This semester, Path@Penn released a new function that allows students to organize potential courses across future semesters.
Students can access the Path Plans tool by selecting the “Primary Plan” button on the Path@Penn webpage. Distinct from the existing Degree Audit function, Path Plans is a “course planning tool, not an academic or degree planning tool," according to the College of Arts and Sciences website. It is also distinct from Penn Course Planner, a tool developed and maintained outside of Penn administration.
Path Plans allows students to create potential class schedules and validate them against their primary degree requirements. The function can also be used to create snapshots of degree plans.
Members of the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education welcomed the new function, emphasizing the importance of Path@Penn in the student experience.
“Path@Penn is a really huge part of kind of student life at Penn. It’s how we do a lot of things that are really core to being a student, like course planning, course registration, course searching, and exploring classes,” SCUE Chair External and former Daily Pennsylvanian staffer Max Annunziata said.
Annunziata and SCUE One University Project Chair Talia Smith noted that the group has regularly discussed concerns about students’ degree planning experiences and feedback, highlighting past studies conducted by SCUE after the implementation of Path@Penn in 2022.
“We do often hear that students could benefit from more support throughout the degree planning process,” Smith said. “[Path Plans] could be useful for that and work in addition to the advising process.”
They also said that these concerns were expressed in SCUE’s 2025 White Paper. The White Paper included students' feelings of “frustration” and “difficulty” with Penn’s course planning project. It also cited a Fall 2023 survey in which 69% of student respondents expressed that they felt inhibited by course requirements.
Annunziata said that the new investment in Path@Penn features is a welcomed step to improving student feelings on course planning. He added that SCUE has planned upcoming meetings with the Office of the University Registrar where the new technology and additional course planning measures will be discussed.
“We’re super excited about the way there’s been continual investment in the software, ” Annunziata said. “We’re really looking forward to meeting with [the registrar] and hearing the work they’re doing.”
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