New Software Clarifies Grad Requirements

Whether it is witchcraft, astronomy or the history of math, Exonians have numerous options when it comes to selecting classes; but complex guidelines for the Academy’s course requirements and careless mistakes have led to students accidentally enrolling in classes that do not fulfill requirements for graduation. To combat these gaffes and simplify the course selection process, the office of the dean of academic affairs has implemented a new “course requirements” program in Lionlinks that enables students, advisers and the dean of academic affairs to easily track both the requirements they have and have not yet satisfied. “This is a project we have been working on for a couple of years that will allow teachers, advisers, students and myself to determine what progress Exonians have made towards their graduation requirements and what gaps still might be there,” Karen Geary, dean of academic affairs, said.Although only advisers currently have access to the program, Geary hopes it will be available to students by the end of the week so that they can reference the program during the add/drop period, which begins next Monday.The software, once completely functional, will have the potential to facilitate the course selection process for both the dean of academic affairs, who oversees each student’s graduation requirements, and the students themselves.“This will be a much better planning tool for students and advisers, and it will be a valuable way for me to check students’ records more regularly without having to take three days to go through a stack of papers,” Geary said.Three times a year, Geary must read through senior’s transcripts and planned courses to ensure that every student will be able to graduate. Although Geary discovers most student mistakes, it can often still have a negative impact on Exonians who have misinterpreted the course requirements. Geary explained, “When students have to change courses to meet a requirement, they have fewer options, and sometimes, if, for example, I notify students now that their fall courses do not meet a requirement that the students thought it did, they will have to drop another elective in the winter or spring that they might have been excited about.”Geary believes situations like these will be easily avoidable with the new program, and most Exonians seem to agree.Senior Jon Regenold believes that the new program will allow students to more consciously plan their courses.Lower Caroline Davis agreed, noting the complicated nature of the graduation requirements. “There is such a wide variety of choices; I know that I have had to pull out the Course of Requirements booklet multiple times just to check what the graduation requirements were,” she said. “So far, I am on a good track as a lower in completing my graduation requirements, but being able to access my progress throughout the year at any time will definitely help and eradicate that nervousness of missing credits.”Lower Cameron Gruss added, “Even though I already know the requirements, I think the tool will definitely be convenient and a nice reminder for me and my adviser.” Even though many students see the software as beneficial, some see it as unnecessary. “My advisor is just down the hall to tell me if I might miss any requirements, and since I’ve already had to pre-decide my courses four years ahead of time, I would think it a waste of effort to create such program,” upper Hector Cruz said. “Seeing what else I need to enroll in on a screen is pretty but useless.”Perhaps more extreme than ineffective, some Exonians suspect the program might harm the attitudes of students at Exeter. “Having a list of what you have and have not finished could lead to a mentality which may already exist in students—that all the courses they take are simply to fill out their requirements and lower the number they see on their Lionlinks page,” lower Nathaniel Livingston-Bogardus said. “This is damaging to the idea of learning for the sake of gaining knowledge.”