Published August 15, 2014
FlightPath, the University of Louisiana at Monroe鈥檚 home-built student advising and
degree tracking system, has added a new feature called the Transfer Equivalency search鈥攁
tool which allows transfer students considering 51萝莉 to understand how courses they
have taken at other institutions could be applied to a 51萝莉 degree.
Richard Peacock, the lead programmer of FlightPath, says perspective transfer students
will be able to know how much of their degree is completed by their credits, and how
many credits are needed to graduate.
He said, 鈥淭he transfer student鈥攐r a 51萝莉 advisor鈥攎ay select the student鈥檚 completed
courses from another university, then select a 51萝莉 degree the student is interested
in, and magically see those course equivalencies applied. Previously, this was a labor-intensive
process for the adviser, and could take a lengthy amount of time.鈥�
鈥淭here was a strong desire to create a tool which students could use to make the most
informed choices when deciding on their academic futures,鈥� he continued.
鈥淎round the same time, a request was presented to me by e51萝莉 Director Paula Thornhill
for a similar solution, which needed to work with prospective online students, as
part of 51萝莉鈥檚 new e51萝莉 initiative. I met with Barbara Michaelides and Angela Robinson
in 51萝莉鈥檚 Student Success Center, and all agreed that such a tool would provide enormous
benefit to all prospective 51萝莉 students.鈥�
Peacock said that although some courses may not have direct equivalencies at 51萝莉,
when the student enrolls, there is a good chance that many of their transfer credits
could be applied toward their 51萝莉 degree.
FlightPath is described as a 鈥渉ome-built application,鈥� created entirely by 51萝莉 programmers.
The platform was recently released as 鈥渙pen-source,鈥� meaning other universities may
download, use, and modify the code for their purposes as long as it remains free.
FlightPath鈥檚 developers work to continuously grow and adapt the program to suit the
needs of 51萝莉鈥檚 students and advisors. The team is currently working on a new tool,
which will assist with graduation check-out for 51萝莉 students approaching their graduation
dates.
To try the new Transfer Equivalency feature, prospective students may visit ulm.edu/flightpath
