters might require 6 units, but the requirement
parameters only need 3 units. The audit engine searches for 6 units.
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Academic Requirement Line Item Detail
Use the Line Item Detail page to set up additional parameters based on course lists or conditions. Each detail line
is defined by parameters on the Line Item Parameters page. Depending on the Line Type that is recorded on the
Line Item page, different fields and field values are available on this page. Each line must have at least one line
item detail. The Line Detail Sequence is the row number of the line item detail as described on this page. You can
have multiple rows of line detail under a single Line Nbr (line number).
CS-AA007. Establishing Academic Requirements Groups
FIT: YES
Discussed establishing Academic Requirements Groups in the Academic Advisement Module, a high-level
overview of how to create simple enrollment requirement groups. Requirement Groups are evaluated on
groups/sets of students through broad or specific parameters. When the Requirement Group structure matches the
student‘s Academic Structure, the Requirement Group and all its components are audited against the student data.
Requirement Groups define academic requirements that point to conditions, courses, and requirements.
Enrollment requirement groups encompass requisites based on a variety of factors including grade point average
and units, courses, and more. Multiple Requirement Groups can be audited at once (Example: Core, Major, and
Minor). Define Academic Requirement Groups, specify requirement group parameters, and define requirement
group detail. Additional criteria may be set. Enter the Academic Structure for the Requirement Group. Academic
Requirements are attached to Requirement Groups. Course Share sets can be attached to Requirement Groups
when necessary. Typically, there will be requirement groups for each of the following areas: Core Curriculum,
Courses Not Allocated, and Plan/Major.
Requirement Groups should follow catalog descriptions Naming Conventions should be established. The
description fields are free text fields. The text needs to make sense and really define what is contained in the
Requirement. PERALTA can also include a reference to the Requirement Group numbers in order to ease the
Student Exceptions processing; the reference can be included in one or both long descriptions.
It is recommended that the print commands are left at default for the build. Then, once ensured that the report is
working properly, go back and set the print controls for cosmetic purposes.
Academic Requirement Group
The Requirement Group page to establish the institution, career, program and plan information for a new
requirement group.
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Academic Requirement Group Parameters
Use the Parameters page to establish the requirement group parameters or filters for this specific requirement
group. These parameters are used after the Line level parameters of the Requirement are satisfied. None of
the fields on this panel are required. In order for requirement group parameters to work, you must define detail
lines. Detail lines are established on the Requirement Group Detail panel. You can set up the parameters first, but
detail lines are necessary for parameters to be effective.
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Academic Requirement Groups Detail
Use the Detail page to review the detail for a specific requirement group. You can view all detail lines (including
connector types) that affect the requirement group.
Academic Requirement Groups Detail Parameters
Use the Detail Parameters page to establish course validation parameters. This page is blank unless the Group
Line Type on the Detail page is Course or Wild Card Course.
Academic Requirement Groups Plans Required
Use the Plans Required page to define plans that are required for a specific requirement group. For example, a
student with a major in English may be required to declare a specialization. You can use this page to define the
required sub-plan. During the degree audit process, a student's records (not requirements) are checked. The audit
is not complete until this condition is satisfied. Once a student declares a required plan or sub-plan on the Student
Program page, the specific requirement groups that need to be satisfied for the plan/sub-plan appear on the
degree audit report. If the student has not declared the required plan/sub-plan on the Student Program page, a
generalized message appears on the degree audit report that indicates that a required plan/sub-plan has not been
satisfied.
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Academic Requirement Groups Plans Appended
Use the Plans Appended page to point to established requirement groups (by academic structure) and append
those groups to the requirement group identified on this page. Requirement groups that have already been
