Degree Audit FAQs
What is a degree audit?
A degree audit provides the student and advisor an analysis of degree requirements for a particular degree, major, minor or certificate program. The degree audit matches a student's University of North Carolina Wilmington courses, transfer courses and in-progress courses against the requirements for that particular program. It is a tool to assist the student and advisor in monitoring the student’s progress towards a degree and planning future coursework. The degree audit is an internal document for advising purposes and is not an official document of a student's academic record at UNC Wilmington.
What is DARS?
DARS is an acronym for the Degree Audit Reporting System. It is a computer-based degree audit system developed by Miami University in Oxford, Ohio that UNC Wilmington uses to produce its degree audits. DARS is also used at UNC Wilmington for all transfer articulation and exceptions processing.
How do I request a degree audit?
Degree audits may be accessed through Faculty SeaNet. Click here for instructions on Viewing a Degree Audit.
How do I read a degree audit?
The key to reading the degree audit is to scan the "OK" and "NO" column on the far left side of the audit. All requirements that are complete will have an "OK". Incomplete requirements will have a "NO". You can click on box next to the "OK" or "NO" and the audit will take you directly to that requirement within the body of the audit. You may also use the scroll bar on the right side of the audit to navigate through the audit.
Most requirements will have sub-requirements associated with them. A '+' sign beside a sub-requirement is complete. Incomplete requirements will have '-' sign.
A "Needs:" line is printed in bold blue lettering for each incomplete requirement. This needs line may specify one or all of the following: the number of courses or hours still needed, the number of sub-groups (sub-requirements) still needed, and/or the GPA still needed.
There is a "Legend" at the end of each degree audit that explains symbols that are used on the audit.
**When submitting the degree audit the default is to list all requirements. However, you also have the option to review just the incomplete or just the complete requirements. It is strongly recommended that all requirements be reviewed for each advisee, not just the incomplete statements. This will help ensure and confirm the accuracy of the degree audits as we transition to this new software.
Click here to view a Sample Annotated Audit.
When I try to run a degree audit I get an error message that tells me the "Degree Program Not Defined". What does this mean?
A "Degree Program Not Defined" error message means that the major and/or catalogue year for this student are not correct in our system. Please contact the Registrar's Office at registrar@uncw.edu and report this error.
Non-degree Students: Non-degree students do not have degree audits. Coursework may be viewed via the "Academic Transcript" in SeaNet.
How do I interpret the catalogue year at the top of the degree audit?
Terms in our Banner system are by academic year. For example the academic year from Fall 2006 through Summer 2007 is the academic year 2007. Therefore the catalogue year is the academic year plus the semester you entered. Semesters are represented by 10 for Fall, 20 for Spring, 30 for Summer I and 40 for Summer II.
Catalogue terms for students entering Fall 2006 would be 200710 (Academic year = 2007 plus the semester code = 10). For Spring 2007 it would be 200720, Summer I 200730 and Summer II 200740.
Just remember that the Fall term does not follow the calendar year it occurred in, all other terms follow the calendar year they occurred.
Why does the audit indicate my advisee took a course 05FA and I know he took the course in Fall of 2004?
This goes back to the way term codes are set-up in Banner. Terms follow the academic year, not the calendar year. In this example, the course occurred in the 2005 academic year. The course actually was taken in the calendar year 2004 for the fall term. Just remember that the Fall term does not follow the calendar year it occurred in, all other terms follow the calendar year in which they occurred. Ex. For academic year 2005, the term codes would appear on the degree audit as follows: 05FA (Fall), 05SP (Spring), 05S1 (Summer I), and 05S2 (Summer II).
What is an exception?
An exception reflects any changes, such as waivers or substitutions, applied to your academic program by an advisor.
When will exceptions take effect on my advisee's degree audit?
It usually takes a couple of weeks for an exception to go through the approval process. The Registrar's Office makes every attempt to enter exceptions received on a daily basis. As soon as it is posted to the academic record, you will be able to view it the degree audit.
Can I get a degree audit that shows how my advisee's courses will fit into a new major?
Yes, DARS gives you the opportunity to see how courses that your advisees have taken could apply to different requirements in a different degree program. This is called a "What-if" audit and may be obtained through SeaNet. Click here for instructions on Viewing a What-if Degree Audit.
Can I view degree audits of students who are not assigned as my advisees?
Yes, DARS provides this option for you. You can even run a "what-if" audit on these students as well. Click here for instructions on Viewing Degree Audits of students who are not your advisees.
What do I do if I think there is an error on my advisee's degree audit?
If you feel that DARS is not correctly analyzing certain requirements on the degree audit, you should contact the DARS administrator. Be sure to give the student's name, Banner ID, and the nature of the problem. You can even go to the printer friendly version of the degree audit on SeaNet and add it to your email as a text attachment if it will help in explaining the problem. Every attempt will be made to address your concerns as soon as possible.
I have a question about the transfer credit showing on the degree audit, who do I contact?
The transfer articulation administrator can assist you with any questions regarding the transfer credit on the degree audit. Please include the student's name, Banner ID and the specific concern in your email.
I would like to change the way a requirement is worded or add wording to a requirement, how can I do this?
All changes to the text of the audit must be approved and submitted by your department chair (or the DARS faculty liaison in your department, if one is designated) to the degree audit administrator. Curriculum changes must be approved through the established University policies and guidelines as outlined in the Faculty Handbook.
