Advising Tools/Guides

DegreeWorks is an advising tool, an unofficial "road map," to keep students informed of their required and optional coursework and other degree requirements. The audit is automatically updated each semester, showing courses completed, grades earned, GPA, holds, and other useful information. While DegreeWorks is not official for graduation purposes, it is generally useful for showing what classes a student has left to take but not the order in which they should take those classes. It is color-coded, making it easy to read and helpful at-a-glance.

On the side toolbar, there is a What If option that can be helpful for seeing what classes a student needs if they are thinking about switching majors.

Questions about a course placement? Or why a course is not counting where it should? Contact Sherri Beideck in the Registrar’s Office.

The Navigate platform combines predictive analytics and communication tools for academic advising and tutoring. On the advising side, advisors have the ability to organize, track, and message all of their assigned students as well as to create academic plans for each of them semester by semester until graduation.

Navigate compliments DegreeWorks and also pulls data from Banner, and it is updated nightly.
Login for Faculty/Staff of Navigate

Need more help with Navigate? View our Navigate How-To Tutorials.

Online Advising is an tool that summarizes a student’s profile and lists their test scores, high school deficiencies, current schedule, holds, FERPA information, GPA, total credit hours, etc.

Faculty can access this through their SCORE account.

When advising students, be aware of important dates and deadlines. The specific dates for the current semester can be found online by checking the official academic calendar. Listed below are some deadlines to become familiar with on the academic calendar:

• Tuition deadlines – can be found on a student’s schedule/bill or are also posted by the Business office.
• Course registration deadlines, such as the first day to register for classes for an upcoming semester, the last day to drop a course, or the last day to withdraw from a course.
• Graduation date
• Holidays, breaks, when campus will be closed, etc.
• When grades are due/will be posted

The important dates for the different course session types are also posted by the Registrar’s office.

Orientation dates are posted on the Orientation website, and advisors can sign up for a session by visiting the link listed on this webpage under the Sign Up section.

If a student has completed an Advanced Placement exam, they may be exempt from taking a corresponding course(s) or granted college credit for their degree here at GHC.

If a student does not see their AP credit reflecting in DegreeWorks, verify that they had their AP scores sent from CollegeBoard.

The following chart lists the AP test scores recognized by GHC:
View AP Test Scores

The College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) enables students the opportunity to take exams in order to obtain college level credit. Before a student registers for a CLEP exam, it is recommended they speak to their advisor to determine how credit(s) apply to their specific pathway.

The following chart lists the CLEP subject exams recognized by GHC:
View CLEP Test Scores

Students may have a hold on their account and may not be familiar with how to resolve it. The handout below lists all the most common holds and how to resolve the hold, if they are able to -- they may have to contact a specific department for assistance.
View Registration Hold Reference

Students may ask about the differences between synchronous and asynchronous in order to make an ideal schedule.

This can be confusing, so we created this handout to show the breakdown of the similarities, differences, what's required, etc.
View Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Handout

Beginning Fall 2020, STAT 1401 can be used in Area A for the pathways listed below. All pathways below can use MATH 1001, 1111, and STAT 1401 for Area A, but there are some pathways with the strong recommendation of taking STAT 1401 for Area A.

Students who take STAT 1401 for their Area A Math can then take STAT 2401 (Intermediate Statistics) for their Area D Math. They can also choose to go back and take MATH 1001 or 1111, and then use STAT 1401 for their Area D Math.
View Area A Math Recommendations Handout

All faculty and staff with access to student records are responsible for upholding student privacy rights in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). FERPA, also known as the Buckley Amendment, helps protect the privacy of student records. The Act provides for the right to seek to amend those records and to limit disclosure of information from the records. The Act applies to all institutions that are recipients of federal funding.

Learn more information about this through the Registrar’s office.

When a student would like to change their pathway/major, they need to complete the online Petition to Change Pathway form. Make sure to explain to the student that there is processing time to officially change their pathway, so until then, they can utilize the What If function in DegreeWorks and/or use the program pathway checklists.

This can also be found in the student portal under Advising Resources under Change Major/Minor.
Registrar Forms

Advising holds should be removed after students have satisfied the required meeting with their assigned advisor, which then allows the student to register for the next semester.
How to Release Advising Holds

Concentrations are required to declare within specific pathways, and minors are optional courses to add that fit within a bachelor's degree program.

The concentration requirements are listed within a pathway checklist, and the minor requirements are a separate checklist found under each bachelor's degree that allows minors. These checklists can be found on our Advising Program Checklists website. Also, refer to the Concentrations & Minors Handout to learn more about each requirement and what is currently offered.

Core IMPACTS is a rebrand of the USG core curriculum to ensure that students acquire essential knowledge in foundational academic areas and develop career-ready competencies.

Learn more on the Core IMPACTS website.

Each student who plans to graduate from GHC must complete the Graduation Application Form at least one semester prior to the term of degree completion.

