A Degree Audit Matters…
Updated: March 2021
A degree audit is your license to graduate. In other words…
It’s an online academic advising tool that, if managed correctly, charts your specific pathway to college graduation.
Who has access to this academic advising tool?
You, your academic adviser, campus faculty, and the college administration.
That means that you have a great deal of control over your academic course selections and academic progress.
Academic advisers use degree audits to help college students with course selections and tracking their academic progress.
One of the greatest challenges faced by most college students is interpreting and satisfying their college’s specific major and general education graduation requirements.
And managing that activity is analogous to running your own business, requiring a lot of your attention to detail and seeking appropriate consultation.
Parent Access to College Student Grades
Point of Information – Your parents do not have automatic access to your college grades. Take a few minutes to review the article ” Can My Parents See My Grades for College”.
Then give thoughtful consideration before enacting this (FERPA) federal privacy legislative option.
Lucier, Kelci Lynn. “Can My Parents See My Grades for College?” ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/can-parents-see-my-college-grades-793228.
Special note: contents of degree audits do vary from campus to campus
So what, in fact, does a degree audit specifically tell you?
In most American colleges and universities, the template of the degree audit comprises the following items:
- Which courses you need to take;
- And which courses you have taken;
- Your degree graduation requirements(B.A. or B.S.) ;
- Your overall degree progress including your major, minor, electives, transfer courses, your grades and grade point average;
- Academic red flags.
- G.P.A. (grade point average) Calculator”: allows you to set personal academic goals.
- “Graduation Calculator”: allows you to speculate on the grades you will need to achieve certain academic goals.
- “Term Calculator”: anticipate the g.p.a. you can expect to earn for the semester.
- “Advice Calculator”: offers advice on how to raise your g.p.a.
- “What if…”: allows you to see how the courses you’ve already taken to apply to different majors and minors.
- “Look Ahead…”: allows you to see how courses you would select will fulfill your degree requirements.
- “Educational Planner…”: helps you and your academic adviser create a semester by semester road map to achieve your college and career objectives.Using the degree audit to plan your undergraduate academic experience can introduce you to many beneficial options and opportunities.And collaborating regularly with their academic and faculty advisers is an absolute must if success is on your personal agenda.
In summary, by closely monitoring the above items each semester, you have more control over your graduation timetable than you realize.
So plan to consult with your academic adviser at least twice a semester to keep track of your academic progress.
As you continue to move through your undergraduate experience, always keep your eyes on the prize… Graduation!
A Word to the Wise...
An Academic Pearl of Wisdom
Whenever a college student faces an academic and/or social challenge, they often ask a peer or a friend first for advice.
And that’s okay.
However, resolving the issue to your best advantage often requires consulting with an academic advising professional as well.
Your academic adviser knows the campus academically, administratively, and socially.
And what they don’t know, they can point you to the person who does know. Include this strategy in your current plan for college success.
And we're always available to help as well!
Disclaimer Reminder: A college student's first line of inquiry should always be with their campus academic adviser. College Success Life Advising Sessions provide additional problem-solving options to undergraduate and graduate students for further exploration on their individual campuses. Students should always consult their assigned adviser not only during the course selection process but periodically to keep apprised of programmatic changes, testing requirements, course additions/deletions, GPA modifications, etc.
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