Degree planning made easy

Degree planning isn’t always straightforward. Considering the number of courses and intriguing electives available at the University of Manitoba, degree paths can potentially wander.

In addition to support from academic advisors, students will soon be able to access a new online tool that will help in their degree-planning process. Launched on March 6 for select programs (see list below), UM Achieve will help students create a registration plan and track their progress toward their current degree program. The tool will also provide information to students who are interested in exploring other degree choices.

Working in tandem with academic advisors, UM Achieve will allow planning for the future. Students will have degree progression information at their fingertips and be able to learn more about their degree requirements.

“UM Achieve is a resource to assist with advising,” says Brigitte Wiebe, co-chair of the team implementing the resource. “Academic and other campus advisors will use accurate, up-to-the-minute information from Aurora to assess student progression.”

Once implemented, degree audits created in UM Achieve will provide students and advisors with easy-to-read reports on progress toward degree completion. Alternative planning scenarios, called “what-ifs”, are also provided for students who are considering a program change. Additionally, the UM Achieve program planner, still in development, will allow students to map out their remaining courses and plan their registration for future terms.

“UM Achieve will help students stay on track with their specific degree program and decrease unnecessary course choices, leading to reduced time-to-completion,” says Wiebe.

Use of this resource will also help in a number of areas, including decreasing the time required to manually audit student files to assess degree progression and graduation requirements. UM Achieve also has the potential for students and advisors to focus on developmental advising tasks such as defining academic and career goals, as well as problem-solving obstacles student may face.

As the project is developed, the data from UM Achieve will be used to predict future course demand, manage curriculum and course development and identify trends and high demand courses into the future.

Students can access UM Achieve by logging in through JUMP. Once there, they will be able to create an audit and then make an appointment with an academic advisor to review options and plan for the future. Video tutorials are available to guide students through the tool.

“The resource will provide students with a fair and transparent path to a degree,” says Wiebe. “A future stage of the project will allow students to select courses into their academic futures and map their degrees.”

Programs will continue to be added to UM Achieve as the project moves forward. The March 6 launch includes:

Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences:

• Agribusiness 
• Agroecology
• Food Science 
• General Agriculture 
• Human Nutritional Sciences
• Human Nutritional Sciences 2
• Pre-Veterinary
• Diploma of Agriculture

Faculty of Engineering:

• Biosystems Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Computer Engineering
• Electrical Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering 
• All Co-op Programs
• ENGAP Program
• Preliminary Engineering

Faculty of Kinesiology:

• Kinesiology – Athletic Therapy
• Kinesiology 
• Physical Education
• Recreation Management and Community Development

College of Dentistry and School of Dental Hygiene Programs

University 1

All University of Manitoba Minors

Jack Rach