DegreeWorks Student Manual 1
Table of Content What is DegreeWorks?... 3 Who can access DegreeWorks?... 3 DegreeWorks helps by:... 3 How is a DegreeWorks audit different from a student s transcript?... 4 How to Access DegreeWorks... 5 Login to DegreeWorks through Blue & Gold... 5 Navigating DegreeWorks... 6 Navigation Bar... 6 Audit Bar... 6 Tabs... 7 Features... 7 DegreeWorks Audit View...8 Demographic Block...8 Degree Progress...8 Legend...9 Degree Summary Blocks...9 Core Curriculum Blocks...10 Specific Degree Requirements Block...11 Additional Information Block...12 Disclaimer... 13 Worksheets... 14 Class History... 14 Worksheets Audit Views... 15 Student View... 15 Registration Checklist... 16 What-If Audits... 17 Look Ahead Audits... 19 GPA Calculator. 22 Graduation Calculator... 22 Term Calculator... 24 Advice Calculator... 26 2
What is DegreeWorks? What is DegreeWorks? DegreeWorks is a new user-friendly degree evaluation program that TAMUK has embedded within Blue & Gold. This online advising tool provides you with an easy-to-understand and organized way of seeing your degree evaluation. Aimed to help you progress efficiently through your degree plan, DegreeWorks compares your academic history with the degree plan requirements outlined in your University Catalog. Whether your classes were transferred in, taken at TAMUK, or are currently in-progress, DegreeWorks will categorize your classes under the academic areas they fall under such as, the core curriculum (also known as the basics ), your major, minor, concentration, additional requirements, and foreign language requirements, if applicable to your degree plan. DegreeWorks is a clear-cut way of seeing which requirements you have already met, and which requirements you are still pending to complete towards graduation. Who can access DegreeWorks? Undergraduate students Advising Staff and Faculty Advisors The Registrar s Office. DegreeWorks helps by: Displaying the degree requirements and identifying the courses you must complete to earn your degree. Providing a what if analysis if you are contemplating changing your major. Providing a direct link to the course description, pre-requisites, and co-requisites. Projecting an estimate of how many semesters it will take you to graduate. 3
What is DegreeWorks? How is a DegreeWorks audit different from your transcript? DegreeWorks presents you with the courses required in your degree plan, as well as the courses that you have already taken. Your transcript is the official college record listing the courses taken each semester. To obtain an official transcript, you must request one from the Javelina Enrollment Services Center in MSUB 132. You can also access an unofficial transcript online through JNET, by clicking on the "Student" tab, then on Blue & Gold Main Menu module, then under the "Student and Financial Aid" link. Then click on the "Student" link followed by the "Academic Transcript" link. 4
How to Access DegreeWorks Step 1 Go to www.tamuk.edu and click on the Blue & Gold Connection link. Step 2 Click on the Login icon on the Blue & Gold Connection page. Step 3 Enter your Banner ID and Password in the corresponding fields and click Login. Step 4 Click on the DegreeWorks for Students (Kingsville Campus Only) link. You will then be taken to the home screen of your DegreeWorks plan. Note: It is recommended you use DegreeWorks on Internet Explorer. 5
Navigating DegreeWorks Navigation Toolbar Back to Self-Service - Links back to Blue & Gold main page. Portal - FAQ - Links to Frequently Asked Questions Help - Links to DegreeWorks documentation. Print - Allows user to print current page Log Out - Logs user out of DegreeWorks. Audit Bar Student ID - Displays the student's ID. Name - Student name displays here. Degree - Student s current degree displays here, dual degree students will list multiple options. Major - Primary major will display. Level - Current student s class displays (UG for undergraduate) Student Class Level - Current student s class level displays Last Audit - Displays date last audit was performed for current student 6
Navigating DegreeWorks Tabs Worksheet - Will take you back to the Worksheet view of a student s audit. Planner - Will take you to the Student Planner. GPA Cal - Will take you to GPA calculator. Features Worksheet - Like the Worksheets Tab, this will take you back to the worksheet view of an audit. What If - Displays the tools for viewing a What If Audit. Look Ahead - Displays the tools for viewing possible course registrations in an audit. 7
