Ohio State is replacing its current degree audit system with the “Buckeye Degree Planner.” Credit: Daniel Bush | Campus Photo Editor
Ohio State is replacing its legacy degree audit system with the new “Buckeye Degree Planner,” a tool that gives students and advisors a smoother way to plan courses and track progress.
University Registrar Ryan Hunt said that the new planner is far more digitally accessible than the previous system.
“Ideally, I think it will open up more time for students and advisors to work together and not have to work through old technology,” Hunt said.
This year, Ohio State began rolling out the new degree planner by group. The full implementation is expected to be complete by 2026, according to the university registrar website.
The Buckeye Degree Planner has many new features, such as a meter bar that shows the completion of a degree requirement and a planning feature that lets students create possible class schedules for future semesters, tracking the progress up to four years in advance, Amy Treboni, director of undergraduate advising, said.
“The opportunity to use one tool and plan out your entire time at Ohio State is really valuable,” Treboni said.
Students can add notes to their planner, and advisors can also use this feature to remind students of tasks they need to complete, Treboni said.
The new system better accommodates possible scenarios and helps students explore different options for majors and minors, Treboni said.
“This helps students really see where they’re making progress and understand what they need to do to finish up the degree,” Treboni said.
The university decided to replace the system because its vendor no longer supports this version, Hunt said.
“That’s one of the reasons that we’re moving to the Buckeye degree planner, which will provide students a much better user interface, much more modern,” Hunt said. “Also providing our faculty and staff, especially academic advisors, a much cleaner tool.”
Hunt said that rolling out a new service to the campus can be challenging, but the new planner is far more tech-friendly and easier for students and academic advisors to use.
“Any kind of change is difficult on a campus, and so we’re really making sure we get by,” Hunt said. “But it’s been overwhelmingly successful as we’ve moved forward with it.”
To see more about the new Buckeye Degree Planner, visit the university registrar website.
