ABSTRACT Degree Works is a tool used to help students track their progress as they pursue their academic careers. Staff will be able to assist students to make effective decisions about their course work using this tool.
FM DEGREE WORKS USER GUIDE Denise L. Passero
Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................ 2 Log into FM Degree Works ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 Navigating FM Degree Works ................................................................................................................................................. 5 Block Descriptions ................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Global Header/Progress Bar ............................................................................................................................................... 7 Degree Block ....................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Identifying Remaining Requirements ................................................................................................................................... 11 Look Ahead Audit .................................................................................................................................................................. 13 What-If Audit......................................................................................................................................................................... 15 GPA Calculators ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................................. 19
FM Degree Works User Guide Introduction FM Degree Works is a web-based program designed to assist students to track their progress as they complete coursework related to their chosen degree field. Students can use the FM Degree Works audit to see completed coursework, coursework in progress, and coursework yet to be completed. Students can also use the What If tool to see how a certain course will fit into their program as well as use the Look Ahead tool to see how current courses fit into their degree plan as well as how completed and planned courses would fit into a new program should students decide to change majors. For advisors, FM Degree Works helps with providing students with advice with regard to their degree program. Errors are minimized since the plans are consistent, paperwork is reduced, and allows advisors to assist students with program changes.
Log into FM Degree Works FM Degree Works functions best when viewed using Mozilla Firefox. There are two ways to access FM Degree Works. First, students and advisors can navigate to the FM Home page (http://fmcc.edu) and click the link labeled, “MyFM.�
1. Click the MyFM link in the middle of the home page.
2.
3. From the staff or student resources home page, find the link
Another option is to click in the address bar of the browser and enter the address of the FM Degree Works site:
https://fmc.DegreeWorks.suny.edu
Whichever method used, the viewer will encounter the SUNY login portal. From this page, use the drop down arrow to choose Fulton-Montgomery Community College from the list of available schools.
Choose Fulton-Montgomery Community College
Click Login
Enter your FM credentials into the FMCC Web Authentication page. Students should use the credentials that were sent by mail to you when you registered at FM. If the password has been changed, use the current password.
Enter FM credentials here.
Click Sign In
Once logged in, students will see their actual audit data. The various sections will be described later in this document. Going forward, this document will discuss Degree Works from the student perspective.
Navigating FM Degree Works Use the links at the top of the FM Degree Works home screen to navigate the site. What links appear depends on the permission level of the user logged in. Students will see the navigation at the top of the screen as it is shown below.
A brief description of the links follows: 1.
- Returns the student to the Self Service home page.
2.
- Downloadable PDF version of the college catalog.
3. 4. 5. 6.
- Student FAQ (where this tutorial is found). - Search for courses. - Send items to the printer. - Leave FM Degree Works.
Right beneath the top row of links is the area used to conduct an audit. Audits will be described in a later section. A brief description of the global header follows. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Student ID – FM assigned student ID. Begins with ‘P’ and is followed by 9 characters. Degree – Degree program associated with the major. One degree option allowed, no dual majors. Major – Lists student’s academic major program. Class level – current class level: Freshman, sophomore, etc. Last Audit – The last time the audit was run.
Beneath this section is a row of tabs that allow students to view the audit or access other areas of the audit. Tabs available will depend on the level of access.
1. Worksheets – the view of the audit. 2. Plans – Used by advisor to assist in the creation of a degree plan. 3. GPA Calc – Provides an estimated GPA and allows students to calculate the desired GPA going forward. On the side of the screen are various links that allow the student/advisor to view the audit from different perspectives including how current coursework fits with the degree plan. Audit worksheets.
Evaluate how current coursework and planned coursework is affected by a change in major.
Evaluate how current and planned coursework affects degree outcome.
View classes taken: completed, and in progress as well as credits and grades achieved for the completed coursework as well as the semesters in which they were taken.
Students can also save a copy of the audit as a PDF once they run it.
From this row, you can view the audit, Save as PDF. The format drop-down box allows the viewer to see the audit based on the level of permissions available. Anytime the format is changed, the View tab must be clicked to refresh the view.
Block Descriptions The audit is divided up into sections called, “blocks�. Each block contains certain information about the audit. Below is a description of the various blocks that make up the audit.
Global Header/Progress Bar This section appears at the top of every area of the student/advisor view. The header includes the Degree Progress bar which shows the percentage of the requirements that have been completed or are in progress and the percentage of the credits that have been earned toward the degree or that are in progress. Be mindful that this is not an official transcript but just a tool for planning.
Degree Block The Degree Block shows the program attached to the student’s major. Students may only have one degree program. Below is a brief description of the various elements of this block.
Catalog Term: Semester/Year of admission and selection of the current major. The Catalog Term
determines the academic requirements of the degree, major and college-wide requirements. Credits Required: total number of credits required for your specific degree/major Credits Applied: total number of credits completed and/or in progress that are applicable to your specific degree/major College-wide policies are enforced in the degree Block. Proxy advice appears as students track progress toward completion of these policies. The proxy advice disappears as each requirement is satisfied. Examples: o Unmet conditions for the set of requirements: 62 credits are required. You currently have 36, you still need 26 more credits. o Your GPA is below 2.0 – please see an advisor. Policies Tracked in the Degree Block o Minimum cumulative credits required (Degree Header) o Minimum Cumulative GPA required (proxy advice; disappears when satisfied) o Minimum number of credits completed in residency (50% of cumulative credits applicable to the degree requirements; proxy advice; disappears when satisfied) o Maximum credits allowed with Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading option o Excluded courses: courses beginning with 0, Institutional Credit or courses graded with # grade, or ESL Credit or courses graded with E grade.
o Additional block titles containing requirements are listed within the Degree Block with symbols representing in progress status or completion (Major Requirements, General Education Requirements). o General Education Requirements will include a Check regardless of completion status. Look for notes indicating the category is required: “See block below for requirements” or optional: “Optional in this Degree” (AAS and Certificate students).
