The Graduation Requirements feature allows administrators to set graduation criteria for a student cohort by defining graduation subjects, setting up graduation programs, and assigning students to a specific graduation program. Multiple graduation programs can be defined for individual schools, as well as for individual student cohorts, or created for any school to use. Administrators and counselors can track student progress to ensure they are meeting the requirements to graduate using the Graduation Requirements Report.
The district will first set up all the graduation subjects. Once the graduation subjects are set up, they can be assigned to courses in the Course Catalog or Courses & Sections.
1. From the Grades menu, click Graduation Requirements under the Setup submenu.
2. Click the Graduation Subjects tab.
Existing graduation subjects that have already been set up are listed. New graduation subjects can be added at the bottom of the list. For public schools, each state designates the graduation subjects.
3. To add a new subject, scroll down to the blank row next to the plus sign.
4. Enter the Sort Order. The sort order determines the order the graduation subject appears on this screen, the order in which subjects display within a graduation program, and the order in which requirements display in a progression plan. The sort order is also used when creating student schedules. Courses in a graduation subject with a lower sort order (e.g. sort order of 1) have a higher priority over courses in a graduation subject of a higher sort order (e.g. sort order of 10). Required subjects should have a lower number entered for the sort order so that they have a higher priority than electives.
5. Enter the Title for the graduation subject.
6. Enter the Short Name. The first two digits of the short name are used in state reporting. Focus allows short names that are longer than two digits, but only the first two digits are reported to the state. This is useful if you want to split a subject area, for example HOPE and traditional Physical Education. In the example below, both of the short names start with PE, but HOPE has an underscore and CP added to the short name. This allows you to separate HOPE and traditional Physical Education when associating courses with these subjects and when setting requirements, but both HOPE and Physical Education are reported to the state using PE.
7. You also have the option to set a Min School Year and a Max School Year for specific subjects. Setting a Min and Max year determine the years the subject is active.
8. If the selected school is a post secondary school, you can select the AHS Subject from the pull-down to determine if the Adult High School Program Type applies to the graduation subject.
9. When finished, click Save. The new subject is added to the list.
10. Existing graduation subjects can be edited by clicking any fields underlined in blue. Once changes are made, be sure to click Save before navigating away from the screen.
11. To delete a graduation subject, click the delete button (black minus sign) to the left of the row.
It is not recommended to delete a graduation subject. Instead, set the Min and Max School Year as described in step 8 to make the subject inactive.
a. In the confirmation screen, click Delete to delete the subject or Cancel to go back to all listed subjects without deleting.
11. Once graduation subjects are set up, the Graduation Subject Area/Graduation Requirements Subject can be assigned to courses via the Course Catalog or Courses & Sections.
Administrators will set up graduation programs and assign graduation subjects to each program. Graduation programs define how many credits students in a program will need in order to graduate for each graduation subject assigned to the program. Multiple graduation programs can be defined for individual schools. Graduation programs are assigned to students in their enrollment record.
1. From the Grades menu, click Graduation Requirements under the Setup submenu.
2. Click the Graduation Programs and Requirements tab.
Any existing graduation programs are displayed, each represented by a tab. The graduation subjects and number of credits for each subject are listed within the tab.
3. To add a new graduation program, click the plus sign (+), located at the end of the listed programs.
Any existing graduation programs are listed in the table with the Program Title, Sort Order, Short Name, Default, Weight by Credits, Min School Year, Max School Year, Hide Merit Designation Requirements, Hide School Designation Requirements, Hide Biliteracy Seal Requirements, and Hide Header.
If a post secondary school is selected, the CTE column displays as well.
4. To add a new program, scroll down to the blank row next to the black plus sign.
5. Enter the Program Title, Sort Order, and Short Name. The sort order determines the order in which the graduation programs appear.
6. Select the Default check box to automatically assign the graduation program to a student when the student enrolls. Setting a program as the default will not change the program for existing students who already have a program assigned.
7. Select the Weight by Credits check box to determine if the program will be weighed by credits when running the Graduation Requirements Report.
When the check box is left cleared, the enrolled courses will display as 1 credit.
When the check box is selected, the enrolled course will look to course_weight_credits or credits in master_courses.
The check box can also be applied to Middle Schools. When the check box is selected, the enrolled middle school courses will display as 1.
8. You also have the option to set a Min School Year and a Max School Year for specific programs. Setting a Min and Max year determine the years the program is active.
9. Select the Hide Merit Designation Requirements check box to hide these requirements from the Promotion Requirements Report as they requirements do not apply to middle schools, or from the Graduation Requirements Report, if needed.
