Starfish Degree Planner Guide
Starfish Degree Planner helps organize remaining degree requirements into a semester-by-semester academic plan.
Using Degree Planner and Degree Works Together
Degree Planner and Degree Works serve different purposes and are most effective when used together.
- Degree Works (Degree Evaluation) helps evaluate progress toward degree requirements.
- Degree Planner helps organize coursework into future terms and develop a semester-by-semester pathway to completion.
Degree Planner is an unofficial planning tool and does not replace Degree Works. Likewise, Degree Works is not an official graduation certification. Official final degree evaluations are completed by the Office of Records and Registration after a student's application for graduation is submitted.
Before using Degree Planner, review the student's goals, academic history, program requirements, and degree progress using the workflow described in the Academic Planning Guide.
Create a new academic plan using the student's program and catalog year.
What to Look For
- Correct catalog year
- Correct program of study
- Appropriate starting term
- Credit load assumptions for each term
Planning Tip
The catalog year selected in Degree Planner should generally align with the student's academic record and Degree Works audit. Degree Planner can also be used to explore alternative pathways when discussing program changes, multiple pathways or programs or transfer options.
- Log in to Starfish.
- Open a student's folder and click on the Degree Planner tab.
- Below the list of any existing plans, click Create New Plan.
Or click the I understand. Continue to Degree Planner button to begin building a plan.
- Select the Catalog Yearto represent the first year of program enrollment or the year of the appropriate course
catalog.
- Select the program that should be used to build the plan:
Start typing the name of the program into the Program Box to display available options and select the one for which you wish to create a plan, or select the Browse option to learn more about your options.
- To select a program using the Browse option:
- Click the program name, displayed as a link, to view the program details, including description and requirements.
- Click back to programs to return to the browse list.
- Click Print or View PDF to pop-up the program details in a new tab in a printer-friendly format.
- Click the Add to plan button to add this program to the plan. This action will take you back to plan settings page.
- Click the plus icon
beside any program to select it without viewing more details. - If the wrong program is accidentally selected, click the X icon to remove the selection and start over.
- Add additional programs before proceeding, if applicable. A plan can include up to
3 programs total.
- To select a program using the Browse option:
- Specify additional preferences regarding course times, credit hours per term, and
additional options by clicking Advanced Settings:
- Select the term in which the plan starts.
- Select the number of credits/units that should be used to build each term of the program.
Review the initial pathway generated by Degree Planner.
What to Look For
- Recommended course sequence
- Credit load by semester
- Placeholder requirements
- Warnings and prerequisite issues
Planning Tip
Treat the generated plan as a starting point. Most plans require adjustments based on the student's goals, placements, progress, transfer plans, and individual circumstances.
Courses View
The Courses view displays all of the courses and placeholders that are currently included in
the plan. 
The Courses view can be organized by year or term, using the Year/Term toggle
at the top of the page.
- Courses are displayed with a solid border.
- Requirement placeholders are displayed with a broken border.
- Warnings indicate issues with the plan that need attention, such as if the plan is missing prerequisites.
- Some courses may be listed in your plan as "not yet scheduled" and are also referred to as unscheduled course sections. As the future course schedules are added, the courses will be updated with scheduled sections.
- The Variable Credit Courses label displays for both unscheduled/scheduled sections.
Modify the plan to reflect the student's goals, course placements, degree progress, transfer plans, and circumstances.
What to Look For
- Add courses
- Move courses
- Delete courses
- Add comments
- Fill requirement placeholders
Planning Tip
Focus on creating a pathway that is realistic and sustainable for the student, not simply completing requirements as quickly as possible.
Add a Course
To add a course to the plan, click on the + Add Course button. This option is useful
for adding math, English or other pre-requisite requirements not otherwise included
in the plan.
Delete a Course or Requirement
To delete a course from the plan, click on the X in the course or requirement box.
Move a Course or Requirement
To change the term a course is in, use the term drop-down or drag and drop.
or 
View Course Details
Click on a course to get more details.
Add comments to provide additional information to students. These comments will be visible to the student when viewing the plan and will be included when printing the plan.
If no comments have been added to the plan yet, the option to Add Comment will display
on the right side of the plan. If some comments have already been added, the option
to Show Comments will display. Click Show Comments 
to view past comments, including the person who made the comment and when. Comments
display in order from most to least recent.
To add a comment to the plan:
- Click Add Comment to open a Comments section with a text field where plain text comments
can be entered.
If comments have already been added to the plan, first click Show Comments to open the Comments section, and then click Add Comment to proceed. - Enter comments in the field.
- Make sure to save your work. You can edit your own comments later if you need to add more information or make changes.
