UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State has begun implementing new online degree audit and planning tools that will give students and academic advisers a clearer picture of progress toward graduation and help them plan for the future. It will be available for student use no earlier than fall 2027.
The new degree audit tool will replace the current degree audit functionality native to Penn State’s student information system, LionPATH, and will be built on the Stellic platform. Degree audits map the requirements of a degree against a student’s transcript and assist with course planning.
The University recently contracted with Stellic following an extensive request for proposal process that engaged more than 100 staff and faculty from across Penn State. Stellic has supported more than a million students across 111 countries, including large public universities in the U.S.
In addition to the degree audit tool, Penn State will implement Stellic's degree planner, which will allow students to map out course schedules for future semesters. The planner will check those plans continuously against the degree audit to help ensure students are making appropriate progress toward their degrees.
“Supporting students as they navigate their path to an academic degree — and ensuring they make meaningful progress along the way — is fundamental to our commitment to enhancing student success at Penn State,” said Senior Vice Provost Kathy Bieschke. “Tools like the new degree audit and planner empower us to proactively support students. It will enable advisers and students to more efficiently understand academic progress, thus allowing them more time to dedicate to learning and planning for future success.”
The project is led by a steering committee comprising Bob Kubat, assistant vice president for Enrollment Management and University Registrar; Jeff Adams, senior associate vice provost and senior associate dean for Undergraduate Education; and Tim Radio, interim director for the LionPATH Development and Maintenance Organization, Penn State Information Technology. Executive sponsors include Matt Melvin, vice president for Enrollment Management; Kathy Bieschke, senior vice provost and interim dean for Undergraduate Education; and Chris Lucas, deputy chief information officer, Penn State IT.
The new tools will be live and available for student use no sooner than fall 2027. The steering committee will share periodic updates with the University community. Questions can be directed to Project Manager Brendan Bagley at bjb30@psu.edu.