Navigating DegreeWorks DegreeWorks Audit View Any time you login to DegreeWorks, your degree evaluation (also known as an audit ) automatically loads under the Worksheets tab. Demographic Block The first block of information that you see in your audit is your demographic block, which consists of three columns: The first column displays your: Name, ID, Level, Classification, Advisor, and TSI Status. Your TSI Status indicates whether you are eligible to take college-level courses due to test scores, such as THEA, T-COMP, SAT, ACT, etc. If your TSI Overall Status indicates that you are Not College Ready, it will indicate which area you are pending, such as Reading, Math, or Writing. o If you have any questions concerning your TSI status, please visit your academic advisor. The second column displays your: Level, College, Degree, Major, Minor, Concentration, and TSI Status. The third column displays your: TAMUK GPA, TAMUK Hours, Transfer Hours, Overall Hours, Overall GPA, Academic Standing, and Registration Holds. Degree Progress The Degree Progress bar displays the percentage of how much you have completed towards graduation, in relation to the degree plan that you have declared with the Registrar s Office. This percentage does not include your in-progress courses. 8
Navigating DegreeWorks DegreeWorks Audit View Legend This section displays the meaning of each symbol used within the audit blocks below. Degree Summary Block After the legend, you can see your degree summary block, which serves as a general checklist block for the entire audit. The first cluster of information stating Unmet conditions for this set of requirements displays the credit and GPA requirements needed to graduate from TAMUK. You can also see a checklist line for several of the blocks that will be covered in detail, below, in the audit. There will be a checklist line for the core curriculum, major, minor or concentration, additional requirements, and the foreign language graduation requirement, if applicable. 9
DegreeWorks Audit View Block Information Each block within the audit is separated by a blue line stating the specific block s name. In addition to displaying your catalog year on the right side, you can also see your GPA for that specific block. For some of the blocks, such as the major block, you can also see the credits required and the credits applied. Core Curriculum Block The block following the degree summary block is the core curriculum block. On the left side, are the different areas that fall under the core curriculum, such as Rhetoric and Composition, Communications, Mathematics, etc. On the right side of the block, are the classes that pertain to each of the areas listed on the left side. For example, in order to complete the core curriculum area for Rhetoric and Composition, you must complete English 1301 and 1302. 10
DegreeWorks Audit View Specific Degree Requirements Block After the core curriculum block, you can see other requirement blocks that are specific to your degree plan. Your major, minor/concentration/certification, and additional requirement blocks are similar to the core curriculum block, displaying the areas under each of the blocks on the left column and the classes specific to each of the areas on the right column. Also, if applicable to your degree plan, you can see the Foreign Language Requirements block. This degree requirement is only applicable to certain degree plans under the College of Arts and Sciences. 11
DegreeWorks Audit View Additional Information Blocks The final three blocks display information concerning: Additional Courses- are courses that might have been taken in another university/college or at TAMUK but do not fit any requirement in your degree plan. Insufficient- are courses that include courses for which no credit was received, such as classes in which you earned an F, a W, or a D (in certain cases). In-Progress- are courses you are currently enrolled in this semester. Courses Not Counted- courses that do not count towards anything in your degree plan and cannot be used for any exceptions or substitutions. 12
DegreeWorks AuditView Discliamer This section provides the disclaimer that the audit is not an official transcript. 13
Worksheets The Worksheets tab contains three side bar options (Worksheets, What-If, and Look Ahead). As previously noted, this is where you will see your degree evaluation. Class History Although it is not located on the side bar, Class History allows you to view taken and transferred coursework. This looks similar to an unofficial transcript. All the classes you have transferred in appear at the top, and the classes you have taken at TAMUK appear towards the bottom. 14
Worksheets Worksheet Audit Views As a student, you will have two different ways of seeing your degree plan evaluation. Located under Format, you can see a drop-down menu with the following views: Student View- displays a complete audit view of your academic history. Registration Checklist- displays your unmet requirements. Student View The Student View format is the default view once you enter the Worksheets Tab. If you are under a different audit view, Student View can be accessed by selecting it on the drop-down menu under Format, and clicking View. The Student View is a complete audit view of your academic history and will change each time you add, drop, or complete a course. You can also save this view as a PDF file for future reference. 15