10. Select the Hide School Designation Requirements check box to hide these requirements from the Promotion Requirements Report as they requirements do not apply to middle schools, or from the Graduation Requirements Report, if needed.
11. Select the Hide Biliteracy Seal Requirements check box to hide these requirements from the Promotion Requirements Report as they requirements do not apply to middle schools, or from the Graduation Requirements Report, if needed.
The Merit Designation Requirements, Scholar Designation Requirements, and Biliteracy Seal Requirements are Florida specific fields.
12. Select the Hide Header check box to remove the header including GPAs, credits, and testing information from the Graduation Requirements Report.
13. If a post secondary school, select the CTE check box to determine if the program is applicable to CTE.
14. Click Save.
15. Once saved, a tab will display for the new graduation program. Now, you will add the graduation subjects and number of credits that are required to the program. See Setting Up Graduation Requirements for more information.
Administrators will set up graduation programs and assign graduation subjects to each program. Graduation programs define how many credits students in a program will need in order to graduate for each graduation subject assigned to the program. Multiple graduation programs can be defined for individual schools. Graduation programs are assigned to students in their enrollment record.
1. From the Grades menu, click Graduation Requirements under the Setup submenu.
2. Click the Graduation Programs and Requirements tab.
Any existing graduation programs are displayed, each represented by a tab. The graduation subjects and number of credits for each subject are listed within the tab.
3. Click the Program to which requirements need to be added.
Clicking the graduation program lists all graduation requirements including the Title, Type, Credits, Grad Subject, Courses, Assessment, SQL, Sort Order, and Credits.
You can designate the credit requirements per year that students would be expected to complete while working towards the fulfillment of requirements in their assigned graduation program. This allows school users and parents/students to actively monitor a students progress toward meeting the benchmarks associated with each year of the students' attendance in school.
4a. To add and/or view requirements by a specific grade level, click the applicable grade level, such as 11.
4b. To add and/or view requirements in order to complete the program, click Complete Program.
Requirements need to be added to the Complete Program tab and to each specific grade level tab. Each grade level year will contain all requirements from the previous year; for example, you'd add English Credit 1.00 to the 9th grade tab, English 2.00 to the 10th grade tab, English 3.00 to the 11th grade tab, and English 4.00 to the Complete Program tab; the Complete Program tab represents 12th grade or graduation year.
5. To add a new graduation requirement, scroll down to the blank row next to the black plus sign.
6. Enter the graduation subject in the Title text box.
7. Select the Type of graduation requirement from the pull-down. Options include:
Grad Subject: If selected, this allows you to select the graduation subject set up via the Graduation Subjects tab.
Assessment: If selected, this allows you to set one or more tests that students must pass to graduate. When multiple tests are selected on one row, students only need to pass one to complete the requirement.
Custom List of Courses: If selected, this allows you to select a list of courses that serve as a custom graduation subject.
SQL: If selected, this allows you to specify an arbitrary SQL query that return three columns, student_id, matched (true or false), and display_text (the text displayed in the report upon hovering over the check box).
Placeholder: If selected, the title of the requirement displays as a "Placeholder" descriptor without requirement criteria when an admin, parent, or student views the graduation requirements report. When this type is selected, the only editable fields become the Title and Sort Order. This will separate sections of the requirements.
8. In the Credits field, enter the number of required credits for the subject.
9a. If you selected Grad Subject as the Type, select the applicable Grad Subject from the pull-down. Note: Subjects must first be set up in the Graduation Subjects tab.
9b. If you selected Assessment from the Type pull-down, select the applicable tests from the Assessment pull-down. This ensures that students pass one of the selected tests before earning the designated graduation subject.
If you belong to California district, a Language pull-down displays to the Assessment column from which you can select a specific language for the test administration.
9c. If you selected Custom List of Courses from the Type pull-down, select the applicable Courses from the pull-down. This ensures that students pass all selected courses before earning the designated graduation subject.
9d. If you selected SQL from the Type pull-down, enter the customized SQL in the provided text box.
The SQL query entered here must correctly contain "as display_text, 'hourglass'" in order to display the hourglass for the applicable graduation program, such as
SELECT sr.student_id, 'Advanced Met' AS display_text, 'hourglass' AS matched
FROM student_report_card_grades sr, master_courses mc
WHERE sr.course_num=mc.short_name AND mc.syear=sr.syear AND sr.course_history='Y'
AND (mc.course_level IN ('3','4','5') OR mc.AP='1' OR mc.IB='1' OR mc.custom_field_2 = '1' OR COALESCE(custom_field_3,'Z') IN ('A','B','C','E'))
9e. If you selected Placeholder from the Type pull-down, the Title and Sort Order are the only required fields.
