Sponsored by Stellic
You’re not alone right now.
Higher ed’s evolving headwinds are challenging campus teams to deliver stronger results with fewer resources. And all of it needs to happen without compromising on the student experience.
But there’s good news: some institutions are finding a way forward.
At the 110th AACRAO Annual Meeting in Seattle, registrar leaders from The Ohio State University and University of Wisconsin–Green Bay shared how they’re leveraging Stellic to simplify the student experience and stretch their teams’ impact across campus during their session “Stellic: Transforming the Student Journey with a Degree Management System.” We’re sharing their stories here not as a sales pitch—but as optimistic proof that with well-designed tools and shared momentum, it’s possible to adapt, align, and move forward.
Simplifying the Student Journey
At UW–Green Bay, the shift toward a more connected student experience began with one first-year class. After rolling out multi-term planning in Stellic, the feedback was immediate and momentum grew quickly.
“We built back audits for 2023-24, but upperclassmen were so eager that we expanded the audit build to support earlier cohorts too. This year we have everybody in for Fall registration,” said Dan Vande Yacht, Registrar at UW–Green Bay.
Now, every undergraduate registers with a plan in place that’s built in collaboration with advisors. And because registration happens in the same system, students move forward with context and clarity. The result is a more consistent student experience, and fewer workarounds for advisors and staff to support them.
Behind the scenes, the shift has helped academic and advising offices align. “We included advisors from departments in our catalog meetings—which we’ve never done before,” Vande Yacht shared. “We point out things at the catalog level before they actually get to the advisement report.”
At The Ohio State University, it didn’t take long for students to notice the change. Just weeks after their first launch, three out of four reported a positive experience with the new platform, and many called out how much clearer their path to graduation had become.
Delivering Efficiency and Breaking Down Silos
At both The Ohio State and UW–Green Bay, the ability to build and maintain degree audits without bottlenecks has set a new standard for efficiency.
OSU started by configuring some of its most complex programs, including Music. “We had team members say, ‘I’ll take a stab at Music,’” said Ryan Hunt, University Registrar. “They were able to build shells in hours that would’ve taken weeks in our previous system.”
At UW–Green Bay, where audit logic had long been dependent on one SIS expert, Stellic opened the door for more staff to contribute. “Now we’ve got multiple staff who can build and change them, and they’re finding it easier than ever,” Vande Yacht said.
That same accessibility now extends to exceptions. Stellic’s workflows let staff enter waivers or substitutions, attach documentation, and route approvals—without jumping between tools. In some cases, students can initiate requests themselves, depending on campus policy.
That’s also helping Vande Yacht’s team surface long-term patterns. “We’re starting to get a clearer sense of which courses see the most exceptions,” he shared—insight they can now act on to improve requirements upstream.
Improving Transfer Articulation Workflows
OSU is also pioneering transfer articulation from Stellic to speed up credit evaluation and give incoming students with transfer credit faster answers.
The process begins with a transcript upload, where existing rules are applied automatically. For any courses with no existing rule, the platform triggers a workflow that allows staff to review the course, build a new rule, secure faculty approval, and apply it for future cases.
OSU has imported more than 100,000 of these rules to date. Since transfer credit evaluation spans 16 colleges and thousands of complex rules, the new articulation workflow will streamline what was once a fragmented process—giving incoming students clarity on how their prior credits apply to their degree path and giving staff a scalable, trackable way to process credit evaluation and manage equivalency rules.
While OSU is still in the process, another Stellic development partner has seen transfer credit evaluations drop from one or two days to minutes.
Moving Ahead
Like many others, these two institutions are navigating the same challenging circumstances as everyone, but by working collaboratively and partnering with a team focused on removing barriers, they proved that real, noticeable progress is possible in a remarkably short time.
Curious about how this would look on your campus? Send a note to partnerships@stellic.com.