STUDENT GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS RECORDS SYSTEM AND METHOD

Abstract

An integrated system and method, used by a post-secondary educational institution such as a college or university, that tracks the aggregate student population's progress towards reaching their chosen degree at said educational institution. Degree requirements are reduces to a set of combined algebraic and Boolean expressions that, when met, indicate the student has met the graduation requirements. The student's transcript is used to populate the expression, allowing an analysis of still needed coursework. The system and method comprises aggregating all of the completed coursework for the post-secondary educational institution's current student population, to allow the institution to plan curriculum.

Claims

1. A method for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution comprising obtaining the graduation requirements for all degree programs at the post-secondary educational institution; converting the graduation requirements into a set of algebraic Boolean expressions; creating the appropriate algebraic Boolean sum to indicate that the degree or course of study requirements have been met; identifying, for each course offered at the post-secondary educational institution, all of the uses for which the course may be used in meeting the requirements for all of the degree programs; accessing a student's record of completed course work and determining the remaining classes needed to complete the student's chosen or declared degree program.

2. The method for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution in claim 1, further comprising aggregating the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for the entire student population at the post-secondary educational institution.

3. The method for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution in claim 2, further comprising using the aggregated remaining course work to create a course scheduling forecast.

4. The method for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution in claim 2, further comprising a reporting feature for the post-secondary educational institution, to track year-to-year and semester-to-semester progress for the aggregated remaining course work, with respect to a particular student and with respect to a particular sub-set of the student population.

5. A method for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution comprising obtaining the graduation requirements for all degree programs at each post-secondary educational institution; converting the graduation requirements into a set of algebraic Boolean expressions; creating the appropriate algebraic Boolean sum to indicate that the degree or course of study requirements have been met; identifying, for each course offered at each post-secondary educational institution, all of the uses for which the course may be used in meeting the requirements for all of the degree programs; accessing a student's record of completed course work, for a student who has attended one or more of the plurality of post-secondary educational institutions, and determining the remaining classes needed to complete the student's chosen or declared degree program at the student's current post-secondary educational institution.

6. The method for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution in claim 5, further comprising aggregating the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for each individual within the entire student population at each of the post-secondary educational institutions.

7. The method for analyzing the remaining required courses of study for a plurality of student populations at a plurality of post-secondary educational institutions in claim 6, further comprising allowing each post-secondary educational institution to track the educational progress of each formerly enrolled student, when the student has continued the student's education at another of the plurality of post-secondary educational institutions.

8. The method for analyzing the remaining required courses of study for a plurality of student populations at a plurality of post-secondary educational institutions in claim 7, further comprising a tracking feature, allowing each post-secondary educational institution to determine, for a given former student, when that student has met or exceeded certificate or degree requirements; so that the post-secondary educational institution can issue said certificate or degree, or report that the student has met graduation or certificate requirements.

9. The method for analyzing the remaining required courses of study for a plurality of student populations at a plurality of post-secondary educational institutions in claim 7, further comprising a reporting feature, allowing each post-secondary educational institution to determine, for a given period of time, the number of students who graduated or are still in school, regardless from which post-secondary educational institution the student graduated or of which post-secondary educational institution the student is currently enrolled.

10. The method for analyzing the remaining required courses of study for a plurality of student populations at a plurality of post-secondary educational institutions in claim 5, further comprising allowing each student to see their remaining course work to achieve their declared major.

11. The method for analyzing the remaining required courses of study for a plurality of student populations at a plurality of post-secondary educational institutions in claim 10, further comprising allowing each student to see the remaining course work required to graduate in any of the degree programs at any of the plurality of educational institutions, using the student's currently completed course work.

12. The method for analyzing the remaining required courses of study for a plurality of student populations at a plurality of post-secondary educational institutions in claim 11, further comprising allowing each student to calculate the cost of completing each degree program at any of the plurality of educational institutions, using the student's financial aid record, most recent Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or equivalent, and extrapolating, from a historical database, the estimated cost per credit hour the student would have to pay at each post-secondary educational institution.

13. The method for analyzing the remaining required courses of study for a plurality of student populations at a plurality of post-secondary educational institutions in claim 12, further comprising allowing each student, using the estimated cost per credit hour for each class for each degree program for each post-secondary educational institution, to aggregate a total cost for each degree program at each post-secondary educational institution, and allowing said student to compare the cost for each degree program at each post-secondary educational institution.

14. A system for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution comprising a plurality of databases, a central processing unit, at least one input/output device, a means of communicating between the central processing unit and the plurality of databases, and computer program in the central processing unit, stored in durable, readable medium, comprising a capability of obtaining the graduation requirements for all degree programs at the post-secondary educational institution; converting the graduation requirements into a set of algebraic Boolean expressions; creating the appropriate algebraic Boolean sum to indicate that the degree or course of study requirements have been met; identifying, for each course offered at the post-secondary educational institution, all of the uses for which the course may be used in meeting the requirements for all of the degree programs; accessing a student's record of completed course work and determining the remaining classes needed to complete the student's chosen or declared degree program.