Worksheets Registration Checklist This Registration Checklist view is seen by selecting it on the drop-down menu and pressing the View button. The Registration Checklist format provides areas you have not completed yet, and is recommended for printing when you visit your advisor around registration time. This view displays the list of courses you are pending to complete towards graduation. 16
What-If Audits What-If Audits allow you to process projective degree audits using your class history. If you are contemplating changing your major, are undeclared, or your degree plan information on the audit is not correct, you can use this format to see where you stand in your projective degree change. 17
What-If Audits To generate a What-If Audit, select the level, degree, catalog year, major, minor, and concentration (if applicable) that you would like to audit your class history against, in the drop-down menus provided. Once the selections appear on the right window, click the Process What-If button. When selecting the criteria for a What-If Audit, make sure the proposed combinations are valid. (Ex: A major in Accounting can only be completed with a Bachelor of Business Administration Accounting degree, so selecting a Bachelor of Arts in the degree field will display an error and will not process a What-If Audit.) 18
Look Ahead Audits Look Ahead Audits can be used to determine whether the course you plan to take will be counted towards the degree plan you have declared. Enter the course subject and number, then click Add Course. 19
Look Ahead Audits The course can be removed by pressing Remove Course Once you have selected the course(s), click New Audit. 20
Look Ahead Audits An updated Student Worksheet Audit will load automatically with the selected course(s) you want to check. If the course(s) selected can be used towards your degree requirement(s), the course(s) will appear in the audit block(s). If the course(s) selected cannot count towards your degree requirement(s), the course(s) will appear in the Additional Courses section towards the bottom of the audit. 21
GPA Calculator The GPA Calculators allow you to predict graduation GPAs, end-of-term GPAs, and to estimate which grades will be needed to attain a desired GPA in order to monitor your academic standing. Graduation Calculator This calculator is a realistic view of whether you are able to obtain the graduation GPA you desire, in relation to the X amount of credits remaining for graduation. Graduation Calculator Input Fields Current GPA is your current cumulative TAMUK GPA Credits Remaining are the credits you are pending for graduation Credits Required are the total credits the degree plan requires Desired GPA is the GPA you desire to achieve by graduation. Enter the data into the blank fields and click Calculate. 22
GPA Calculator The results shown below indicates if your desired GPA is attainable depending on the amount of hours remaining to complete the degree with your current institutional GPA. Click Recalculate to alter any of the data fields. 23
GPA Calculator Term Calculator This calculator is useful in predicting what the end-of-term GPA will be, in relation to the course(s) you are enrolled for during the current semester. Term Calculator Input Fields Current GPA is your current cumulative TAMUK GPA Credits Earned So Far are the number of earned credits (TAMUK GPA Hours) Course Code are the courses you are currently enrolled in Hours are the number of hours the course counts for Grade is the final grade you predict you will earn. 24
The courses you are currently enrolled for will appear on this screen. Select the final grade(s) you predict you will earn and click Calculate. The results below provide the predicted cumulative TAMUK GPA at the end of the semester with the projected grades in the courses you are currently enrolled in. Click Recalculate to alter any of the predicted final grades. Note: The calculated TAMUK GPA does not take into account an accurate GPA if a course is being repeated. (Ex: If you are retaking a course to increase your TAMUK GPA, the Term Calculator will not be excluding the first grade you earned.) 25
GPA Calculator Advice Calculator This calculator provides the letter grades you would need to achieve in order to raise your GPA. Advice Calculator Input Fields Current GPA - is your current cumulative TAMUK GPA Credits Earned - are the number of earned hours/credits (TAMUK GPA Hours) Desired GPA is the GPA you desire to attain. Enter the desired GPA and click Calculate. The results provide the grades you will need to earn in order to attain the desired GPA. 26
This calculator also informs you whether your desired GPA is not attainable. An example is below. Click Recalculate to alter the desired GPA. 27