established can be appended to another requirement group. For example, a mathematics pre major requirement
group might contain the same requirements as the computer science certificate academic plan. Use this page to
append the computer science plan requirements to the mathematics pre major requirement group. You can attach
requirement groups from a different academic structure (career, program and plan) to the single requirement group
identified by this page. As a result, you can hold a medical student to biology requirements. If this page is used,
then the Detail page is not required since the appended requirement group plans are considered as the
requirement group detail.
On the audit report, an appended requirement group prints with the requirement group to which it is attached. So, if
a requirement group is appended to one at the career level, then the appended group prints with the career-level
requirement groups.
CS-AA008. Requirements Functionality
FIT: YES
PERALTA currently has requirements that are based on a percentage, e.g. Minimum of 12 units of the courses
must be completed in residence.
CS-AA allows a course to count toward a requirement regardless of the grade earned. Courses earned with a
grade of F will count toward a requirement unless the requirement is coded to specifically require a certain grade
point in each course (i.e. minimum grade points of .67). PERALTA currently does not have to set such a value in
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each requirement and courses in which a student has earned an F automatically will not count toward the
requirement. PERALTA has requirements where a limit may be placed on courses in the major from applying to
certain requirements. For example, one course in the major may apply toward the Arts and Sciences Humanities
requirement.
CS-AA009. Transfer Coursework
FIT: YES
PERALTA accepts D‘s from other PERALTA state-assisted institutions as passing/acceptable transfer credit. Of
course, a transfer course GPA cannot be used in the evaluation if transfer GPA‘s are not included in the GPA
calculation. However, for some requirements in the audit PERALTA transfer courses with the D may be permitted
to match in certain requirements, but not others. In addition, some transfer courses are accepted even if the
student took them electing a pass/fail grading option. Those courses are currently identified with a TP grade.
Transfer courses completed under a student-elected pass/fail grading option may only apply toward the total hours
requirements at PERALTA. To resolve both Enrollment Requirements/Requisites (SR) and CS-AA audit
requirements, PERALTA can place a Requirement Designation on the transfer courses that have the acceptable
grade of D or pass. The Requirement Designation can be picked up by both Student Records and Academic
Advisement to include/exclude based on the requirement rule. However, the Requirement Designations must be
built and Admissions must attach the appropriate Requirement Designation to the transfer course.
CS-AA010. Course Share Sets
FIT: YES
Discussed the use of Course Share Sets. In PS, courses cannot be used by multiple requirements by default.
Course Share Sets enable courses to be shared by more than one Requirement Group. Currently at PERALTA, a
few courses can be shared between the Core Curriculum and major/plan requirements. Course Share Sets are
tags which are given an Effective Date and a general description. Then, Course Share Sets are attached at the
Requirement Group level. Course Share Sets are defined after Course Lists, Requirements, and Requirement
Groups are defined. Course Share Sets are only necessary where the Credit Include mode for both requirements is
set to All Stats. Course Share Sets do not need to be established for Verify type requirements. Limiting the number
of Course Share Sets improves the processing time of the audit. NOTE: The Requirement field is a restrictive field.
So, the Course Share Set would share everything except what is entered into the Requirement field.
CS-AA011. Requirement Usage
FIT: YES
Requirement Usages provide the ability to assign a special usage for the report (Example: Phi Beta Kappa) which
checks to make sure students meet certain criteria (Example: GPA, units….). Create special Requirement Groups
which reference the user-defined Requirement Usage. The special usage field values generate alternate report
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formats, which are defined as alternative transcript types. Define the special usage value. The Requirement Usage
contains general descriptive information which references the usage. Build the special usage Requirement Group
and attach the Requirement Usage to the Requirement Group. Once the rule is written and tied to students, the
transcript type must be written to address the report by attaching the Requirement Usage to the Transcript Type.
User-defined usage values are set at four characters. Delivered usage values are three characters, except the
