Academic Advising & Degree Planning Platform

A secure, modular academic advising software and degree planning platform designed for universities to streamline student progress tracking, course scheduling software, and ERP operations with real-time insights and role-based access.

Ed-Tech
Angular
Web Application
project information

Project Overview

This enterprise-grade system was developed for Grand Canyon University (GCU), the world’s largest Christian university, to modernize and digitize student advising and academic record management. Built as a centralized academic advising software, it also serves as a powerful academic advising scheduling software and degree planning tool, streamlining student progress tracking, course registration, and counselor workflows. The platform empowers academic staff with real-time data, intuitive scheduling, and automated workflows, ensuring better engagement and timely interventions. With secure, role-based access across departments, it enhances operational agility while supporting the university’s growing ERP ecosystem with scalable, modular infrastructure.

Barriers to Academic Efficiency in Legacy University Systems

Barriers to Academic Efficiency in Legacy University Systems
Monolithic Architecture Bottlenecks

Monolithic Architecture Bottlenecks

The outdated hybrid AngularJS + Angular 5 system demanded full-suite builds for minor updates, slowing innovation, complicating testing, and preventing modular deployment of academic features or UI enhancements.

Tightly Coupled Systems

Tightly Coupled Systems

Interconnected core modules like DPA, SIS, and Scholarships blocked independent development, making it difficult to test or release updates without affecting the entire system and causing cross-module delays.

Slow Deployment & QA Overhead

Slow Deployment & QA Overhead

Every update triggered a complete Maven build and full Tomcat deployment. QA cycles were inefficient, requiring time-consuming regression and load tests, even for the smallest changes or patches

Inconsistent Security & Access

Inconsistent Security & Access

SSO and VPN integrations weren’t uniformly implemented, leading to authentication gaps and inconsistent role-based access across departments—risking compliance and limiting secure, centralized academic data control

Fragmented UI/UX & Technical Debt

Fragmented UI/UX & Technical Debt

Inconsistent styling and redundant UI components across modules led to poor user experience, higher development overhead, and ongoing maintenance issues due to accumulated front-end technical debt.

Modernizing Academic Systems Through Scalable Architecture

Modernizing Academic Systems Through Scalable Architecture

Explore how a modular, secure, and performance-optimized architecture revolutionized academic advising, enabling faster deployments, enhanced UX, and seamless role-based access for university staff and counselors.

Micro-Frontend Architecture (Single-SPA)

Micro-Frontend Architecture (Single-SPA)

Replaced the legacy monolith with independently deployable micro-apps like DPA-UI and Scholarship-UI, allowing agile development, team autonomy, and faster, targeted updates across the academic software platform.

Performance Optimization

Performance Optimization

Integrated lazy loading, modular routing, and Maven-compatible Angular builds to improve system speed, reduce load times, and ensure high performance even during peak academic registration cycles.

Middleware for Smart Redirection

Middleware for Smart Redirection

 Built custom middleware to manage role-specific access control, ensuring streamlined user journeys, intuitive navigation, and tailored experiences for counselors, staff, and administrative users.

Componentized UI Development

Componentized UI Development

 Developed Angular 14-based UI components using Material and Bootstrap libraries, all unified through a centralized Layout-UI shell to ensure visual consistency and faster UI updates across all modules.

SSO & VPN Integration

SSO & VPN Integration

Implemented centralized Java-based SSO filters and enforced GlobalProtect VPN access, delivering secure authentication and ensuring only authorized users access academic data across university ERP systems.

Core Features That Empower Academic Advising & Planning

Core Features That Empower Academic Advising & Planning
Degree Progress Tracking

Degree Progress Tracking

Real-time credit updates and visual indicators help track major/minor completion and transfer credits—giving counselors and students a clear snapshot of academic standing and graduation readiness.

Course Registration & Management

Course Registration & Management

Supports flexible course actions like register, drop, or transfer, with built-in eligibility checks and scheduling conflict alerts to reduce errors and streamline the enrollment process.

Drag & Drop Scheduling

Drag & Drop Scheduling

Enables users to rearrange academic plans across semesters using a drag-and-drop interface—boosting flexibility and ease of use in academic scheduling for staff and students alike.

Custom Filtering & Search

Custom Filtering & Search

Advanced filters for departments, credit types, prerequisites, and more allow quick access to relevant course or student data—improving advisor efficiency and reducing lookup time.

Role-Based Access & Navigation

Role-Based Access & Navigation

User roles like counselor or admin see only relevant features through dynamic menus and permissions, reducing clutter while enhancing user experience and data access control.

Single Sign-On Integration

Single Sign-On Integration

Seamless access through centralized SSO login ensures secure, compliant, and user-friendly authentication across all academic systems and services within the university's digital ecosystem.

Visual Dashboards & Reporting

Visual Dashboards & Reporting

Integrated ngx-charts deliver actionable insights on student progress and counselor activity—empowering data-driven academic advising and better institutional decision-making.

VPN-Based Secure Access

VPN-Based Secure Access

Only authorized users connected via GlobalProtect VPN can access the system—ensuring secure, compliant data handling in alignment with higher education ERP security policies.

Modular Micro-Frontend Design

Decoupled module architecture allows independent development and updates, reducing deployment risk and supporting a more agile, scalable ERP environment for university operations.

Tech Implementation

Tech Implementation
Bootstrap

Bootstrap

Material UI (MUI)

Material UI (MUI)

Maven + Tomcat Deployment

Maven + Tomcat Deployment

Single-SPA

Single-SPA

SSO via Java Filters

SSO via Java Filters

Proven Business Impact of Smarter Academic Software

Proven Business Impact of Smarter Academic Software

40% Reduction in Deployment Time

 The micro-frontend architecture allowed teams to deploy features independently, significantly cutting deployment cycles and accelerating time-to-market for updates across academic modules.

60% Drop in QA Regression Load

Counselors and staff experienced smoother workflows, intuitive interfaces, and easier student progress tracking, leading to higher productivity and more meaningful academic interactions.

35% Boost in Staff Satisfaction

Counselors and staff experienced smoother workflows, intuitive interfaces, and easier student progress tracking, leading to higher productivity and more meaningful academic interactions.

100% Role-Based Secure Access

 Enforcing SSO and VPN across the platform ensured complete compliance with internal university protocols and FERPA standards—eliminating access gaps and enhancing data protection.

75% More Agile Development

Module ownership by independent teams enabled faster releases, clearer accountability, and continuous delivery—turning a slow-moving system into a truly agile academic software environment.

Smarter Planning, Better Outcomes

 With visual dashboards and real-time data, academic advisors made faster, more informed decisions—empowering strategic planning and improving outcomes for both students and staff.

65% Reduction in Code Redundancy

 The adoption of shared UI libraries and modular design eliminated duplicated code, reduced maintenance overhead, and significantly lowered the system’s long-term technical debt.

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Transform Your Campus with Smarter Academic Advising Software

 Streamline advising, boost academic outcomes, and scale effortlessly with our modular, secure degree planning and scheduling platform. Explore a custom solution today.

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