De Anza College advises transferring students to use the college’s new online academic advising application to check course fulfillment and possible associate degree eligibility.

DegreeWorks allows students to monitor their academic progress and to create or experiment with their educational plans.

Priority enrollment changes effective Fall 2014 require students to have educational plans to obtain priority registration.

“Counseling and matriculation are so important at a time when we’re emphasizing student learning outcome,” said Angela Caballero de Cordero, dean of counseling and matriculation. “And now we’re using technology to facilitate part of the process.”

The adoption of DegreeWorks is part of the counseling department’s effort to serve students at a greater capacity and to give them more autonomy in their academic planning.

“Students no longer have to wait in long lines to monitor their academic progress,” said DASB intramural affairs officer Heidi Kang, one of the DASB senators leading the initiative.

The ability to experiment with their educational plan will allow students to make more informed decisions and ensure student success, said counselor Mark Fu.

To effectively promote the use of DegreeWorks and counselor presence,  Caballero de Cordero initiated a collaboration with the DASB Senate and staff from multiple departments, including Admission and Records.

Caballero de Cordero said the partnership is critical for reaching the student population and for sending out the message about the importance of DegreeWorks as an academic planning tool.

Through the joint effort, the collaboration created outreach activities such as “DA-How2” kiosks for informational sessions and “DA-How-To” videos that students can easily access online and learn how to use DegreeWorks.

But she emphasized that the application does not replace advisors and counselors.

“Students need advising beyond just what classes to take,” Caballero de Cordero said. “They need advising with long term educational planning, career goal planning, time management skills, and other counseling that students won’t be able to obtain from DegreeWorks.”

Fu said many students who are ready to transfer miss out on an extra degree simply because they are unaware they have completed the degree requirements.

“And that is why it is imperative for students to check their degree audits so they can submit applications accordingly,” Fu said.

Students can submit associate degree applications up to the final day of the quarter.