- Click Save to finish adding your comments or Cancel to exit without saving your changes.
The comments will display with the date and time it was made.
Use the Requirements View to verify that the plan addresses remaining program requirements.
What to Look For
- Completed requirements
- Unmet requirements
- Requirements needing course selection
- Missing requirements
- Alternative course options
Planning Tip
Before approving a plan, confirm that all remaining requirements have been addressed and that prerequisite sequences make sense.
Requirements View
The Requirements view indicates which requirements have been met and which remain
outstanding so that they can be identified easily and addressed. Requirements are
considered met when they have been planned or completed with a grade that meets or
exceeds the program requirement for that course.
If the plan contains multiple programs then the program order displays in the same
order that the programs are added on the Create New Plan page.
Completed Requirements
Requirements that have been completed will be indicated with a check mark 
and will be counted toward the overall program progress. Completed courses will indicate
the grade earned and when the course was taken.
Manage Unmet Requirements
Requirement actions will be indicated with links in blue, including:
- Add Course: allows selection of an applicable course to any placeholder based on the term in which the placeholder exist on the Course tab.
To choose a course that fulfills the placeholder requirement from the Requirements view, complete the following steps:
- Click Add Course
to choose a course to fulfill the requirement. - From the course list, select the course you want to add by clicking the plus sign to the right of the course information.
- Student has met this requirement? Mark as met: takes you to a link with you can mark the requirement as met and provide comments while doing so.
- Change met requirement
allows for selection of a different course to meet a requirement.
Use Degree Planner to review plan status, monitor plan activity, print plans, and respond to student requests for plan review and approval.
Once a plan has been created and updated, Degree Planner provides tools for reviewing plan history, monitoring approval status, communicating with students, and maintaining active plans. Within any plan view, click More to view a menu of options.
What to Look For
- Approval status
- Plan notices and requested actions
- Student requests for review
- Plan history and comments
- Active and inactive plans
- Date the plan was last updated
- Plans that may require review or revision
Planning Tip
Academic plans should be reviewed and updated regularly. Plans may be approved through a specific term or for a longer planning horizon.
Approval indicates the plan has been reviewed, but plans should continue to be updated as student goals, academic progress, course availability, and program requirements change.
Print Degree Plans
All degree plans are available in a printer-friendly view. To print a plan:
- Select the Print
option which will open a new browser tab and display the plan in a printer-friendly
(PDF) format. - Select a printer to use.
- Click Okay to print the plan.
Printed plans include plan notes followed by information from the Courses and Requirements views of the plan.
Plan History: displays the activity and comments on the plan made by you the student and any approvers.
Review Student Requests for Plan Approval
Students can request review of their academic plan after completing updates.
When reviewing a plan, consider:
- Whether planned coursework aligns with remaining requirements
- Whether prerequisite and sequencing requirements have been addressed
- Whether the plan supports the student's academic, transfer, and career goals
- Whether the credit load is realistic and sustainable
Degree Plan Notices
When applicable, important notices will display at the top of the any plan view above
the plan name, providing information about plan approval and unmet plan requirements.
| Notice | This displays when |
|---|---|
| This Plan has been approved | The plan has been approved. The most recently approved plan is also the active plan and should be the plan referenced when registering for courses and for checking progress toward completion. |
| This plan has been returned | The plan has been returned without approval. Click the View Comments link to access more information about why the plan was returned. View the Plan History under More options to access notes about why the plan was returned. |
| Student has requested Approval of this plan | A request for approval has been made. Click Approve or Return to take action on the request. An updated notice will be displayed when the plan is approved or returned. |
Use these features when exploring options, working with multiple plans, reviewing supporting records, or troubleshooting issues.
Most academic planning activities can be completed using the features described in the previous sections.
What to Look For
- Multiple plans
- Transfer information
- Student records
- Plan history
- Rebuild options
- Plans that fail to build correctly
Planning Tip
These tools can be helpful when comparing academic pathways, exploring alternative programs, or investigating unexpected results in Degree Planner.
Student Records
Student Records displays coursework, test results, and other records contributing
to a student's academic plan. This view can be useful when verifying information used
to build or review a plan.
- Transfer Information: provides a tool that can be used to determine how courses from other institutions would transfer into the plan.
- Student Records: Displays all of the student records that contribute to a student's plan.
Course records and test results (or other non-course records) can be added manually by clicking the corresponding buttons for either action.
Additional Options for Managing Plans
Starfish Degree Planner supports the creation and management of multiple degree plans.
At any time, plans can be rebuilt or deleted, and additional plans can be created.
Additional Plans
Degree Planner supports multiple plans for the same student. Only one plan can be
active at a time.