15. A system for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution in claim 14, wherein the software program further comprises aggregating the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for the entire student population at the post-secondary educational institution.

16. The system for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution in claim 15, wherein the software program further comprises using the aggregated remaining course work to create a course scheduling forecast.

17. The system for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution in claim 15, further comprising a reporting feature for the post-secondary educational institution, to track year-to-year and semester-to-semester progress for the aggregated remaining course work, with respect to a particular student and with respect to a particular sub-set of the student population.

18. A system for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution comprising a plurality of databases, a central processing unit, an input/output device, a means of communicating between the central processing unit and the plurality of databases, and computer program in the central processing unit, stored in durable, readable medium, comprising a capability of obtaining the graduation requirements for all degree programs at the post-secondary educational institution; converting the graduation requirements into a set of algebraic Boolean expressions; creating the appropriate algebraic Boolean sum to indicate that the degree or course of study requirements have been met; identifying, for each course offered at the post-secondary educational institution, all of the uses for which the course may be used in meeting the requirements for all of the degree programs; accessing a student's record of completed course work and determining the remaining classes needed to complete the student's chosen or declared degree program.

19. The system for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution claim 18, wherein the software program further comprises aggregating the remaining course work to meet graduation requirements for the entire student population at each of the post-secondary educational institutions.

20. The system for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution in claim 19, wherein the software program further comprises allowing each post-secondary educational institution to track the educational progress of each formerly enrolled student, when the student has continued the student's education at another of the plurality of post-secondary educational institutions.

21. The system for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution in claim 20, further comprising a tracking feature, allowing each post-secondary educational institution to determine, for a given former student, when that student has met or exceeded certificate or degree requirements; so that the post-secondary educational institution can issue said certificate or degree, or report that the student has met graduation or certificate requirements.

22. The system for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution in claim 20, wherein the software program further comprises a reporting feature, allowing each post-secondary educational institution to determine, for a given period of time, the number of students who graduated or are still in school, regardless from which post-secondary educational institution the student graduated or of which post-secondary educational institution the student is currently enrolled.

23. The system for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution in claim 18, wherein the software program further comprises allowing each student to see their remaining course work to achieve their declared major.

24. The system for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution in claim 23, wherein the software program further comprises allowing each student to see the remaining course work required to graduate in any of the degree programs at any of the plurality of educational institutions, using the student's currently completed course work.

25. The system for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution in claim 24, wherein the software program further comprises allowing each student to calculate the cost of completing each degree program at any of the plurality of educational institutions, using the student's financial aid record, most recent Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or equivalent, and extrapolating, from a historical database, the estimated cost per credit hour the student would have to pay at each post-secondary educational institution.

26. The system for analyzing the remaining required courses needed for completing a degree program for a student population at a post-secondary educational institution in claim 25, further comprising allowing each student, using the estimated cost per credit hour for each class for each degree program for each post-secondary educational institution, to aggregate a total cost for each degree program at each post-secondary educational institution, and allowing said student to compare the cost for each degree program at each post-secondary educational institution.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] There are 8 relevant drawings.

[0030] FIG. 1 is high-level system diagram showing the functional blocks and the connections/circuitry.

[0031] FIG. 2 shows the logic Framework stack.

[0032] FIG. 3 shows the System Management functional blocks.

[0033] FIG. 4 shows the GUI Client.

[0034] FIG. 5 shows the Loader flow and functional block.

[0035] FIG. 6 shows the Degree Analyzer flow and functional block.

[0036] FIG. 7 shows the Curriculum Analyzer flow and functional block.

[0037] FIG. 8 shows the analytic engine/metadata views.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0038] The following description represents the inventors' current preferred embodiments. The description is not meant to limit the invention, but rather to illustrate its general principles and utility. Examples are illustrated with the accompanying drawings. A variety of drawings are offered, showing multiple system components and multiple embodiments of the present invention.

[0039] FIG. 1 shows the overall system diagram for the present invention. The invention allows input and access from users on computers/laptops 92 or mobile devices 91 through a graphic user interface (GUI) client 30. The invention allows post-secondary educational institution (college) administrators to control users and system management 20 from computers/laptops 90.

[0040] The system of the present invention is controlled and operated through a framework 10. The framework 10 is connected to a plurality of college servers 71, 72, 73. The connections are a combination of software and circuitry, that can vary from college to college. The plurality of college servers 71, 72, 73 connects the framework to their database repositories 81, 82, 83. The database repositories 81, 82, 83 store data on students, curriculum, and degrees, inter alia. The framework allows the loader 40, degree analyzer operation 50, and curriculum analyzer operation 60 to interact with, and create transforms of, the college data on students, curriculum, and degrees.

[0041] FIG. 2 shows the major components of the framework 10: the run components 110; the libraries 120; and the adapters 130. The run components 110 include student data 111; degrees 112; curriculum forecasting 113; course catalog 114; course registration 115; course costing 116, and reports 117. The run components use the libraries 120, the loader 40, the degree analyzer operation 50, the curriculum analyzer operation 60, and the adapters 130. The libraries 120 include an institution course library 121 for each of the plurality of colleges. The libraries 120 also include an institution rules library 123 for each of the plurality of colleges. Lastly, the libraries 120 include a course universal ID library, which can allow for cross-referencing different course offerings between different colleges. The adapters includes a system of records adapter (SRA) 131 for each of the plurality of colleges. The SRA 131 acts as an adaptation layer, putting all of the plurality of colleges' information into a standard information presentation format for processing.

