Newsgroups: bit.listserv.cumrec-l
Date:         Sat, 12 Sep 1992 14:55:39 EDT
From:         Jack Southard <SOUTHARD@MIAMIU.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: Degree Audit Software

Hey - it Saturday afternoon so why not see what DARS can do with Jeff's
problems - Read on within text below.
                                       Jack Southard

On Wed, 9 Sep 1992 08:30:07 EDT Jeffrey R Kell said:
>On Tue, 8 Sep 1992 16:34:11 EDT Jack Southard said:
>>In 1983 when we started to develop the original Miami University degree audit
>>system - we didn't know where that would take us.  But 101 schools later (and
>>many many many enhancements) I believe we found that our original design model
>>did have enough flexibility for DARS to process some of the most complex
>>requirements found in the US or Canada.
>
>OK, decide for yourself.  This is a subset of our BA Psychology requirements
>in effect from (at least) 1979 until 1988:
>
DARS - first lets just treat these as two DARS requirements.  (Each program is
       made up of a list of requirement names which refer to the "actual"
       requirements.)

      BA Psychology program

      RNAME       GRP
      _________   _ _
      _________   _ _       some other requirement names
      _________   _ _
      BA-PSY-1    M _       the two
      BA-PSY-2    M _              in question
      ________    _ _
      ________    _ _       some more requirement names
      ________    _ _

                  The 'M's tell DARS that a course may be used only once
                  within these two requirements.  The 'M' is arbitrary
                  and other requirements can be in other groups.  The second
                  column permits one level of overlapping groups.

                  Now lets go to the two requirement definitions, see below.

>     One course from two of the following:
>     1)  Psychology 311, 312, 314
>     2)  Psychology 308, 331, 448
>     3)  Psychology 406, 407, 484

DARS - BA-PSY-1 requirement.
       At the requirement summary (total) level we need to code:

       REQSRQ=2    which means of all the sub-requirements associated with
                   this requirement, any two must be satisfied.  You might have
                   the text associated with the read:
      "TAKE ONE COURSE EACH FROM TWO OF THE FOLLOWING THREE GROUPS"

       The three sub-requirements would the be coded:

       01 T what ever you want to say - or nothing
       01 C REQCT=1
       01 A PSYCH 311     PSYCH 312      PSYCH 314
       02 T text or no text
       02 C REQCT=1
       02 A PSYCH 308     PSYCH 331      PSYCH 448
       03 T text or no text
       03 C REQCT=1
       03 A PSYCH 406     PSYCH 407      PSYCH 484

       Any one sub-requirement will be satisfied when one of its three courses
       is taken.  Although each set of courses is different if Jeff's example,
       if a course appeared in more than one set, DARS would move it to a lower
       level sub-requirement (01->02->03) if an excess existed in a higher set.

DARS - BA-PSY-2 requirement.
       At the requirement summary level we need to code:

       REQSRQ=1  which means that only one of the sub-requirements needs to be
       satisfied within this requirement.  The text might read: "TAKE ONE OF
       THE FOLLOWING TWO COURSE SETS"

>     Both courses from one of the following:
>     1)  Psychology 331, 431
>     2)  Psychology 448, 410
>     3)  Psychology 221, 421
>     4)  Psychology 311, 411
>
      01 T Text or not
      01 C REQCT=2
      01 A PSYCH 331     PSY 431
      02 T
      02 C    like 01
      02 A
      03 ...   ditto
      04 ...   ditto

>     The same course may not be used to fulfill two different requirements.
>
>Note that 311, 331, and 448 appear in both sections, and the qualification
>that the course can only apply to one requirement almost puts this example
>in the realm of non-deterministic theory (it was solved by permutating the
>completed credits and weighing each arrangement).
>
DARS - the above example will only use a course once (refer to the GRP value
       of 'M' on the program definition level.)  DARS will find all places
       a course could be used and then "adjust" courses in an attempt to
       complete as many requirements as it can.

       The above example used coding available with the first release of
       DARS in 1985.  More current version would allow one requirement which
       could look on the student's report like this:

       BA psychology requirement
       -----> NEEDS  2 COMPONENTS

       -  Take one course each from two of these three groups
          SELECT FROM: PSYCH 311 OR 312 OR 314, 308 OR 331 OR 448,
                       PSYCH 406 OR 407 OR 484

       -  Complete one of these four groups of two courses
          SELECT FROM: PSYCH 331 & 431, 448 & 410, 221 & 421, 311 & 411

>Other examples would include certain majors we have which do not have a
>clearly-defined concentration -- you must infer the concentration from the
>coursework they have taken.  The best example here is Music, where they must
>have a specified number of hours ensemble and recital participation with a
>given instrument, and different instruments have different course numbers.
>
DARS - Within the past few years (since release 4.1) DARS has been able to
       determine in what areas (pre-defined or auto-defined based on
       course coding) a student has taken the most (next most, next next most,
       etc.) courses and use that information to activate other requirement
       components based on that determination and thus determine whether a
       student is meeting the requirements of their concentration.  (Although
       in the example of inferring a concentration, we frankly urge clients
       to capture the concentration within a major since not knowing it is
       usually a limitation of the data base design rather than the fact a
       student doesn't know what concentration he/she is persuing.  We always
       encourage academic program audits to be contructed to test only for
       what the requirements are of the program the student is in.)



>Let me clarify my position somewhat; I'm not saying there isn't a package
>available that will do the job, but rather that I don't think there is one
>which will do 100% of possible cases (we can't even do that manually, else
>why is there a petitions committee?).  With packaged software you are limited
>to the (supposedly) finite set of options it offers; with the "coded program
>exit" approach you at least have the possibility of attacking most any new
>scenario without having to wait for your vendor to address your needs.
>
DARS - Also to clairfy my position.  While I would not want to say the DARS,
       for example, is capable of evaluating 100% of all academic programs
       out there,  there is significant risk when one starts out to design
       their own degree audit system that they will:

       1. Underestimate the true and ongoing nature of their own task (Jeff
          and I would agree on that, I believe.)

       2. Believe that the complexity and uniqueness of their own institution
          precludes anyone else having thought of general ways to solve degree
          auditing problems (Jeff and I seem to part company here.)  - thereby
          fail to discover that general, off-the-shelf, solutions may exist.
          [To the best of my knowledge our clients have not had to modify the
          logic of DARS in order to meet their degree program evaluation needs]


       We try to address the later risk through our own Computerized Degree
       Audit workshops.

       Well - that's enough for this Saturday.   Jack Southard


><Jeff>
>******************************
>* Peer's Law:  The solution to a problem changes the nature
>*              of the problem.
>******************************
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>| Jeffrey R Kell, Dir Tech Services | Admin Postmaster/Listserv co-ord. |
>| Admin Computing, 117 Hunter Hall  | Bitnet:  JEFF@UTCVM.BITNET        |
>| Univ of Tennessee at Chattanooga  | Internet: jeff@utcvm.utc.edu      |
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