The countdown has begun—255 days until graduation, and if the rest of the senior class is anything like me, they are all keeping a close eye on what they need to graduate. I personally check my curriculum advising and program planning report on a weekly basis, sometimes paranoid that the requirements have changed and I am missing a class that is only offered in the exact opposite semester it now happens to be. Lately, though, I have been waiting for my CAPP report to be updated to reflect recent changes in the civil engineering curriculum and degree requirements.
According to the CAPP report website, the report is an advising tool for undergraduate students. Through this, students can track the progress they are making toward their bachelor’s degree, which is supposedly updated nightly to reflect any changes in student records. Why, then, have I been waiting over a semester for the report to be updated?
In the less severe case, one of my multidisciplinary electives was changed from a four- to a three-credit course of similar name, and is listed in my CAPP report under “Courses Not Applied To This Degree.” This elective was completed in compliance with the courses that are currently being offered to satisfy the requirement—clearly different from when the degree outlines were last updated—yet it is reporting that this course does not apply and a certain requirement has not been met. Although this is a slightly frustrating situation, it pales in comparison to the other CAPP blunder civil majors are facing.
In an e-mail supposedly sent in February 2008 to all civil students—which yours truly mysteriously did not receive—the department announced to students that one of the required four-credit core civil courses was no longer being offered, even though it was still listed in the catalog as a requirement for the fall term of senior year. Instead, students were instructed to take an additional concentration course, which are all only worth three credits, so again we were having to figure out how to make up that additional credit in order to still receive the mandatory 128. To make matters worse, some of the courses that were suggested as alternatives to the previous requirement are not even being offered in the spring semester, which means fewer choices for students who are trying to make sure they have enough credits to graduate in May.
Although I have been keeping track of my graduation requirements, it still makes me nervous that the CAPP report is not in sync with what the department and registrar are looking for before a degree is issued. In an attempt to remedy this, I visited the civil engineering department office, where I was told that this was an issue to take up with the registrar’s office. When I then visited the registrar to discuss this, I was told that while they are aware of the curriculum changes, the CAPP reports cannot be officially updated until certain paperwork is filed by the civil department—and unfortunately, the main contact on this matter has recently left RPI and no one has assumed the responsibility.
There is no doubt that the offices on this campus are extremely busy, but what could be more important than ensuring students are up-to-date with their degree requirements? I am hoping that with enough nudging of the right people, somebody will step up and take care of this issue before it is too late and some students find themselves unable to graduate on time. In the meantime, I can only hope that I am not unknowingly falling victim to the infamous ’Tute screw.
