Exceptions help advisors assist students with degree planning by allowing modifications to audit requirements. Stellic lets advisors create exceptions with just a few clicks. Each exception applies to one student only and won't affect other students' audits.
Prerequisites
You need exceptions permissions to make exceptions on a student's plan. Your program administrator sets up these permissions. Contact them if you need adjustments.
Important: You must provide a justification for any exception before saving.
Creating an Exception
Stellic allows you to create exceptions at four different levels:
Credential level - Affects the entire credential
Requirement category level - Affects entire requirement categories
Individual requirement level - Affects specific requirements within categories
Course level - Affects specific courses within requirements
To create an exception:
Click the three dots next to the credential, requirement category, individual requirement, or course
Select Request an Exception
Choose the Exception type, if applicable
Choose course, if applicable
Enter your exception Justification which will be sent for review
Click Submit
A screenshot of a credential level exception
Credential-Level Exceptions
You can now create exceptions at the credential level to handle special student circumstances that affect their entire credential. This powerful feature addresses situations that impact multiple requirements across the student's program.
Available Credential-Level Exception Types
Modify or Waive Constraints
Use this exception to waive or change constraints at the credential level for that student. This affects how the entire credential is evaluated and can override broad program requirements.
Exclude Courses
Use this exception to exclude courses from counting anywhere in the credential for that student. The excluded courses won't fulfill any requirements within that credential, providing comprehensive control over course applicability.
Course-Level Exception Options
Waive this Requirement
This option removes the requirement entirely. The student won't need to satisfy it at all. If the category contains sub-categories, the system waives them as well.
Tip: When you waive a requirement, no specific course appears in the audit under this requirement. If the audit includes a unit total constraint, consider modifying that constraint since no units count under a waived requirement.
Substitution
This allows a different course to satisfy the requirement. The system adds the substituted course to the list of eligible courses (for this student only). The substitution takes priority, but the original courses can still count for the requirement.
Important: If contradicting constraints exist, a course may not count even with this exception. For example, if the category requires "Only courses with grade C or better," substituting a course with a D grade won't fulfill the requirement.
Use the search box to select the course to substitute.
Note for "fulfill all" categories: Making a substitution directly on a "fulfill all" category adds the substituted course to the required courses list instead of replacing one. To properly substitute one course for another in a "fulfill all" requirement, make the exception directly on one of the listed courses.
Waive or Modify Requirement Constraint
This changes the constraints for the category (not available at the course level). You can change a primary constraint or modify/remove a secondary constraint.
Exclude Courses
This prevents selected courses from counting toward the requirement. Even if the courses would typically meet the requirement's constraints, the system won't allow them to fulfill the requirement.
Move Excess Credits
This splits a course into multiple pieces so it can count for more than one requirement simultaneously. You must initiate the exception on the parent requirement (the category where the course currently counts) and select which requirement receives the moved credits and how many credits to move.
Important notes about moving excess credits:
A split course only counts as multiple requirements within that specific audit. Other audits (universal requirements, additional programs, etc.) show the course as a single course.
Add the "Move excess credits" exception only to the immediate parent category where the course currently counts.
You cannot move the entire course. You can move 0 credits or all credits, but the move excess credits option always leaves some remnant in the initial requirement, even if it's 0 credits. To move the entire course out of the requirement, use the "substitution" exception or prioritize it to another section.
To split one course into multiple requirements, complete all splits within the same action:
Select the course and specify how many credits to move
Add another course entry, select the same course, and specify additional credits to move
Course-Level vs. Requirement-Level Exceptions
Exercise caution when making exceptions on courses instead of requirements.
A requirement needs to be taken only once, but a course may appear multiple times across a student's audit(s) depending on their programs and requirements. Making exceptions on category requirements is the safest approach.
Making Exceptions on Required Courses
When you need to make an exception on a required course within a "fulfill all" requirement, click the three-dot menu next to the course title (not the requirement title). When making course-level exceptions, you must choose whether to apply the exception to:
Option 1: All Places the Course Appears as a Requirement (Default)
The system checks this box by default. If the course is required for both the student's major and minor, the exception applies to both audits.
Option 2: Only One Instance of the Course Requirement
Uncheck the box to apply the exception only to the specific requirement where you're making the exception. The course remains unchanged in other requirements.
Additional Exception Types
At the requirement category level, you have additional options:
Manually Pick Courses
This lets you choose which courses fulfill the requirement, even if they don't meet the requirement constraints. For example, a course with a C grade can count even if the constraint requires B or higher.
When you manually pick a course, it becomes the only course that can fill the constraint. You gain total control over the requirement and manually choose all classes that fulfill it.
Some useful tips:
You can pick multiple courses to manually satisfy a requirement, even if one course would have originally satisfied the constraints.
Manually pick overrides all rules for the requirement. If the constraint requires 5 courses but you manually pick only one, the requirement shows as fulfilled.
Use this exception sparingly and only when necessary.
Manually Satisfy Requirement
This option only appears if the 'may only be manually satisfied by an institution' constraint has been applied. It allows advisors and admins to complete complex or sensitive requirements manually and individually.
Managing Exceptions
You can view any exceptions, prioritizations, or manually satisfied requirements in a student's audit. If you have permissions, you can undo (remove) them.
To learn more about exceptions, see Stellic Exceptions: Implementation Guide & Best Practices.