Announcing the establishment of the new Degree Progress Unit

To: Campus Community

From: Richard Hughey, Vice Provost and Dean Undergraduate Education and Global Engagement

April 22, 2024

Dear Campus Colleagues,

In February, the Degree Audit Initiative hit a major milestone by officially completing all curricular updates to the Degree Progress Report (DPR). As of today, all majors, concentrations, and minors have accurate curricular requirements in the MyUCSC DPR for catalog years 2021–22 onward.

I send my sincere thanks to all involved in the project, particularly our project managers Chris Paradies and Allison Havelda, and the Academic Advisement Team in the Office of the Registrar: Kalin McGraw, Linnae Davenport, Lawrence Warren, K. Sheerin Go, and Hans von Rautenfeld.

Following the successes of the Degree Audit Project (detailed report), I am pleased to announce the establishment of the Degree Progress Unit (DPU). The DPU will lead cross-unit collaboration and maintain the structures and operational tools so that each undergraduate will always have an accurate Degree Progress Report. The DPU is a consolidation and transformation of existing staff and work from Undergraduate Admissions, the Office of the Registrar, and the Undergraduate Education (UE) Divisional Office. I am grateful to Director of Undergraduate Admissions Timetra Hampton and University Registrar Tchad Sanger for their support of this realignment.

The DPU oversees and supports the evaluation of academic progress toward degree completion for all undergraduate students by doing the following:

Maintain and provide ongoing support and training for the DPR

  • Partner with appropriate campus offices to expand and enhance DPR functionality
  • Facilitate and streamline the articulation of external course credit
  • Build and maintain course articulation rules in AIS to provide swift transfer credit evaluation
  • Evaluate and post all continuing student and readmitted student credit
  • Develop and implement process and systems improvements in areas related to the above

The DPU is led by Chris Paradies. He is joined by Degree Audit Systems Analysts Sheerin Go and Hans von Rautenfeld, who will be carrying out the DPR related functions of the unit, and Articulation Officer Stephanie Sawyer, Transfer Credit Systems Specialist Christine Seely, and Transfer Credit Specialist Lisa Donato, who will be carrying out the transfer credit and articulation functions of the unit.

I am excited by the many possibilities this new unit will generate in support of our students. The DPU will continue institutionalizing the use of the DPR for all undergraduate students and vitally enhancing our transfer credit systems. More information about the DPU can be found on their website. The team can be reached via email at degreeprogress@ucsc.edu, and any DPR-related inquiries can be directed to dprhelp@ucsc.edu.

 

Richard Hughey

Vice Provost and Dean
Undergraduate Education and Global Engagement