student planner which is PLNR.
CS-AA012.Entity Group
FIT: YES
Discussed Entity Groups used in advisement and requisites. Entity Groups are expanded conditions that are
applied to the audit. Entity Groups group together similar items, such as plan, for use as a single condition or group
students and give them different sets of requirements. General requirements apply to approximately 80% of the
student population, while Entity Groups can pick up the remainder of the requirements. Once general requirements
are defined, the exceptions/smaller groups of students are established. Define the Entity Group; set the Effective
Date, status, and description. Define the level at which the Entity Group applies; Plan, Program, Student Group.
Tie the Entity Group to the Dynamic Condition at the Condition Line as a standard condition. Then, tie the Dynamic
Condition to the Requirement or attach the Entity Group directly to the Requirement Group, Requirement, or
Requirement Line as a condition. Limiting the number of Entity Groups improves the processing time of the audit.
This section describes how to create and use expanded conditions and custom conditions. Expanded conditions
consist of entity groups and dynamic conditions. Entity groups and dynamic conditions can be used as preconditions or condition requirements.
A condition table allows a solid structure for condition expansion, including condition processes. Create Custom
Conditions per institution, as needed basis. These conditions can be based on demographic data and existing
student record data as well as such criteria as eligibility to enroll, completion of a specific test, or some unique
combination of conditions required for enrollment in a specific course.
Because only certain conditions (like GPA, student group, academic plan, academic program, milestone, and
external/internal degree) are delivered with PeopleSoft Academic Advisement, additional conditions can be created
as needed.
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CS-AA013.Dynamic Conditions
FIT: YES
Discussed Dynamic Conditions which create multi-dimensional condition specifications. Dynamic Conditions
contain connector types, lines, parameters, and various controls. Dynamic Conditions are expanded conditions that
are applied to the audit. Condition specifications can be set as conditions/preconditions, academic/enrollment
requirements, and academic/enrollment requirement groups. Standard Condition gives the ability to create a
common condition type. Define Condition Line requirements, Condition Parameters, and Condition Controls.
Limiting the number of Dynamic Conditions improves the processing time of the audit.
CS-AA014.Condition Process
FIT: YES
Discussed defining Condition Processes (Example: External Degree – Student comes in with a degree from
another university. For this process to pick up, the external school must be defined along with the status of the
degree.). Condition Processes are predefined processes to run other processes. In conjunction with a developer,
create the customized process. Create a user-defined condition process identifier which is used to create a
condition specification. Include the effective date, status, descriptive text, logical process type and name, process
key format, and requirement key format (if necessary). User programmable delivered by PS (3 types):
1) Milestone Check,
2) Internal Degree Check, and
3) External Degree Check. The Condition Process can then be referenced to the Condition Line.
It is recommended that potential Milestones that are used in advisement (Example: Comprehensive Exams, High
School Foreign Language requirement) are identified. Milestones are requirements other than a course.
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CS-AA015.Course Substitution
FIT: YES
Course Substitution substitutes one course for another for an individual student. Also, this enters an exception to a
degree requirement for a student or group of students. Course Substitution is not major specific, but it is student
specific. Course Substitution will follow the student from major to major.
Access the Create Course Substitution page. Select appropriate Course Source. Enter appropriate substitution
description. Search for Select Course to be used, and then select the course to be substituted. It should be noted
that a Course Substitution entered without a minimum grade point/unit would permit a course completed with an F
to substitute and count toward the requirement.
It is recommended to wait until the Academic Advisement Module build is complete and signed off before Course
Substitutions are entered.
CS-AA016.Authorize Students Exception
FIT: YES
Currently at PERALTA, staff in the college offices process student exceptions manually. In PeopleSoft, there are
several ways to Authorize Student Exceptions: Course Directive, Course Exclusion, Requirement Wavier, and
Requirement Change.