The student will be sent an evaluation of their course credits and advised of any requirements needed to graduate within 2 to 4 weeks after submission of the application. During peak time, this may be longer. Be sure to make sure the student’s address on file is still correct. More information about graduation, such as commencement and reverse transfer, can be found on the Registrar's website.

After the add/drop period, a student can no longer drop a course but can withdraw from it and will receive a “W” for the course as long as it happens before a withdrawal deadline. Be sure to check specific deadlines posted by the Registrar’s office.

A "W" does not affect the student's academic GPA, but it does affect their financial aid and satisfactory academic progress (SAP) if they receive financial aid. Before a student decides to withdraw, we always recommend that the student contacts financial aid and ask about how this may affect them.
Steps to Withdraw

If a student has missed a withdrawal deadline but is interested in withdrawing due to a hardship situation - such as a personal injury or illness; family injury, illness or death; or an employer-initiated job change – they have the option to submit a hardship withdrawal.

Hardship withdrawals must be filed by the end of the academic semester immediately following the academic semester for which hardship status is sought.
Hardship Withdrawal Instructions

You may work with a student with learning support requirements. We recommend using this handout below to help these students determine which learning support classes they may need. Please reach out to the Learning Support Coordinator with further questions.
Learning Support – How to Register

Curriculum substitution is a form completed when a student would like to request that a course count towards their degree requirements. The form requires a signature from the student, their advisor, division chair/dean, and the registrar. If the course was taken at a college/university other than Georgia Highlands College, then the course description from the college/university catalog must be attached.

This can be a lengthy process due to all the required approvals.
Registrar Forms

When advising students, some of their decisions may be based on financial aid eligibility and policies. We always encourage students to reach out to the financial aid department directly (email: finaid@highlands.edu) before making a final decision, but it is helpful to know basic tips and tricks. View the video below to learn more.

Students may want to see what the requirements are for a different major and possibly see how their previous credits would apply. They can see that by using the What-If feature in DegreeWorks. Use the video tutorial below to send to students to help walk them through how to use that feature and begin planning.

This guide is what faculty advisors use to reference when they are working one-on-one with students at orientation. It contains tips and tricks for each pathway compiled from faculty experts in that particular field.
View the Major Exploration Faculty Guide

When advising a Business student, it is vital to discuss their plans after earning their associate’s degree at GHC because most transfer colleges/universities have specific course requirements for their Business school. Below is a guide of those requirements for the most popular transfer colleges/universities our students are transferring to.
Business Transfer Guide

View the video below for more in-depth information about advising Business pathways:
Video Tutorial: Business Pathway

In conversations with students interested in a computer related field, students find it helpful to see all the differences, specific pathways, skills/backgrounds, and specific careers.
Computer Pathways Guide

GHC offers both an associate’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. The bachelor’s degree program is through eMajor. View the video below for an overview:
Video Tutorial: Criminal Justice Pathway

Dental Hygiene and Nursing are career programs that require students to apply for admission after completion of their general academic core requirements. Each program also has other specific requirements, such as becoming CNA certified, having shadowing hours for Dental Hygiene, TEAS scores, etc. View the video below for an overview of both programs and how to advise:
Video Tutorial: Dental Hygiene & Nursing

GHC offers four different types of Education associate’s degree pathways: Early Childhood Education, Middle Grades Education (STEM & NON-STEM), Special Education, and Physical Education. View the video below for an overview of all the programs and how to advise:
Video Tutorial: Education Pathways

Film Studies is more traditional and articulates in other University System Schools if you plan to pursue your bachelor’s degree. It is fully administered in-house by GHC Faculty.

Film Production is geared toward hands-on on-set type experience designed to get you working in the film industry upon completion. You can choose Production or Post-production tracks within this pathway.

The Film portion Production and Post-Production pathway is administered by the Georgia Film Academy. Meaning your 18 hours of Film Course work would be taught by the GFA. They have a teaching site at Trilith Studio just south of Atlanta and at OFS Studios just north of Atlanta. Typically, GFA courses require two trips a month to the teaching campus, and the others are administered remotely.

The Core portion of the Production Pathway is taught as regular GHC courses.

Only the Post-Production course incur the $100 fee that cover the external Hard Drive.

GHC partners with the Georgia FinTech Academy to offer two degree options: an Associate’s degree in Financial Technology and a Nexus degree in Supply Chain Management in Financial Technology. Learn more about the different degree programs and how to advise a student by viewing the handout below:
FinTech Pathways Guide

Students who are unsure of their pathway or who are planning to transfer to another college/university in a pathway we do not offer are typically categorized as a General Studies pathway. View the video below for the best approach in advising these types of students:
Video Tutorial: General Studies Pathway

Learn more about the fully online Bachelor of Health Science program and how to advise students based on their goals after GHC.
Video Tutorial: Health Professions/Health Science

GHC offers an associate’s degree in Psychology with a broad liberal arts background based on an academic perspective. View the video below for an overview of the program and how to advise:
Video Tutorial: Psychology