10. The Sort Order text box should be left empty as it pulls from data entered via the Graduation Subjects tab. Note: A Sort Order must be entered if Custom List of Courses or SQL is select as the subject Type.
11. Click Save.
12. Continue adding graduation subjects and credits in the same manner. Be sure to click the Save button.
13. Graduation programs can be edited by selecting the program tab, clicking the desired field, and making the change. Click Save to save your changes.
14. To delete a graduation subject from the program, click the delete button (black minus sign).
15. To delete a graduation program, click the Delete this program link at the bottom of the graduation program tab.
a. In the confirmation screen, click Delete to delete the program or Cancel to go back to the previous screen without deleting.
The District Programs and Requirements tab allows users to assign a program to schools. The items set up on District Graduation Programs and Requirements are available for all schools in the districts to use.
1. From the Grades menu, click Graduation Requirements under the Setup submenu.
2. Click the District Graduation Programs and Requirements tab.
Any existing graduation programs are displayed, each represented by a tab.
3. To add a new district graduation program, click the plus sign (+), located at the end of the listed programs.
Any existing graduation programs are listed in the table with the Program Title, Sort Order, Short Name, Default, Weight by Credits, Min School Year, Max School Year, Schools, Hide Merit Designation Requirements, Hide Scholar Designation Requirements, Hide Biliteracy Seal Requirements, and Hide Header.
If a post secondary school is selected, the CTE column displays as well.
4. To add a new program, scroll down to the blank row next to the black plus sign.
5. Enter the Program Title, Sort Order, and Short Name. The sort order determines the order in which the graduation programs appear.
6. Select the Default check box to automatically assign the graduation program to a student when the student enrolls. Setting a program as the default will not change the program for existing students who already have a program assigned.
7. Select the Weight by Credits check box to determine if the program will be weighed by credits when running the Graduation Requirements Report.
When the check box is left cleared, the enrolled courses will display as 1 credit.
When the check box is selected, the enrolled course will look to course_weight_credits or credits in master_courses.
The check box can also be applied to Middle Schools. When the check box is selected, the enrolled middle school courses will display as 1.
8. You also have the option to set a Min School Year and a Max School Year for specific programs. Setting a Min and Max year determine the years the program is active.
9. Determine to which schools the program is available by selecting said Schools from the corresponding pull-down.
10. Select the Hide Merit Designation Requirements check box to hide these requirements from the Promotion Requirements Report as they requirements do not apply to middle schools, or from the Graduation Requirements Report, if needed.
11. Select the Hide Scholar Designation Requirements check box to hide these requirements from the Promotion Requirements Report as they requirements do not apply to middle schools, or from the Graduation Requirements Report, if needed.
12. Select the Hide Biliteracy Seal Requirements check box to hide these requirements from the Promotion Requirements Report as they requirements do not apply to middle schools, or from the Graduation Requirements Report, if needed.
The Merit Designation Requirements, Scholar Designation Requirements, and Biliteracy Seal Requirements are Florida specific fields.
13. Select the Hide Header check box to remove the header including GPAs, credits, and testing information from the Graduation Requirements Report.
14. If a post secondary school, select the CTE check box to determine if the program is applicable to CTE.
15. Click Save.
Once saved, a tab will display for the new district graduation program. Now, you will add the graduation subjects and number of credits that are required to the program.
The district graduation program lists all graduation requirements including the Title, Type, Credits, Grad Subject, Courses, Assessment, SQL, Sort Order, and Credits.
You can designate the credit requirements per year that students would be expected to complete while working towards the fulfillment of requirements in their assigned graduation program. This allows school users and parents/students to actively monitor a students progress toward meeting the benchmarks associated with each year of the students' attendance in school.
16a. To add and/or view requirements by a specific grade level, click the applicable grade level, such as 11.
16b. To add and/or view requirements in order to complete the program, click Complete Program.
Requirements need to be added to the Complete Program tab and to each specific grade level tab. Each grade level year will contain all requirements from the previous year; for example, you'd add English Credit 1.00 to the 9th grade tab, English 2.00 to the 10th grade tab, English 3.00 to the 11th grade tab, and English 4.00 to the Complete Program tab; the Complete Program tab represents 12th grade or graduation year.
17. To add a new graduation requirement, scroll down to the blank row next to the black plus sign.
18. Enter the district graduation subject in the Title text box.
19. Select the Type of district graduation requirement from the pull-down. Options include:
Grad Subject: If selected, this allows you to select the graduation subject set up via the Graduation Subjects tab.
Assessment: If selected, this allows you to set one or more tests that students must pass to graduate. When multiple tests are selected on one row, students only need to pass one to complete the requirement.
Custom List of Courses: If selected, this allows you to select a list of courses that serve as a custom graduation subject.