Course Directive: Directing a course to a requirement.
Course Exclusion: Course Exclusion is an exclusion of a single course from a group of courses. The
exclusion will not allow the course to be used where directed. However, if the course can match
elsewhere in the CS-AA audit, it will match unless an additional exclusion is processed or the course is
directed elsewhere.
Requirement Change: Requirement Change changes the number of units required (increase or
decrease). This action may require additional Student Exceptions.
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
Requirement Waiver: Requirement Waiver does away with a RG, RQ, or LN. Completely removes the
requirement from the plan, including Unit/Course requirements. This action may require additional Student
Exceptions.
To process a Student Exception you must access the Authorize Student Exceptions pages and then enter the
appropriate descriptive text. Override Detail: Tie the course to the appropriate Academic Levels. Selection Code
can be tied to Academic Program, Academic Plan, Student, or Student Group. Selection data field will need to be
populated (Example: EmplID). Operation Code will identify which type of transaction will be processed.
The Create Exception link, on the Authorize Student Exceptions page, will assign a permanent number in PS.
Selecting Create Exception will allow you to define detail about the exception, such as the appropriate RG, RQ,
and LN levels and Course Source options. Course Source options are Course Offerings (Course in catalog),
Enrollment (Course taken in residence), Other Credit, Test Credit, & Transfer Courses which identify what type of
course credit will be used/excluded in the exception.
If an Academic Career level exception is made, it is tied to the career and will follow the student as long as the
student is in that career. If the student changes Academic Plans, the exception will still follow the career exception.
If the exception is tied to the Academic Plan, it will follow the student as long as the student is in the Plan. Once a
student changes his/her Plan/major, the exception is orphaned. PERALTA inquired to find out if there was a way to
direct multiple courses to a Course Directive using a Course List. A list of courses can be directed to a
Requirement Line by adding additional rows to the exception; however, a course list cannot be directed as a
Course Directive.
It is recommended to wait until the Academic Advisement Module build is complete and signed off before Student
Exceptions are entered.
CS-AA017.Setting up an Advisement Report
FIT: YES
The advisement report, reports a student‘s progress toward graduation (depending on set-up and type). An
advisement report is a transcript type. The Transcript level should be set at the appropriate level. Define degree
audit based on non-course requirements & course requirements
Printing the Advisement: Transcript/Degree Audit Report
Currently, the Degree Audit Report System audit is made available to the student manually. In PS, the Academic
Advisement Report/Degree Audit report audits a student‘s progress toward graduation based on build criteria. The
Advisement Report was reviewed. The formatting/printing of the report and how the set-up impacts the printing on
the report was discussed. We reviewed how requirements were appearing as satisfied/not satisfied. We discussed
how to read the Units/Course actual/completed/needed. Access the Student Advisement Report or Request
Advisement Reports pages. Select appropriate Transcript Type and Output Destination. Update the Request Detail
by entering an appropriate student ID. Access to the Advisement Report and report types can be handled via
security. Students can request advisement reports via Self-Service. CS-AA reports can be saved for a determined
amount of time. However, since the CS-AA report and What-If reports are dynamic, it is recommended to purge the
Analysis Database on a periodic basis.
Currently at PERALTA, In-Progress units appear on the Degree Audit Report System audit in the appropriate
requirements, but do not accumulate in the totals toward satisfying degree requirements. In PS, if In-Progress
credit is allowed to print on the CS-AA Report, then the course/units are going to match and the units will adjust like
the course is actually satisfying the requirement. However, if the student withdraws from the course(s) or does not
meet the Unit and/or Grade Point filters, the course will no longer apply toward the requirement. In addition, when
the CS-AA Report is printed, In-Progress courses can be identified by:
(1) The grade field is blank because no grade has been assigned and
(2) IP appears next to the Requirement Group, Requirement, and/or Requirement Line for which the In-progress
course is matching.
In PeopleSoft, if you do not allow In-Progress credit to print on the CS-AA Report then you would not see the inprogress courses on the CS-AA Report. PeopleSoft does not permit the display of In-Progress on the report
without having them count and possibly fulfill requirements.
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PERALTA does not allow in-progress courses to apply toward requirements when audits are processed for
students and advisors but they do appear on the audit in the appropriate requirements.
PERALTA also has an option to allow in-progress to count on the audit assuming successful completion. This is a
flag that is set at the time the audit is processed. PeopleSoft CS-AA does not provide this functionality. For
configuration, you can create rules for different Transcript Types. An Advisement Report Type can be created that
Excludes In-Progress credit and one that Includes In-Progress credit.
Regarding the PRINTING ONLY of the In-Progress credit: we recommend using delivered functionality. However,
you can configure lines for display purposes only using derived course lists that print the In-Progress course line
item detail as a separate requirement. This is not something that is recommended, due to the configuration effort.
CS-AA018.What If Reports
FIT: YES
A What-If Report allows the student, advisors, A and R staff to run a student‘s record against another plan. A
simulated alternative program and plan can be defined for a student as a What-If scenario. Students also have the
ability, if appropriate security, to process the What-If via Self-Service. What-If Reports can be saved for a
determined amount of time. However, since the CS-AA report and What-If Reports are dynamic, it is recommended
to purge the Analysis Database on a periodic basis (weekly basis)
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CS-AA019. Preparing for Academic Advisement Implementation
FIT: YES
Typically, there is no conversion of Advisement Rules. Advisement Rules will need to be built. In addition, typically,
there is no conversion of course substitutions and student exceptions. Course substitutions and Student exceptions
will need to be entered.
Check catalog versions of Academic Plan requirements. Decide how many Effective Dated Plans to build (How
many past catalog years to build advisement rules?). Review legacy system requirements to determine which
plans contain changes/updates.
Research the value of the course offerings and effective dated changes in the legacy system. Prepare
documentation on current build of degree audits in legacy system.
It is recommended that building of Academic Advisement rules be centralized. Need to identify plan for
maintenance once Academic Advisement build is complete.
Need to identify a plan for maintaining Student Exceptions in legacy. Identify a plan for maintaining Student
Exceptions in PeopleSoft. Also, identify a work group for entering Student Exceptions. The description fields are
free text fields. The text needs to make sense and really define what is contained in the Requirement. Naming
Conventions should be established that are specific to PERALTA and follow catalog and documented descriptions.
Leave print commands at the default for the build. Then, once ensured that the report is working properly, go back
and set the print controls for cosmetic purposes.
CS-AA020. Grade Point Average
FIT: GAP
The cumulative grade point average (GPA) is computed by dividing the total number of units student have
attempted into the total number of grade points you have earned. It’s computed in the following formula. Total
grade point earned, divided by total semester units attempted = GPA