[0042] In FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the system management stack 20, and the GUI client 30 serve as an interface to the present invention, and interact with the framework 10. The system management stack 20 includes a division management function 21, a facility to manage users and roles 22, and a facility to manage application settings 23 for a particular college or institution. The GUI client 30 includes a login 31, a run analysis interface 32, and a results display 33.

[0043] FIG. 5 shows the loader 40, which interacts with the framework 10, the degree analyzer operation 50, and the curriculum analyzer operation 60. The loader has a staging method that includes a rules universe 411 and a course universe 412 for each college. The rules universe 411 defines all of the requirements that a college or university can have. The courses universe 412 defines all of the course offerings of a college or university. All of a college or university's plurality of degree programs 413 can be mathematically assembled from the rules universe 411 and the course universe 412. The transcript loader 401 loads the transcripts 414 for every student at every institution. The degree analyzer 402 has an institution degree analyzer 415 for each of the plurality of degree programs at each of the plurality of colleges. The degree analyzer 402, and each of the institution degree analyzers 415, is fed information from the degree analyzer operation 50, and the curriculum analyzer operation 60.

[0044] FIG. 6 shows the degree analyzer operation 50, which is comprised of a degree analyzer flow 500, a degree analyzer cache 510, a cache retrieval 520, and access to the present invention's database 84. The degree analyzer flow 500 is comprised of a degree course and rules superset 501 for each of the plurality of degrees at each of the plurality of colleges. The degree course and rules superset 501 is fed by all of the plurality of transcripts 502 for each of the plurality of students at each of the plurality of colleges. The degree analyzer flow 500 loads the degree analyzer 402. The degree analyzer flow 500 also interoperates with the degree analyzer cache 510. The degree analyzer cache 510 is comprised of a plurality of transcripts, matched courses, missing courses, and course not in the superset 511 for each of the plurality of transcripts for each of the plurality of students at each of the plurality of colleges. The degree analyzer cache 510 transfers data from the cached data retrieval 520 to the degree analyzer flow 500. The cache retrieval 520 is composed of a data streaming script 521 which accesses the data from the present invention's database 84.

[0045] FIG. 5 shows the curriculum analyzer operation 60, which feeds the degree analyzer 402. The curriculum analyzer operation 60 is comprised of a curriculum analyzer flow 600, a degree analyzer cache 610 for the curriculum analyzer operation 60, a cache retrieval 520, and access to the present invention's database 84. The curriculum analyzer flow 600 is comprised of the degree course and rules superset 501 for each of the plurality of degrees at each of the plurality of colleges. The degree course and rules superset 501 is fed by all of the plurality of matched courses 602 for each of the plurality of degree programs at each of the plurality of colleges. The curriculum analyzer flow 600 loads the degree analyzer 402. The curriculum analyzer flow 600 also interoperates with the degree analyzer cache 610. The degree analyzer cache 610 is comprised of a plurality of degrees, matched courses, missing courses, course not in the superset, and the number of students for each of the foregoing 611 for each of the plurality of matched courses for each of the plurality of degree programs at each of the plurality of colleges. The degree analyzer cache 610 transfers data from the cached data retrieval 520 to the curriculum analyzer flow 600. The cache retrieval 520 is composed of a data streaming script 521 which accesses the data from the present invention's database 84.

[0046] The degree analyzer 402, comprised of an institution degree analyzer 415 for each of the plurality of degree programs at each of the plurality of colleges, constructs an algebraic Boolean expression out of the information supplied from the curriculum analyzer operation 60, the degree analyzer operation 50, the loaded transcripts 401, 414, and the rules universe 411, and courses universe 412 for each of the degree programs 413 at each of the plurality of colleges. The institution degree analyzer 415 determines whether each student and/or each transcript 414 meets the degree or graduation requirements using the algebraic Boolean expressions.

[0047] FIG. 8 shows an analytical engine database construct 184 for the present invention, which is resident in the present invention's database 84. The analytical engine database construct 184 stores metadata for missing requirements 800, demographics 810, degree completion 820, and curriculum forecasting 830. The missing requirements 800 is comprised of the missing requirements for each student 801, each defined student subset (e.g., by degree program or major) 802, all students 803, all departments 804, all degrees 805, all costing 806, multi-institution 807, and multi-catalog 808. The demographics is comprised of student subsets 811, all students 812, departments 813, degrees 814, degree completion 815, and missing requirements 816. The degree completion 820 metadata is comprised of student 821, student subset 822, all students 823, department 824, degree 825, historical 826, multi-institution 827, and multi-catalog 828. The curriculum forecasting 830 metadata is comprised of student subset 831, all students 832, departments 833, degree 834, costing 835, and historical 836.