OnTrack

• 

  After importing Degreeworks Audit

• 

  ElectivePref

• 

  ChatBotReply

Inspiration

Planning an entire degree can feel confusing when course requirements, prerequisites, and electives are scattered across different systems. We wanted to present that information as a clear visual roadmap and help students understand what an efficient path to graduation could look like.

What it does

OnTrack uses Queens College course and degree data to generate an optimized semester-by-semester academic plan. It considers major requirements, general education requirements, prerequisite order, course availability, and preferred or avoided elective subjects. Students can visually explore their plan and drag courses between semesters while OnTrack identifies potential conflicts. DegreeWorks parsing is also available to quickly incorporate a student’s existing progress.

How we built it

We built the frontend with React, TypeScript, Vite, and Motion, creating an interactive visual map of courses and semesters. Our Python backend processes Coursedog catalog data, degree requirements, prerequisites, and Queens College section information to determine eligible courses and generate each semester.

Challenges we ran into

Academic data is complex and often inconsistent across sources. We had to normalize course IDs, interpret prerequisite rules, prevent requirements from being counted incorrectly, and balance required courses with flexible electives. We also had to preserve drag-and-drop changes without interfering with automatic semester generation.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We transformed dense academic catalog data into a clear, interactive degree plan. OnTrack can generate a complete semester sequence, visualize prerequisite relationships, validate course placement, preserve user changes, and personalize elective recommendations without compromising required coursework.

What we learned

We learned how to transform large academic datasets into an approachable user experience, develop explainable course-ranking logic, and connect a Python recommendation backend with a responsive React interface. We also learned that an optimal plan should consider both graduation requirements and the student’s interests.

What's next for OnTrack

Next, we want to expand OnTrack beyond Queens College and improve its section-level recommendations. Planned features include professor information, meeting times, seat availability, Rate My Professors scores, and additional controls for personalizing how courses and sections are ranked.

Built With

• claude
• codex
• gemini
• python
• react
• typescript
• vite