SQL: If selected, this allows you to specify an arbitrary SQL query that return three columns, student_id, matched (true or false), and display_text (the text displayed in the report upon hovering over the check box).
Placeholder: If selected, the title of the requirement displays as a "Placeholder" descriptor without requirement criteria when an admin, parent, or student views the graduation requirements report. When this type is selected, the only editable fields become the Title and Sort Order. This will separate sections of the requirements.
20. In the Credits field, enter the number of required credits for the subject.
21a. If you selected Grad Subject as the Type, select the applicable Grad Subject from the pull-down. Note: Subjects must first be set up in the Graduation Subjects tab.
21b. If you selected Assessment from the Type pull-down, select the applicable tests from the Assessment pull-down. This ensures that students pass one of the selected tests before earning the designated graduation subject.
If you belong to California district, a Language pull-down displays to the Assessment column from which you can select a specific language for the test administration.
21c. If you selected Custom List of Courses from the Type pull-down, select the applicable Courses from the pull-down. This ensures that students pass all selected courses before earning the designated graduation subject.
21d. If you selected SQL from the Type pull-down, enter the customized SQL in the provided text box.
21e. If you selected Placeholder from the Type pull-down, the Title and Sort Order are the only required fields.
22. The Sort Order text box should be left empty as it pulls from data entered via the Graduation Subjects tab. Note: A Sort Order must be entered if Custom List of Courses or SQL is select as the subject Type.
23. Click Save.
24. Continue adding graduation subjects and credits in the same manner. Be sure to click the Save button.
25. Graduation programs can be edited by selecting the program tab, clicking the desired field, and making the change. Click Save to save your changes.
26. To delete a graduation subject from the program, click the delete button (black minus sign).
27. To delete a graduation program, click the Delete this program link at the bottom of the graduation program tab.
a. In the confirmation screen, click Delete to delete the program or Cancel to go back to the previous screen without deleting.
1. To set up a student's graduation program, locate the student via Students > Student Info. For more information on finding students, see Searching for Students.
2. Once selected, click the Graduation tab and/or field to select the correct Graduation Plan for that student.
3a. Click the Enrollment tab.
a. Click View to the left of the enrollment record.
b. Select the applicable program from the Graduation Requirement Program pull-down for the student.
c. Click Save.
3b. Click the Graduation tab and/or field to select the correct Graduation Plan for that student.
a. Select the applicable graduation program from the Graduation Plan pull-down.
The information entered/selected on the Graduation tab does not drive the Graduation Requirements Report. For the report to populate for the specified student, the Graduation Requirement must be set on the Enrollment screen.
Graduation Programs can be assigned to multiple students at once, for example by cohort year, in Mass Assign Student Info.
1. In the Students menu, click Mass Assign Student Info.
2. Enter applicable search criteria, including using More Search Options to locate a group of students by grade level or year entered ninth grade.
a. To locate a group of students by grade level, click More Search Options and select Grade Level from the pull-down.
b. To locate a group of students by the year they entered ninth grade, click More Search Options, then filter your search by entering the word "ninth" into the Search... text box.
You can also locate the search option by clicking Student Fields > Graduation > Year Entered Ninth Grade.
i. Select the appropriate year from the pull-down.
3. Click Search.
See Searching for Students for more information.
4. Click the Enrollment tab.
5. Select the applicable Grad Program from the pull-down.
6. Scroll down to select the students that should be assigned the applicable program.
7. Click Save.
A confirmation message displays.
Only applicable to customers using Florida State Reporting. Focus considers ROTC waiver course 1500450 with Personal Fitness graduation subject for ROTC Fitness waiver, when a student has additional course credit in any PE graduation subject course. Be sure to review your district's system preferences for Personal Fitness via Setup > System Preferences > Default School Preferences > Grading.
Only applicable to customers using Florida State Reporting. Focus ensures the Merit Designation section of the Graduation Requirements Report will not consider Industry Certifications with a Level 3, as certifications housed in the CAPE IC Funding list with a K-12 FEFP Funding Weight of 0.025 are excluded.
Sort data by clicking any of the headers. Click once for ascending order; click twice for descending results.
Click the floppy disk icon to export the listed data to an Excel spreadsheet.
To make the list full screen, click on the expansion icon (four arrows) next to the Search text box. Once in full screen mode, click the icon again to exit full screen.
If looking for specific information, type the data in the Search text box provided and press Enter.
Begin typing the name or number of the desired field in the Filter text box located at the top of each pull-down for a quick search.
a. Select the Exact check box to display results that have an exact match only and hide partial matches to the entered text.
Click Check all to select all check boxes displayed. Click Clear to clear all selections made/check boxes selected.
