Educational Planning Resources

Six Steps to Create Your Educational Plan

An educational plan will help you map out your path to graduation in a quarter-by-quarter template. Drafting this plan will help you make and meet educational goals, discern academic direction and register for classes. As part of the process, you will review your remaining degree requirements, determine if there are other courses outside of your major you would like to incorporate, and consider the order of your courses.

You can create an Educational Plan online in MySeattleU Student Planning or in your own Educational Plan document. We also recommend you watch this video tutorial on how to plan and schedule your courses through MySeattleU Student Planning, as it will help you prepare your educational plan and register for courses.

1. Review Your Program Evaluation

Your program evaluation is updated in real-time and provides you with a full list of requirements needed to complete your degree, including university, college, and major requirements. This will also include any transfer credits and AP/IB credits if you've sent them to SU.

To review your Program Evaluation, log into MySeattleU, go to Student Planning, and click on "Program Evaluation."

2. Look Up Required Course Info

As you go through your Program Evaluation, click on the courses that are not completed or started yet. This will take you to the course information and description. Be sure to note when the course is typically offered (e.g. Fall every year) and any requirements or "requisites" needed before you can take the course (e.g. UCOR 1100 - Must be completed prior to this course).

3. Add Required Courses to Your Plan

Based on the terms the course is offered and the pre-requisites needed, add the required courses to your plan by clicking the "Add Course to Plan" button and then selecting the term in which you plan to take it (e.g. Fall Quarter 2022). This will add the course to your "Timeline," which is located in the Student Planning section, under Plan & Schedule.

If you're using the Educational Plan document, type in the courses you've already taken (including transfer and AP/IB credits) and the required courses you haven't taken yet into the spreadsheet. Be sure to include the number of credits for each course. The spreadsheet will automatically total your credits in this plan.

4. Check Total Credits in Your Plan

Once you've added all required courses to your plan, check to make sure they add up to the minimum number of credits needed for your degree. Most degrees require 180 credits to graduate, but a few degrees require a different amount of credits. 

At the top of your Program Evaluation, check the total number of credits required for your degree. The credit progress bar at top right will also show how many credits you've completed (green) and how many you've planned (light brown). The blank area in the progress bar shows how many credits your plan still needs to reach the required total to graduate. If you're using the Educational Plan document, check the total number of credits at the top right of the spreadsheet to see if it matches the total required for your degree.

You can also subtract the number of credits in your plan from the total needed to graduate. For example, if you need 180 credits to graduate and subtract 145 credits of required courses, that equals 35 more credits that you need in your plan. These other courses are commonly referred to as "general electives."

5. Add Other Courses If Needed

Most majors in the Arts & Sciences need credits in other courses or "general electives" in order to complete their degree. General electives allow you to take courses in other subjects that you've always wanted to try out, additional courses in your major subject, courses that could earn you a minor in another subject, or study abroad courses in a variety of subjects. 

To add general electives to your plan, you can either type "general elective" in the Search For Classes feature on MySeattleU and then click the "Add Course to Plan" button, or you can search for courses in specific subjects and add those to your plan.

6. Review With Your Advisor

Lastly, be sure to share your educational plan with your academic advisor so you both can review and discuss it together. Your advisor can also provide helpful feedback on any departmental or curricular changes and when it's best to take a course. Educational plans will change depending on your goals, course availability, and other factors, but this will provide you both with a reference any time you meet for advising appointments or have any registration or other questions.

To share your plan with your advisor in MySeattleU, go to Student Planning and then Plan & Schedule. Click on the "Enable Registration" tab and the "Submit Plan to Advisor" button. Your advisor will receive a notification and can check your plan online. If you've completed your own Educational Plan document, you can simply email this plan to your advisor for review.

If you'd like to meet with an ASAC advisor to begin your educational plan, go to Meet with an Advisor to schedule an appointment.

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