Degree Works FAQ

Degree Works is a web based tool to help students and advisors monitor student's progress toward degree completion. Degree Works combines UIW’s degree requirements and the coursework you have completed in an easy‐to‐read worksheet that helps you see how courses that you have completed count toward degree requirements, as well as what courses and requirements you still need to complete.

The degree audit worksheet is a review of your past and current coursework that provides information on completed and incomplete requirements. It can be used as a tool to plan and track your progress toward earning your degree. The audit can be used as part of advising sessions with academic advisors to determine course elections and confirm graduation requirements.

All currently enrolled students in the School of Professional Studies and UIW Online who enrolled after the Fall of 2011, and all main campus Undergraduate and Graduate students who enrolled in Fall 2013 or later, can use Degree Works.

Because we have very, very few students still using earlier catalogs. If you are a student who is currently using an earlier catalog, please be assured that we will continue to help you track your progress and apply for graduation using CAPP.

Go to Cardinal Apps, and log in using your UIW username and password. Look for the Degree Works - Student icon.

From your degree audit window, click the Log Out tab in the upper right course to close your audit.

Yes. Like other processes you use through Banner Self‐Service, your degree audit is accessed through your secure login.

Degree Works provides information in a more user‐friendly and readable format.

Your degree audit is an unofficial document and can be viewed as a tool to provide you with academic information related to your degree progress. It can also help you plan your academic schedule. Your degree audit is not your official academic transcript. An official transcript can be supplied to you by requesting it from the Registrar’s Office.

The information/data is refreshed each night. Any changes made today (e.g., grade changes or classes added/dropped) will be seen on your audit tomorrow.

Your degree audit is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from most networked computers. Review your degree audit information:

• Before you meet with your academic advisor to discuss registration for an upcoming term.
• Before registration use it to plan your courses for the term.
• After you register to ensure that the courses you selected applied to your requirements like you
  thought they would.
• After your grades for each term are posted.
• Before you apply for graduation, review your academic record.
• Any time you make a change to your schedule.

No. Registration will continue using our current method.

The audit is divided in categorical sections called blocks. The first block provides your student demographic information and is displayed in the fields at the top of the audit, followed by the requirement blocks. These blocks help you track the progress towards completing your degree. Courses that are not being counted towards general education/degree requirements but which may be used for major/minor requirements are listed in the General Electives block.

Degree Works looks at your program holistically, and places each course using a “best fit” scenario. This process will not always be perfect, particularly when multiple possibilities exist, so if you have a course that does not appear in the area in which you wanted to use it, please contact your advisor or the Registrar's Office for assistance.

Yes. The audit appears in categorical sections called ''blocks" displaying requirements for the degree requirements. Look for unchecked boxes to identify requirements that you still need to complete. Also, look at the Registration Checklist format of the worksheet audit, to see a concise list of requirements still needed.

Yes. On the Worksheet tab, click on the Class History link for a printable list of completed and in progress courses.

Courses taken to fulfill major and minor requirements are listed in the block titled Major and Minor.

Yes. Degree Works recognizes that some courses can fulfill more than one requirement.

Yes. Once grades have been processed at the end of each term, they are viewable on you degree audit.

The Plans tab will be activated in late October, and will allow your advisor to help you map out all your remaining requirements for each term until you graduate. 

Visit with your advisor to update any details about your declared program of study/major.

You might not have declared those so they are tracked as your official program in the Banner system. Visit with your advisor to confirm how to declare those.

Yes. Courses from which you have withdrawn will appear in the Insufficient Block located at the bottom of your audit and will be indicated with a ''W" grade.

The @ symbol in Degree Works is a wildcard. For example, if the @ sign appears with course numbers after it (i.e., @ 1000), this means that you can take a 1000 level course from any subject area. If it appears after a subject prefix (i.e., PSYC @), it means that you can take any Psychology course. Refer to the legend at the bottom of your audit that lists more symbols shown on the degree audit.

This block contains courses that do not match any of the requirements in the other blocks. It also include courses that may meet requirements but you don't need them because you are using other courses to fulfill your requirements.

It is a list of courses that do not meet academic requirements.

These are courses that you are registered for but have not yet received grades. They could be courses in the past, present or future.

No, you must apply for graduation. Once you are within 30 credits from completing your degree requirements, and have completed all of your community service hours, visit your advisor to apply for graduation.

Yes. While Degree Works has been designed to check almost everything that you must complete to qualify for graduation, there may be additional requirements for your major that must be completed as well. You should use Degree Works in conjunction with the University Catalog and with any information that your major department provides to ensure that you remain on track for graduation. If you have questions about any additional requirements for your major, talk with your advisor during your next advising appointment.

The degree progress bar is a tool that takes the total number of check boxes on your audit, and calculates a percentage based on the number of boxes that are checked. Therefore, if you’re a pre‐major or are missing a major concentration emphasis area, you may have fewer boxes on your audit that need to be checked. As this information is added to your audit, your degree progress bar will reflect your progress more accurately.

The degree progress bar will not show 100% completion until you finish all of your In‐Progress courses and earn acceptable grades in them.

Your petition will be programmed after it is approved by your advisor, dean and Registrar’s Office. It will then be entered by the Registrar’s Office. The course you completed will fulfill the requirement, and, in most cases, an additional line will appear under it that explains why the exception was entered.

Yes, there are two ways to print a degree audit: First, click the "Print" button located in the bar at the top of the page. The second, and best way to print, is to choose Save as PDF button, then open and print the PDF version of the audit.

The What‐If feature allows you to see how courses you have completed would be applied to another program of study. It will also show you what courses you would still need to complete for that program of study.

No. If you like what you see in a What‐If Scenario, you can change your program of study by speaking with your academic advisor. Before changing your program of study, it is strongly recommended that you speak with an academic advisor. If you receive any type of financial aid, it is strongly recommended that you speak with the Financial Aid Office before you change your program of study. If you receive Veteran’s benefits it is strongly recommended you speak with your VA counselor and the UIW Veteran’s Service Office. Changing your program of study may affect the type and/or amount of aid you are eligible to receive.

Yes. Degree Works will include AP credits and transfer credits that have been accepted by UIW and appear on your transcript.

If you have questions after reviewing the help information, please email your academic advisor or contact the Registrar’s Office.

While we have tried to make sure that your audit is correct, it is difficult to predict every unique situation or problem. We want to work with you to correct any issues as soon as possible. The first step is to clarify what information you believe is wrong. Please ask for help from the Registrar's Office at registrar@uiwtx.edu.

Contact the Registrar's Office at registrar@uiwtx.edu or stop by their office in the Administration Building.