Northwestern students interested in a chemistry-theatre double major, or any other strange combination, no longer have to struggle to figure out if it’s possible, thanks to CAESAR’s newest addition.
The “what-if” function, added to CAESAR during Winter Break, allows students to check their academic progress on new or different majors. It also includes a summary of distribution credits, minor classes and language requirements.
The new function can be accessed by clicking “For Students” and then “Academic Summary” within the CAESAR program. The addition builds on the current degree-audit option, which tracks students’ progress in already-declared majors. NU’s Office of the Registrar has been developing the project since Fall Quarter 2001.
“(The what-if feature) has been a part of the plan from the beginning,” University Registrar Suzanne Anderson said. “Our purpose is to empower students and teachers to transact their business, and we want to make the information as up-to-date as possible.”
Academically adventurous students said the addition could help make their lives easier.
“It’s most useful for people who are trying to get multiple degrees,” said Dan Cogswell, a McCormick junior. “Usually, I go around and talk to advisers and professors to figure out what classes will count and which classes I still need to take. It’s nice to know what is actually on the degree audit.”
Some students who tried the feature said the technology was slightly confusing to navigate.
“At the end, I wasn’t really sure if I added another major or not,” said Abigail Bains, a Medill sophomore. “But I can see how it would help.”
Although a new profile for the student user is created, the what-if function does not sign the student up for a new major. Students must go through the departments themselves to be registered for specific majors.
Students logging on to try the program might not receive automatic results on their query, depending on the number of other students simultaneously accessing the program. Results can also take a while to process because the program creates a unique progress report for each user within the Registrar’s database.
The what-if feature resulted from a collaboration of the Registrar’s Office, Information Technology, Associated Student Government and the specific schools.
“We take feedback and advice from ASG,” said Anderson, who said she received support for the program from an ASG subcommittee and a bill.
Specific schools contributed necessary information to create both the degree-audit program and the what-if function.
“Deans asked me what was possible,” Anderson said. “They wrote letters of support, and NUIT made it available on the Web.”
The Registrar is planning to update its software from PeopleSoft, the program that made the what-if and degree-audit features available. Anderson said newer innovations could be possible after the upgrades.
