Predictive Degree Planning
& Course Forecasting System
Role
Project Designer & Systems Support
Date
Summer 2024
Developed a dynamic Microsoft Excel advising and forecasting system to support faculty advisors and department leadership within SUNY Cortland's Childhood & Early Childhood Education programs. The system streamlined student degree planning through automated templates, dropdown selections, and validation features while consolidating advising data into department-wide enrollment forecasts.
These projections informed course scheduling decisions, helped estimate the number of course sections needed each semester, and reduced uncertainty during registration planning. The project also included user documentation, faculty training materials, and one-on-one support to encourage adoption across advisors. This approach was chosen after evaluating existing campus-supported technologies and designing a solution that balanced usability, accessibility, and institutional constraints.
Project Details
Location
SUNY Cortland, Childhood & Early Childhood Education Department
Project Type
Academic Advising & Decision Support System
Featured Course Resource (Link)
Program-Specific Degree Plan Templates
Custom-built undergraduate degree planning templates designed for ECD and ECI education majors. Each template serves as the foundation for a personalized academic roadmap while maintaining a consistent advising workflow across programs.
Dynamic Student Degree Plans
Student information, academic pathways, and course sequences are automatically populated based on advisor selections. Cohort-specific schedules reduce manual data entry while improving consistency and advising accuracy.
The same planning system was adapted for graduate programs, supporting multiple completion pathways including accelerated, full-time, and part-time options within a unified advising framework.
Graduate Program Pathway Templates
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Flexible Pathway Forecasting
Selecting different graduate pathways dynamically generates unique course sequences while preserving prerequisite requirements, advising milestones, and projected graduation timelines.
Department-Wide Planning Consolidation
Individual advisor workbooks are consolidated into a centralized planning sheet, allowing department leadership to review projected enrollment patterns and prepare for course demand analysis.
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Course Demand Forecasting Dashboard
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Aggregated course totals from the consolidation process transform individual degree plans into department-level forecasting data, helping estimate future course demand and support section planning decisions.
© 2026 Kelly McKenna. All rights reserved. [updated July 2026]
KELLY MCKENNA
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