Graduating from college in four years, given the troubled economy and time commitments of the average college student, can seem downright daunting.

A newly launched web-based tool at Southeast Missouri State University is taking some of the accounting worry out of the higher education experience.

DegreeWorks "helps students spend less time deciphering degree requirements and more time pursuing their academic goals," according to the software's creator, SunGard Higher Education.

Southeast rolled out DegreeWorks this summer after about nine months of research, according to Sandy Hinkle, university registrar. Current and incoming students and faculty members have access to the site through Web portals. Users are able to see what degree requirements they have met in their majors and minors, courses that are in progress, and requirements still needed. The site also includes GPA, degree and adviser information. And the program has an application allowing students to answer "what if" questions, such as what would their graduation track look like if they changed majors.

DegreeWorks cost the university $227,500, including software, licensing and associated expenses. It was funded through technology fees and other funding sources, and was endorsed by student government, according to Debbie Below, Southeast's assistant vice president of enrollment management and director of admissions. Despite tough budget choices, Below said, implementing the program was a top priority.

Hinkle said DegreeWorks is superior to Southeast's old automated system, which remains in use, and far more advanced than the audit program she used in her college days.

"I had to go to the registrar's office and someone would take out a piece of paper and check off my course requirements," she said. "When we moved to the automated system it pulled it all together."

Unlike the registrar's office, DegreeWorks never closes. Students can log on and check their progress any time.

The Web tool is part of Southeast's mission to help undergraduates "Finish in 4!," to earn their degrees in four years. It's an ambitious campaign given that nationally about 60 percent of students graduate from four-year institutions within six years, according to a report released this week that suggests college dropouts cost taxpayers $9 billion in direct government subsidies between 2003 and 2008. Southeast's most recent graduation rate (students graduating within six years) was 52 percent.

That's why programs like DegreeWorks are so important, Hinkle said.

"It's critical today because with the financial situation the country as whole is in, students need to stay focused so they're not spending extra. This helps them stay on track so they can get out and join the work force and move on with their lives," she said.

mkittle@semissourian.com

388-3627