PERALTA’S GPA requirements

Must have a GPA of 2.0 to graduate,

Must have no grade lower than 2.0 in the students major,

Must have no grade lower than 2.0 in 4A,
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
Must have no grade lower than 2.0 in 4B

GPA types required by PERALTA,

Overall GPA for all courses

Degree Applicable GPA (which excludes all remedial classes)

GPA for student major

GPA for general educations requirements

GPA for California State University systems transfer classes

GPA for University of California system transfer classes

Credit guidelines

Advance Placement scores effective Sept 11 will be used to place out of 4A requirement but will not give
academic credit towards a degree. Will need the AP test name and score tracked

Area 5 courses can be used elsewhere for other areas. However, the units only count once even if they
are used twice to satisfy Area 5 and some other area requirements.

Some classes marked either with * to * can replace each other (** to ** etc) to meet area requirements

Some classes with foot notes also list replacements for area requirements
Note: Only Cumulative GPA (PeopleSoft delivered) will be delivered all other types of GPA will be taken care by
PERALTA.
Stored What-If: Enter appropriate Program, Plan data for the What-If desired, make sure to enter the appropriate
requirement term. Selecting the Copy button will populate the student‘s current record, including Program/Plan
information. Then, the information can be changed to view the desired information. Multiple Academic Plans can be
identified. When running the Advisement Report, you will Enable Stored What-If that was created and then process
the report. Stored What-Ifs can be run with Course What-Ifs. Stored What-Ifs cannot be processed with Quick
What-Ifs.
Quick What-If: Allows the user to generate a What-If quickly. This would be generated in the advisement report
pages. Quick What-Ifs can be run with Course What-Ifs. Quick What-Ifs cannot be processed with Stored What-Ifs.
For, PERALTA Academic Plan Requirements may be offered at the location the student is located. A potential
solution would be to create different Academic Plan coding based on location. What-If analysis does not indicate
that program may have application process. A potential solution would be to change the delivered message on the
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Self-Service pages through the message catalog-app designer or generate a notice when a student selects Create
a new report.
To run a What-If report, an advisor or student would need to enter the appropriate requirement term(s).
CS-AA021. Degree Request Process
FIT: GAP
Student must meet with a counselor prior to petitioning for a degree. Then request can go to A and R for
graduation. Student name and address must be correct on degree. Counselor meeting must occur and must be
initiated by student. Other automation acceptable Substitution requests or waiver requests may also be processed
at this time by the student. Also a last chance for students to request transfer credit from other institutions to meet
degree requirements at Peralta
CS-AA022. Transfer in of Credits
FIT: YES
Students submit transcripts and course descriptions for consideration to a counselor. They recommendations of
the counselor are submitted for consideration by the A and R staff person (?) for decision. A conversion may be
needed if the credits were earned under a school on a quarter system rather than semester
Credit can be given in two ways:

A course for course substation whereby the student gets academic credit and it counts in their GPA for an
equivalent Peralta course

Sufficient document is provided to waive an area requirement and the student gets credit for the area towards
their degree but they do not get the courses included in their GPA at Peralta
CS-AA023. Degree Programs
FIT: GAP
Potential degree programs, currently believe are four.
1. General education degree is single biggest program since it is the requirements needed for transfer from
the junior college system to CSU or UC four year college. Degree completion at PERALTA is NOT
required to receive two years of academic credit and transfer to a 4 year program. Tracking for the UC
and CSU systems academic requirements are through IGETC (Intersegmental General Education
Transfer Curriculum) for CSU and an IGETC program for UC. Can complete IGETC requirements without
getting CS-AA degree
2. IGETC (Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum)
3. CSU has its own General Education program requirements (California State University General Education
Breadth Requirements)
4. CS-AA degree with various majors and minors.
CS-AA024. Class Repetition
FIT: YES
Repeating a class, withdrawing from a class, receiving an incomplete from a class
Repeatable courses are courses students are permitted or expected to repeat. There is a flag in the course catalog
setup to designate courses as repeatable. Examples of repeatable courses include multi-topic courses, with
students earning credit for each different topic they study, seminars, thesis or dissertation work, or internships.
Repeatable course units and grades are normally included in GPA and units towards graduation types of
calculations.
Courses may also be repeated for grade improvement but not for earned credit toward the degree, in other words,
they are not intended to be repeated. Programs differ in their policies towards courses repeated for grade
improvement. Some average all grades, some take the best grade, some take the last, etc.
Rules

A student can repeat a class up to three times. Each repeat needs to overwrite or eliminate the previous
grade even if the repeat class was taken in a different school)
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PERALTA Academic Advisement Fit/Gap


A student can withdraw from a class and it will either show or not show on the transcript depending on the
date during the semester in which they chose to withdraw
A student has one year to change an Incomplete to a letter grade. If it is not done within the year it is an
automatic F. (year start date is unclear)
CS-AA025. Milestones
FIT: YES
Milestones are non-course events tracked for a student. They can appear on a student transcript. For example, the
School of Nursing requires that students show proof of certain immunizations. They must have these
immunizations before being allowed into their clinical classes or entering the hospitals. The student doesn’t register
for immunizations, but the school needs to track it. Another example is in the School of Health, Physical Education
and Recreation where students are required to show proof of CPR certification prior to graduation. Again, they do
not necessarily register for a course at IU and earn credit for it, so it does not appear on their transcript. A student
goes to the Red Cross or a hospital for training and testing to receive the certification. The student just needs to
provide proof to HPER that they have the CPR certification.




A milestone can be created to represent these non-course events that a school needs to track.
Milestones can be placed on a student and viewed and if a school wishes they can be used in a degree audit
to meet a requirement.
Milestones can be placed on a student and shown as incomplete, in-progress or completed.
Milestones can be viewed in the Peralta system once added to a student
Miscellaneous Notes

20 percent of the 30,000 students attend more than one of the four colleges during a semester

A student can get a degree from any of the four colleges if they have 12 (out of 60) of their credits from that
school.

50 percent of the student body qualifies for a degree from more than one college
PERALTA, Signatures
Name/Title
Debbie Budd
Tony Hale
Minh Lam
Jo Ann
Sheryl Queen
Designation
Signature
Date
Designation
Project Manager
Lead Business Analyst
Technical Lead
Signature
Date
PINETREERIGDE, Signatures
Name/Title
Beth Tripp
Murali Bontha
Raja Chivukula
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