Degree Planning

The degree audit places each course using a “best fit” scenario. Often multiple possibilities exist, and Degree Works may not choose the same configuration that you may have chosen. This does not mean that it could not be used in another configuration, rather that the tool is providing a possible scenario. The registrar’s office has no control over the best fit scenarios, and these may change as the student registers and completes additional courses.

The best fit scenario also applies to students with two majors, or a major and a minor, or a major and two minors that can share courses. Students must have 7 unique courses for a major, and 4 unique courses for a minor. If the combination of shared courses is not appropriate, please contact the registrar’s office at degreeworks@colgate.edu

Note: Your Degree Audit is not valid as a transcript, nor is it official notification of degree requirement completion.

Unlike the transcript, which is the final, official documentation of a student’s academic record and degree completion at Colgate, the Degree Works audit is an unofficial advising tool. The official transcript is issued through the Office of the Registrar upon written request from the student.

Final approval of Colgate degree completion resides with the Office of the Registrar. Please contact the Office of the Registrar if you have questions regarding the degree audit or official degree completion status.

The audit is organized into categorical sections called blocks. The first block provides student demographic information and is displayed at the top of the audit, followed by requirement blocks:

• Degree in Bachelor of Arts summarizes the requirements to earn a degree including course credit, general education, major, and GPA. Students who have not yet declared a major will see a "not declared" note. This will change to the specific degree block when a major is formally declared.
• The Liberal Arts Core Curriculum summarizes all of the general graduation requirements.
• Major and minor displays detailed requirements within each major and/or minor. Specific components of the major or minor are listed individually and are checked off as the student progresses.
• Your major(s) and/or minor(s) will show in Degree Works as soon as the approved declaration form is received and processed by the registrar’s office. If it does not appear in Degree Works, follow up with the department or program.
• Major and minor requirement blocks are determined by the declaration year which appears in the major or minor block header. You are expected to complete the requirements in place for that year. If you believe the declaration year is recorded incorrectly, please contact the registrar’s office at degreeworks@colgate.edu
• Major/Minor GPA blocks appear only for those majors and minors that count all courses in the department/program toward the GPA. Otherwise, the student’s major or minor GPA comprises only the courses used to satisfy the major or minor requirements and can be found in the regular major or minor block header. Major and minor GPA calculations in Degree Works are not official calculations. The department/program has discretion on which courses are used to calculate a major or minor GPA. Changes are not made to individual audits for GPA purposes. 
• Additional/Elective Courses lists those that do not satisfy a specific requirement or are not needed to fulfill a requirement (e.g., another course is being used).
• Insufficient Courses lists any failed, withdrawn, or repeated courses that cannot be used to fulfill a requirement.
• In-progress Courses lists all registered courses that have not yet received a grade. After registration, and before the end of the current term, it will list both fall and spring courses.
• Not Counted lists courses that are taken out of sequence or have other issues that should be addressed with the registrar’s office. If there are courses listed in Not Counted, please contact the registrar’s office immediately.
• Notes may be listed for some students. If there is a note, it will appear at the bottom of the audit, or you can click the Notes tab at the top. Notes are only entered by the registrar's office and are visible to anyone who has access to the audit.

Registration Checklist

By default, the Degree Audit is shown in Student View, which gives a comprehensive view of audit information. The Registration Checklist view condenses the audit to show the outstanding requirements only. To change from the default Student View to the Registration Checklist, locate the Format drop down menu above the audit and select Registration Checklist.

Course History

Course History provides a chronological list of all completed and in-progress course work. The list includes grade and course credit information but does not provide term GPAs or a running cumulative GPA. Course History is not a transcript. To view Course History, click the three dots on the top right of the page.

Major/Minor GPA

Most major and minor GPAs are listed in the major/minor block header and are a calculated GPA based on coursework used to fulfill major/minor requirements only. Some majors and minors count all courses taken in the subject area of the department/program, whether they count toward a specific requirement in that major or not. In these cases, you will also see a separate Major/Minor GPA Coursework block below the major/minor requirement block. If present, this block should be used to determine your major/minor GPA. Major and minor GPA calculations in Degree Works are not official calculations. The department/program has discretion on which courses are used to calculate a major or minor GPA. Changes are not made to individual audits for GPA purposes. 

Transfer/AP Credit

Approved transfer and AP credit will factor into the audit where appropriate. Approved transfer credit or AP credit will appear on the audit once the Office of the Registrar has received the official transcript or score report.
What if the major or minor requirements listed in my audit appear to be incorrect?

If a transfer course is not fulfilling a requirement, it is possible that the course was not approved to satisfy a specific requirement or the Office of the Registrar was not notified. It is also possible that all specific requirements have been met and the course counts only as a degree elective. If you have additional questions regarding transfer credit, please contact the registrar’s office at degreeworks@colgate.edu.

The What-If audit will show what coursework is required for the new major or minor, what courses the student has taken that satisfy requirements, and what requirements are still outstanding.

The What-If function is for information purposes only and does not constitute declaration. You will see the header “What-If Audit” displayed at the top of the audit whenever an audit is run on a What-If scenario. You must complete and submit an approved declaration form to the registrar’s office to formally declare a major or minor.

To run a What-If Audit:

• Select What-If just under the student information block.
• Choose the current or a future declaration year (required), then select a major (required) and/or minor. If the major or minor requires an emphasis, you must also select the corresponding emphasis.
  
  You may choose several majors and minors to view in one What-If scenario. (Per university policy, students may officially declare two majors, one major and one minor, or one major and two minors.)
  
  Note: The tool requires a selection in the "Declaration Year" field. Failure to select a year will result in an error.
• If desired, add projected course work to the What-If audit by entering course information in the Future Courses section, below the major and minor pick lists.
• Once you have chosen the desired major(s) and/or minor(s) and entered projected course work, if desired, click the Process button at the bottom of the block.
   

The Look Ahead feature allows students to enter projected coursework and see how it would apply to the current audit. This could be used to help plan for registration in future terms.

To use the Look Ahead feature:

• Select What If just under the student information block.
• Check the Use Current Curriculum box
• Enter a subject and course number and click Add.
• You may repeat the process until all desired courses are entered, then click the Process button at the bottom of the block.

This will generate a new audit with the projected coursework indicated with PLAN in the grade column.

You can also use Look Ahead functionality with the regular What If audit.