Additional plans can be useful when exploring:
- Alternative majors
- Transfer pathways
- Certificates
- Different completion timelines
Delete Old or Unused Plans
Within any plan view, click More to access the Delete Plan option. This action completely removes the plan history from the Degree Planner tab. Deleted plans cannot be recovered. If for any reason this plan history should
be retained, build a new plan instead.
Rebuild Plans
Within any plan view, click More to access the Rebuild Plan option. This action deletes any changes made since that plan was originally built
and allows re-selection of the plan settings. Use this option only when the changes
made to the existing plan should be discarded. If those changes should be retained,
build a new plan instead of rebuilding the existing one.
Status Icons
View existing degree plans at any time by clicking on the Degree Planner tab within Starfish. A list of all plans display, and icons indicate each plan’s status as
Approved, Approved Through (a term), Approval Requested, Approval Expired, Returned
or In Progress.
The most recently approved plan is the active plan, and only one plan may be active at a time.
| Icon | Description |
|---|---|
 |
The Approved icon indicates an approved plan with no expiration. |
 |
The Approval Through icon indicates an approved plan through the end of the specified term. |
 |
The Approval Requested icon indicates a plan requesting approval. |
 |
The Approval Expired icon indicates the previously approved plan has expired. |
 |
The Returned icon indicates the plan needs changes. |
 |
The In Progress icon indicates a plan that is in progress but not yet been approved, returned or awaiting approval. |
 |
The Build Failed icon indicates a plan did not complete. |
 |
The Building icon indicates a plan is being created and is inaccessible until it is ready to open. Once complete, the icon will change to "In Progress," and an "Open Plan" label will display. You can then open the plan to review. |
Other Status Indicators
Each plan displays the date the plan was last updated, building icon, and the number
of credits completed.
Updated Date
This shows the date and time the plan was last updated in the system.
Build Additional Plans
Build additional plans at any time by clicking the Create New Plan button that appears below the list of existing plans. This allows new plans to be
created from scratch so that multiple plans and programs can be explored.
Need Help?
Submit a ticket through the IT Service Desk if you encounter issues such as:
- Plans that fail to build correctly
- Missing or inaccurate information
- Transfer credit not appearing correctly
- Approved substitutions or exceptions not appearing
- Degree Planner information that appears out of date
Frequently Asked Questions
Whenever possible, plan through program completion. Academic plans should be reviewed and updated regularly as student goals, academic progress, transfer plans, course availability, and program requirements change.
Degree Works and Degree Planner may not always look identical because they serve different purposes.
If you notice differences, review:
- Program of study
- Catalog year
- Transfer credit
- Approved substitutions or exceptions
- Coursework currently in progress
- Planned coursework
Degree Works should generally be used as the primary source for evaluating degree progress, while Degree Planner is used to organize future coursework.
If information appears incorrect or missing, submit a ticket through the IT Service Desk.
Sometimes. Some requirements can be satisfied using multiple course options, while others require a specific course. Before making changes, review Degree Works, the College Catalog, transfer considerations, and the student's academic goals to determine whether the adjustment is appropriate.
The generated plan is intended to be a starting point.
You can adjust:
- Course sequencing
- Credit load by term
- Timing of electives
- Course selection
- Transfer pathway considerations
- Course availability
- Student work, family, and other personal responsibilities
Academic judgment remains important. The best plan is not always the automatically generated plan.
Degree Planner may not account for every factor affecting course eligibility.
Review:
- Placement information
- Prerequisites
- Transfer credit
- Coursework currently in progress
- Academic standing
- Program requirements
Adjust the plan as needed to reflect the student's current circumstances and academic preparation.
Examples may include:
- Transfer credit not appearing correctly
- Approved substitutions or exceptions not appearing
- Requirements appearing incomplete unexpectedly
- Courses appearing to fulfill the wrong requirement
- A plan failing to build correctly
- Degree Planner or Degree Works information that appears out of date
If information appears incorrect, submit a ticket through the IT Service Desk for review.
Yes. Degree Planner supports multiple plans for the same student. Additional plans can be useful when exploring:
- Alternative majors
- Transfer pathways
- Certificates
- Different completion timelines
Only one plan can be active at a time.
Generally, yes. When creating an academic plan, the catalog year and program selected in Degree Planner should align with the student's academic record and current Degree Works audit.
However, Degree Planner can also be used to explore alternative academic pathways before changes are made to a student's official program of study.
Plans may be approved through a specific term or for a longer planning horizon.
Approving a plan through a term indicates that coursework has been reviewed and approved through that point in the student's pathway. Future terms should continue to be reviewed and updated as student goals, academic progress, course availability, and program requirements change.
Approval indicates the plan has been reviewed, but it does not mean the plan is final.