Major Block Under the Major block, students will find a listing of courses associated with the chosen major. The listing shows completed coursework along with the grade achieved and credits applied. In addition, students will see courses that are still needed.
General Education General Education block shows the courses that fulfill the general education requirements for the chosen major. General Education courses are those which represent the common areas of knowledge and skills that most educated persons should have and those that offer a balanced and broad-spectrum academic foundation.
Non-Required Coursework The Non-Required Course Work Block (block only appears if student has course work that fits this specific situation.  
Courses listed here do not fulfill graduation requirements. Examples o Surplus credit taken at FM o Courses not applicable to your degree requirements o Transfer credit that does not count toward to your major requirements
Remaining Blocks The remaining smaller blocks show courses from which a student withdrew, courses failed, or courses repeated as well as the outcomes. The in-progress section shows courses in which the student is currently enrolled. This block only appears if the student has course work that fits this situation. The Not Counted block contains courses that do not fulfill graduation requirements. This block also appears only if there are courses that fit this criteria. The last block that may appear is the notes block. This block appears if notes were entered by the advisor. Finally, the legend shows what the various symbols and abbreviations in the audit mean. The disclaimer shows text indicating that the audit is to be used as a guide for planning as the student moves through the degree program.
Disclaimer You are encouraged to use this degree audit report as a guide when planning your progress toward completion of the above requirements. Contact the Student Development Center for assistance in interpreting this report. This audit is not your academic transcript and is not official notification of completion of degree or certificate requirements. Please contact the Registrar’s Office to obtain a copy of your official academic transcript.
Identifying Remaining Requirements Degree Works allows student to strip the audit of the major detail and focus on the remaining requirements. To view only the requirements remaining to be completed, use the drop-down arrow under the label entitled, “Format� to switch from student view to Registration Checklist view.
The audit will refresh to show only items related to the degree program that still need to be completed.
Returning to Student View, students can click the button labeled, “Save as PDF� to save the audit to the local computer, flash drive or to print it. The PDF version of the audit will contain the same information as that in the web version of the audit.
Class History The Class History tab brings you to a chronological listing of all course work by semester/term. This is not an official transcript; contact the Registrar’s Office if you need an official transcript.
Look Ahead Audit The Look Ahead feature enables students to see where courses may fit on a degree audit by running a hypothetical audit. The courses you enter will show on an audit as PLANNED courses. You will see how adding a course to your program affects your degree plan. 1. Click on the Look Ahead link (column on the left) 2. Look Ahead Use Find Courses tab to identify desired courses and course descriptions. Enter the 3-letter discipline in the Subject box (Example: ENG) Enter the course number in the Number box (Example: 103) Click on Add Course Repeat as many times as desired.
Click on Process New. Your audit will show how the PLANNED courses will fulfill program requirements.
To clear the selection, return to the Look Ahead screen by clicking the button labeled, “Back” and click the button labeled, “Remove Course” located under the box labeled, “Courses you are considering.”
What-If Audit The What-If feature enables students to explore majors at FM. Processing a What-If audit does not change the student’s major. The requirements listed are not official until the student actually declares the new major through the official change in major process, which requires the signature of the student and advisor on a change in major form. You will see how the courses you already have in your current degree plan will affect a new chosen major. 1. Click on the What If link (column on the left) 2. Major Audit Click on Pick a Catalog Term. Choose the appropriate future Semester/Year. You will be required to follow the catalog requirements in effect in the semester that you start your new major. Major: using the drop-down, choose the applicable major option.
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Click on Process What-If. This audit will show the student how their completed and in progress courses will apply to the What-If major. If desired, you can run the What-If audit by choosing future classes to be taken. The sample audit below shows a partial list of the courses that would be required if this student changed their major:
Your audit will show how the PLANNED courses fulfill program requirements. You can save this audit as a PDF for future planning or return to the What If home screen. To clear the list, click the Back button appearing under the row of tabs and click the Remove button under the sections for Areas of Study and Courses You are Considering.
GPA Calculators 1. GPA Calculator The GPA Calculator estimates the average GPA you must achieve over your remaining credits to graduate with a certain desired GPA. Your current GPA is auto-populated. Enter the number of credits remaining for you to complete your degree program. Enter the total number of credits required in your degree program Enter your desired GPA at graduation. Click on Calculate The result will be the estimated average GPA over all credits yet to be taken. The GPA Calculator does not calculate your official GPA on your official transcript and is based solely on the information you report. Only grades of A - F earned in courses taken at FM count in your GPA. S/U grades, grades in institutional credit courses, and grades in courses transferred from other colleges do not count toward FM’s GPA. Repeated courses taken for grade replacement should be verified by the Registrar as the GPA Calculator may not calculate an accurate GPA for repeated courses.
2. Term Calculator The Term Calculator estimates your semester GPA when you enter your anticipated grades. If you are registered for courses, those courses will be listed on the Term Calculator. Use the drop-down to select the anticipated grade for each course. You may add additional courses that you anticipate taking in the semester, if applicable. Courses taken for S/U grades and institutional credit courses do not count toward the Term GPA. Replace the credits for those courses with 0 credits to remove them from the calculation of the term average. Click on calculate. The Term Calculator does not calculate your official GPA on your official transcript and is based solely on the information you report. Only grades of A- F earned in courses taken at FM count in your term GPA.
Conclusion The FMCC Degree Works application is designed to assist students with degree planning and with transfer to other schools. Please use the application to make your academic career proceed more smoothly and assist you with future academic endeavors.