Advisor Resources
Getting Help
The resources below are a starting point for you to learn about the DPR, how it functions, and how you can help students by maintaining an accurate DPR. When the resources below aren’t enough, the Degree Progress Unit is here to help. Advisors may email the DPU at dprhelp@ucsc.edu with questions on how to use the DPR. Advisors may also drop in to our online DPR OpenLabs, held every Thursday from 1-2 PM for one-on-one assistance.
Running a DPR
Students and advisors can both access the DPR through the Student Center. As an advisor, from the advisor homepage of MyUCSC:
- Click on the Advising and Curriculum tile
- From the New / Drop-in Advisees page, enter the student ID and click search.
- From the Other Academic Information dropdown menu select Degree Progress Report and click Go.
Advisor Onboarding and Getting Started
We have put together a guide for new advisors to get access to and begin using the Degree Progress Report. See the Advisor Onboarding and Getting Started Guide.
Exceptions
At UC Santa Cruz, we are making the DPR the official record of progress toward degree, and for that reason it is crucial that advisors maintain student exceptions.
Learn more about the different types of exceptions and how they are used.
See our step-by-step tutorials and walkthroughs on how to enter exceptions in the DPR.
Catalog Rights and Requirement Terms
Catalog rights are at the foundation of the Degree Progress Report (DPR). Requirement Terms determine which catalog year a student is pursuing. Using the requirement term, the DPR generates requirements for each program, plan, and sub-plan based on the corresponding catalog’s requirements. If the requirement term is not up to date, the DPR will not show accurate information for the catalog a student is pursuing. For this reason it is crucial that requirement terms are updated when a student decides to pursue a different catalog year. Students may choose different catalog years for their program and plan/sub-plan.
Program Requirement Term: Applies to University, General Education, and College Core requirements.
Plan/Sub-Plan Requirement Term: Applies to the major/minor (plan) and concentration (sub-plan) requirements.
How to: Change a Program Requirement Term
How to: Change a Plan/Sub-Plan Requirement Term
Note: Changes to a student’s academic plan/sub-plan or requirement term can lead to the loss of already entered exceptions. Before making either of these changes, thoroughly evaluate the student’s DPR to assess whether existing exceptions are applicable to the new requirement term or plan. Requirements with exceptions are denoted with a blue asterisk icon. Reach out to the DPU for help in ensuring exceptions are applied correctly when making these changes.
What-If Reports
What-if Reports allow you to simulate hypothetical changes to a student’s academic plan(s) and/or courses completed. Using the What-If Report, you can see how a student’s existing coursework and exam credit would apply to a new or additional major/minor, as well as include courses they haven’t yet taken. Students are able to run their own What-If Reports, however the functionality is limited. Namely, they are not able to change requirement terms, thus are unable to explore different catalog years. The student-facing What-If Report defaults to a student’s program requirement term, which is typically their admit term.
Academic Advisors are able to run a What-If Report through an administrative page in Peoplesoft which allows for additional customization of the scenario.
Sharing Courses and Double Counting
Sharing courses between programs requires some additional work on your part. Our Sharing Courses and Double Counting guide will help you understand when courses can be shared between academic plans and how to enter shared courses in the DPR.
Blanket Substitutions
With each new General Catalog, courses are sometimes added to the lists of those that can satisfy particular degree requirements. Blanket substitutions are courses that will satisfy a requirement, for all students, despite their not being explicitly stated in the General Catalog for a particular year. Blanket substitutions reduce the number of manual exceptions required on your part, and ultimately makes the DPR more accurate for students. Learn how to submit blanket substitutions for the DPR.
Error Reporting
The Degree Progress Report (DPR) goes through multiple rounds of testing to ensure its accuracy. If you see what appears to be an error, it is important to report it as soon as you find it. We appreciate all reports, whether they are about curricula, unexpected behavior, or even simple typos.
To submit an error report, fill out this form. We ask that only staff and faculty fill out this form. Students should consult with their Academic Advisors on any issues they notice.
Contact the Degree Progress Unit
Get help with the Degree Progress Report.