System and method for optimizing an educational study path

Abstract

A system and method for optimizing a study path based on at least one goal are presented. The method includes receiving the at least one goal and at least one constraint; generating a plurality of potential study paths based on a plurality of courses that are required for the at least one goal and the at least one constraint; determining an optimal study path based on the plurality of potential study paths, the at least one goal, and the at least one constraint, wherein the optimal study path satisfies the at least one constraint, the optimal study path is a combination of courses and their order during a plurality of study terms; and generating at least one optimal schedule based on the optimal study path.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for optimizing a study path based on at least one goal, comprising:
 receiving the at least one goal and at least one constraint;   generating a plurality of potential study paths based on a plurality of courses that are required for the at least one goal and the at least one constraint;   determining an optimal study path based on the plurality of potential study paths, the at least one goal, and the at least one constraint, wherein the optimal study path satisfies the at least one constraint, the optimal study path is a combination of courses and their order during a plurality of study terms; and   generating at least one optimal schedule based on the optimal study path.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 retrieving credential information, wherein the plurality of potential study paths is further generated based on the credential information.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each of the at least one goal is any of: a major, a minor, a profession, and an interest area. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating the plurality of potential study paths further comprises:
 performing degree auditing on each potential study path;   determining whether each potential study path failed the degree audit, wherein the at least one optimal schedule is not determined by any study path that failed the degree audit.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one constraint is any of: a total time to complete the at least one goal, and an educational budget. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each of the at least one constraint is assigned a priority. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein determining an optimal study path for further comprises:
 receiving at least one preference of a user, each of the at least one preference being assigned a priority, wherein each constraint priority is higher than each preference priority;   eliminating, from the plurality of potential study paths, all study paths that do not meet the at least one constraint to obtain a remaining at least one study path;   eliminating, from the remaining at least one potential study path, all study paths that do not meet the at least one preference; and   sorting the remaining potential study paths based on matching to the at least one preference, wherein the best matching study path is the optimal study path.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one preference is any of: favoring a day of the week, disfavoring a day of the week, a time, online availability, favored instructors, and areas of interest. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the scheduling information is any of: course hours of each course, days of the week the course is presented, location of the classes, a start date of each course, and an end date of each course. 
     
     
         10 . A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions for causing one or more processing units to execute the method according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         11 . A system for planning study paths, comprising:
 a database;   a processing unit; and   a memory, the memory containing instructions that, when executed by the processing unit, configure the system to:   receive the at least one goal and at least one constraint;   generate a plurality of potential study paths based on a plurality of courses that are required for the at least one goal and the at least one constraint;   determine an optimal study path based on the plurality of potential study paths, the at least one goal, and the at least one constraint, wherein the optimal study path satisfies the at least one constraint the optimal study path is a combination of courses and their order during a plurality of study terms; and   generate at least one optimal schedule based on the optimal study path.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the system is further configured to:
 retrieve credential information, wherein the plurality of potential study paths is further based on the credential information.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein each of the at least one goal is any of: a major, a minor, a profession, and an interest area. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the system is further configured to:
 perform degree auditing on each potential study path;   determine whether each potential study path failed the degree audit, wherein the at least one optimal schedule is not generated by any study path that failed the degree audit.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one constraint is any of: a total time to complete the at least one goal, and an educational budget. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein each constraint is assigned a priority. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one the system is further configured to:
 receive at least one preference of a user, each of the at least one preference being assigned a priority, wherein each constraint priority is higher than each preference priority;   eliminate, from the plurality of potential study paths, all study paths that do not meet the at least one constraint to obtain a remaining at least one study path;   eliminate, from the remaining at least one potential study path, all study paths that do not meet the at least one preference; and   sort the remaining potential study paths based on matching to the at least one preference, wherein the best matching study path is the optimal study path.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the at least one preference is any of: favoring a day of the week, disfavoring a day of the week, a time, online availability, favored instructors, and areas of interest. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the scheduling information is any of: course hours of each course, days of the week the course is presented, location of the classes, a start date of each course, and an end date of each course.