Modernizing Degree Planning to Recognize Student Progress

For decades, Santa Monica College (SMC) has been known for building creative, student-centered solutions that put learners first. Its commitment to equity and innovation is woven into every part of the student experience, including the digital tools that guide learners on their academic journey.

Nearly ten years ago, SMC launched its own homegrown degree planning system, giving thousands of students clarity and confidence as they navigated their paths toward graduation. But as enrollment grew and the college’s equity mission deepened, leaders saw an opportunity to do even more — to build a system that could evolve alongside students’ ambitions.

Their goal was bold yet clear:

• Unify planning, advising, and scheduling into one cohesive experience.
• Empower students with personalized, transparent pathways to success.
• Recognize every credential — even those that had previously gone unseen.

VISION

“We wanted something that could match the creativity and ambition of our students and scale with where higher education is going.”

To bring that vision to life, SMC partnered with Stellic. The collaboration wasn’t about replacing what existed, it was about amplifying SMC’s mission with technology and expertise that shared the same philosophy: every student deserves clarity, opportunity, and recognition.

True to SMC’s spirit of innovation, the college approached this initiative as a co-creation, designing a modern, connected ecosystem that puts students and their goals at the center.

With Stellic’s support, SMC built a platform that does more than help students plan courses. It creates a seamless experience across the entire academic journey:

• Unified planning tools that help students visualize their pathways, build schedules tailored to their goals, and embed course articulations into degree progress.
• Streamlined workflows that allow counselors to focus on meaningful conversations rather than manual checks.
• Data-driven insights that give administrators a real-time view of student progress and program demand.

The most transformative innovation to emerge from this collaboration was the Advanced What-If module. This powerful feature scans student records at scale to reveal previously unrecognized degrees and certificates, ensuring that every accomplishment is seen and celebrated.

The results of SMC’s leadership, amplified by Stellic’s technology, have been transformative. Students now engage with their academic journeys with more clarity and confidence than ever before. Counselors enter advising sessions armed with a complete picture of each student’s progress. And administrators can make proactive, equity-minded decisions based on real-time insights.

IMPACT

“Stellic’s tools like the transfer module and the online educational planning services make sure counseling faculty have a clear understanding of what each student needs in order to effectively work toward their academic and personal goals. By prioritizing the collection of accurate information early on in student interactions, counselors can use Stellic to move beyond academic advising and dive into deeper conversations about success and engagement with each student.”

Since the launch, the college has:

• Served more than 33,000 students through its new planning ecosystem.
• Supported over 12,000 counseling sessions.
• Logged tens of thousands of planning decisions that empower students to stay on track.

Most importantly, SMC’s Advanced What-If innovation has surfaced thousands of previously unrecognized achievements, including more than 2,600 associate degrees and 2,800 certificates, bringing hidden milestones to light and giving students the recognition they deserve.

This transformation reflects SMC’s unwavering commitment to equity and student success. By pairing visionary leadership with Stellic’s technology, the college has built a foundation for lasting impact, one where recognition is more than a process, it’s a promise.