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 your academic record a 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 UNCW uses to produce its degree audits.
How do I request a degree audit?
Degree audits may be accessed through 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.
There is a "Legend" at the end of each degree audit that explains symbols that are used on the audit.
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 your major and/or catalogue year are not correct in our system or the degree program is not defined. Please contact the Registrar's Office at registrar@uncw.edu and report this error.
Non-degree Students: If you are a non-degree student, you will get this message because non-degree students do not have degree audits. You may access your courses via your "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 I took a course 05FA and I know I 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).
I have questions regarding the transfer credit that is appearing on my audit?
Any question that you may have regarding your transfer credit should be emailed to the transfer articulation administrator in the Registrar's Office.
What is an exception?
An exception reflects any changes, such as waivers or substitutions, applied to your academic program by your advisor.
If I have a program exception, when will it take effect on my 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 your academic record, you will be able to view it on your degree audit.
I am thinking about changing majors, can I get a degree audit that shows how my courses will fit into the new major?
Yes, DARS gives you the opportunity to see how courses that you 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.
What do I do if I think there is an error on my degree audit?
If you feel that DARS is not correctly analyzing certain requirements on your degree audit, you should consult your academic advisor or an advisor in the student services office of your particular school.
Can I print my degree audit from SEANET?
Yes, just click on "Review a Printer Friendly Report" at the top of your audit and print.
If I have a current degree audit, do I still need to see my advisor?
The degree audit does not eliminate the need for advising. Rather, the degree audit serves to enhance advising and encourage student contact with an advisor for further academic and career counseling.
