Updating minors in STAR

Owned by Sara Cook
Last updated: Mar 21, 2023
3 min read

Please note:

  • Completed and signed departmental minor clearance forms must be received by the Office of the Registrar in order for minors to be officially recognized on student records.
    • Paper (PDF) forms are accepted, or, they can be submitted using the DocuSign template (Minor Clearance Form)
  • Minor clearance forms cannot be accepted with ‘work-in-progress’ coursework. All grades must be assigned before submitting minor clearance forms to the Office of the Registrar.
  • Minor clearance forms can be submitted as soon as all coursework is completed – there is no need to hold the clearance form until the student declares degree candidacy for graduation.
  • Degree candidates: minor clearance forms must be received by the NILS deadline for the degree quarter in order for the minor to be awarded. 

Purpose/Function:

Academic minors are added to student records by sponsoring department via STAR. 

If a student notifies the department that they are no longer pursuing the minor, or they do not complete the requirements for the minor, the minor should be removed (cancelled). 

Stakeholders:

Academic departments

Office of the Registrar - Academic Services (graduationmatters@sa.ucsb.edu)

Time Considerations:

Minors can be updated via STAR up until a student's degree has been awarded.


Adding a minor

Steps:

  1. In STAR, navigate to the X-menu (Data Entry MENU)
  2. Select MINOR MAINTENANCE
  3. Fill in:
    1. Minor: type in the code. See the T-Table menu in STAR for a list of codes.
    2. Action: type "a" for add
    3. Act: type "a" for add
    4. Perm: type 6- or 7-digit Perm
    5. Start: type the quarter the student began the minor. Typically the current quarter. Format: QYY, example F22.
      1. NOTE: do NOT enter a “Start” quarter which is beyond a student’s degree quarter (example: do not have a minor start quarter of M23 if the student is a degree candidate for S23).
    6. NOTE: do NOT add an “End” quarter for any student who will complete the minor.
    7. Press enter to update the record

  4. Minors can be viewed on the STAR Q-screen. This screen is quarter-specific, so the minor will only appear in quarters that the minor was active. Example, if the minor was added F22, it will not appear on the Q-screen for S22.



Cancelling a minor (removing)

  • Student no longer pursing the minor
  • Student graduating but did not complete minor requirements

Steps:

  1. In STAR, navigate to the X-menu (Data Entry MENU)
  2. Select MINOR MAINTENANCE
  3. Fill in:
    1. Minor: type in the code. See the T-Table menu in STAR for a list of codes.
    2. Action: type "c" for cancel
    3. Act: type "c" for cancel
    4. Perm: type 6- or 7-digit Perm
    5. End: type the quarter the student stopped pursing the minor. Typically the current quarter.
      1. NOTE: do NOT enter a “End” quarter which is beyond a student’s degree quarter (example: do not have a minor end quarter of M23 if the student is a degree candidate for S23).
    6. NOTE: there is no need to enter a “Start” quarter when cancelling a minor.



Expected Outcomes:

Academic departments will be able to add and remove minors from student records. 

Troubleshooting/Common Issues:

Email graduationmatters@sa.ucsb.edu

Related Policies or Required Resources:

Academic Senate Regulations: https://senate.ucsb.edu/bylaws-and-regulations/

UCSB General Catalog: https://my.sa.ucsb.edu/catalog/current/CollegesDepartments/ls-intro/AcademicMinors.aspx 

List of minors: https://my.sa.ucsb.edu/catalog/current/UndergraduateEducation/ug_minors.aspx

Reporting: PowerBI app.powerbi.com -

     Current students: “Student Reporting” app, choose “Student Extract Minor”

     Degree candidates: “Student Reporting” app, choose “Degrees," choose “UG Minor Candidates"