Groups with Branches#

Most elective groups are simple lists of courses from which a student can choose.

Some requirements are more complicated. The available choices may depend on a course that the student has already selected.

FlightPath supports these situations through group branches.

When to Use Branches#

For example, suppose a Humanities requirement allows either:

• 1 ENGL course and 2 HIST courses, or
• 2 ENGL courses and 1 HIST course.

A simple list of English and History courses cannot express this relationship.

A group with branches can.

How Branches Work#

Branches are configured on the Edit Group page.

Each row represents a branch for the group.

When a student or advisor first loads the group, the available course options can be presented as a normal list.

After a course is selected, FlightPath can use the branch configuration to determine which options should be available the next time the group is loaded.

For example, selecting a particular English course can cause FlightPath to display a different set of remaining choices.

Planning a Branched Group#

Before configuring branches, write the academic requirement as a set of possible paths.

For example:

Option A:
1 ENGL + 2 HIST

Option B:
2 ENGL + 1 HIST

Then determine which course selections cause the student to move from one path to another.

This makes it easier to construct the branch configuration correctly.

Important Considerations#

Branches are an advanced feature and can become difficult to maintain when a requirement has many possible paths.

Before implementing a branched group:

1. Write down the actual academic requirement.
2. Identify every possible path through the requirement.
3. Determine what the student can select at each stage.
4. Test the group with representative student records.
5. Verify that the resulting degree plan behaves as expected.

If a requirement can be represented with a normal elective group, use the simpler configuration.

Related Topics#

• Managing Elective Groups
• Group Definitions