APAS Handout Technology Fireside March 2008

APAS-What is it?

The Academic Progress Audit System (APAS) uses DARS software to produce a report reflecting academic progress toward completion of an undergraduate degree, UMM Honors, and/or licensure. The APAS report shows how University of Minnesota courses, transfer courses, and courses in progress apply toward requirements. It is internal document and should be used as a tool to assist students and advisers in planning future coursework. It is not an official certification of a student’s academic record.

What APAS Is NOT!

• It is not a transcript
• It is not intended to report student achievement to outside parties (only the official transcript should be used for this purpose)
• It is not error-proof! As with any product, there is a small possibility of error. I strive to make all audits error-free however processing logic and a multitude of course & grade combinations for thousands of students make it impossible to resolve every possible glitch or problem.

Does APAS Replace Advising?

• APAS is a tool to assist in the advising process. It is meant to help advisers and students in the process of course selection and academic program planning. It reduces the mechanical record-keeping tasks and gives advisers more time to interact with students, concentrating on academic and career counseling.

Dangers of using an outdated APAS Report

APAS Reports are only as accurate as the information they contain. If the APAS Report you are using is out dated (even just a couple of days), the report may be missing recent registration changes, program updates, and processed exceptions. Save yourself and the student some time by not using outdated information. Running a new APAS Report only takes a minute or two, when in doubt, run one.

How can APAS help you and advisees explore other majors?

A "What if" APAS automatically shows what and how completed course work will apply to the new major. Graduation Planner offers another option that includes “planned courses.”

What is catalog year/bulletin year and how can it be changed?

The policy is that students follow the catalog in effect their first term at UMM—if it has not expired—or any future catalog. APAS defaults to the catalog based on the first term and SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE to get APAS to recognize future catalogs. Clare processes catalog year changes for students. Sometimes when majors change following a new catalog is desirable, please advise student to initiate this kind of request.

Major GPA

What does >D mean?

e.g. SP07 4PHIL4000 0.0 A->D History of Phil Seminar

It means that APAS thinks this is a "duplicate" course and has reduced the credits to zero! The Registrar's Office needs to update the student's record. Please notify us.

What if I think something is wrong with an APAS report?

If you don’t think that APAS is correctly analyzing requirements for an advisee, you should contact Clare Strand x6026. Please don’t contact others in my office or the Advising Office.

What about course work transferred from another school?

Transfer courses from other institutions, CLEP or AP will automatically be equated to UMM courses, when applicable. All other transfer courses, without direct equivalencies, are listed in the audit, but are only used to show completion of requirements such as total credits, general education, and University bachelor degree requirements. They are not used to show completion of major requirements. Students who believe that some of these transfer courses should satisfy their major requirements should contact discipline coordinators. Approved substitutions should be submitted to Dorothy De Jager, UMM’s Transfer Specialist in writing.

IP “in-progress” An "in progress" course is one for which students have not yet received a final grade. This includes courses in which they are currently enrolled and any course with a grade of X, I, or K. APAS assumes students will satisfactorily complete the courses flagged as IP and that none of these is a duplicate or exceeds the maximum allowed toward degree requirements. One limitation of the APAS report is that it will sometimes chose an “in progress” course to satisfy a requirement that would be complete if a graded course were used instead. When our office does degree checking we can produce special reports that ignore all IP courses to ensure all requirements are met.

Exceptions

An exception reflects changes, such as waivers or substitutions, applied to students’ academic program. Exceptions are processed in the Registrar’s Office. Written documentation from faculty/discipline coordinators is required and is imaged as part of the student’s permanent record.

Degree certification

APAS is the “Document of Record” which is used to certify completion of the degree. As the document of record students’ APAS report is retained beyond graduation in archival form using Image Now. The APAS Legend states:

THIS REPORT DOES NOT ASSURE DEGREE or LICENSURE CERTIFICATION.
THEREGISTRAR and the FACULTY CERTIFY COMPLETION OF REQUIREMENTS.

Also:

THE FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT OF 1974 AS
AMENDED PROHIBITS THE RELEASE OF THIS RECORD OR DISCLOSURE
OF ITS CONTENTS TO ANY THIRD PARTY WITHOUT THE WRITTEN
CONSENT OF THE STUDENT

If you believe an APAS report contains errors, please contact Clare Strand.

Technology Fireside: APAS -- Things You Probably Don't Know -- Monday, Mar. 31, 2008 4:00 p.m. Presenter: Clare Strand