Alamo GPS Goal + Plan = Success A Degree Evaluation and Advising Tool for the Alamo Colleges
Overview Alamo GPS is a web based degree audit and advising system that utilizes SunGard s DegreeWorks software and is available 24/7 through ACES. provides a clear and convenient method for students and advisors to track degree progress, to prepare for registration, and to plan for graduation. is designed to aid and facilitate academic advising, but is not intended to replace face to face advising sessions. will aid academic departments as they map future course offerings against the projected program needs of their students. allows for what if scenarios for those students considering a major change. replaces OnCourse degree auditing program that was available in our legacy system. Since the Banner conversion, we have been in a degree audit gap, doing much of the analysis manually, without the benefit of an updated program audit. This new program is much more user friendly, with intuitive web interfaces. Page 2
Who can use Alamo GPS? All students who: enrolled in the Alamo Colleges Fall 2010 or after are using the 2010 2011 or later catalog to fulfill their degree requirements Faculty, advisors, deans, department chairs, and academic support staff have access to the Alamo GPS worksheets for these students Page 3
Why Use Alamo GPS? Alamo GPS should allow you to focus less on the nuts and bolts of the curriculum during advising meetings, and more time on your advisees intellectual and professional needs. Using Alamo GPS and asking your advisees to do so before they meet with you will help your advisees take a more active role in the advising process. Alamo GPS will ultimately save you time. For instance, this program can help to alleviate the amount of time spent reviewing graduation applications. Page 4
Alamo GPS Goal + Plan = Success HELPFUL HINTS
HELPFUL HINTS The Catalog and Schedule link will take you back to the Alamo Colleges website to access the catalog and schedule for all colleges. UNDER CONSTRUCTION: The FAQ and HELP tabs will link directly to the Alamo GPS website in early November. The website will display common questions and answers as well as additional support materials. Hover your Mouse over a Still Needed Course to see the name. Click on the course to open a course description. Click on the Student s Name to email the student. Page 6
Legend The legend at the bottom of the audit contains all of the unique symbols that are important for interpreting the audit. Page 7
Alamo GPS Goal + Plan = Success KNOWN ISSUES
Known Issues Audit Worksheet Major Block Not Found : (1) Student may have declared a catalog prior to Fall 2010. (2) Not all degree plans are loaded into Alamo GPS pending the accuracy verification by the college. Student may use the What If function to access a current degree plan. Error 3701: Student declared a catalog prior to Fall 2010. Student may use the What If function to access a current degree plan. Not Applied Toward Degree Block: GENL courses are transfer courses without equivalencies that came over from the legacy student records systems. A course substitution or equivalency process may be used to apply the course to the degree requirements. CE Courses: Some students with previous Continuing Education records may have difficulty viewing their degree audit. These students may use the What If function to access a degree plan. For some students, clicking on the Refresh button and then Process New will bring up their correct major. Repeatable courses are not being applied to fulfill requirements in the audit. In other cases, nonrepeatable courses are being applied to multiple requirements. Programming for duplicate credit, old to new course numbers, and cross listed courses is still in progress. Printing feature in the Planner is not accessible. Page 9
NO MAJOR FOUND Status 3701 No requirement blocks were found for this student. Check the student's catalog years (pre Fall 2010?) and other degree information. Page 10
Alamo GPS Goal + Plan = Success ACCESS & LOG IN
Accessing Alamo GPS Log into ACES. If you ve forgotten your password or your account is disabled, use the Forgot Your Password link under the log in fields to reset your password or to enable your account. Page 12
in ACES Click on Alamo GPS. No additional log in is needed. Page 13
A FIND button should be here Alamo GPS No Access You should be able to type in a Student Id here No Access to Alamo GPS If you see this screen, but you do not have the FIND button and/or are unable to enter a Student ID, you do not have access to Alamo GPS. Contact supervisor. Page 14
Alamo GPS Welcome screen will appear. Enter student s Banner ID & hit enter. If the ID# is not known, click on Find and follow directions on next slide. Page 15
If you re searching for a group of students (for example, students in a particular major), select the appropriate groups from these drop down boxes. Page 16
Once you have selected the variables for your search, click the Search button. The students selected will appear in the space at the bottom of the popup box. You may accept all students in the selection, or use the Click/Uncheck button and check boxes by student names to load only those you wish to view. Click the OK button. Page 17
A message will appear when the search has produced over 200 IDs. Click ok to allow search. Page 18
If more than one student was selected in your search, use the drop down box at the top of the Audit Worksheet screen to select the student record you want to view. Select the student whose record you want to view from the drop down box. The processing time to pull up the student s worksheet may take several seconds. Page 19
When you re ready to view another student s audit, either pick another student from the drop down box and then click the worksheet tab, or use the Find button to search for new students. Page 20
DegreeWorks Thank You for helping to make Alamo GPS a success! Page 21
Help Us Make Alamo GPS Even Better If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions after using Alamo GPS, please email the Alamo GPS leads at your college. We will need your name and a brief description of the problem to provide you with the best assistance. We will email you as soon as we have resolved the issue or recorded your suggestion. Page 22