Degree Works FAQ

Degree Works is a web based tool to help students and advisors monitor student's progress toward degree completion. Degree Works combines Farmingdale State College’s (FSC) degree requirements and the coursework you have completed with an easy-to-read worksheet that helps you see how courses that you have completed count toward degree requirements, and that helps you see what courses and requirements you still need to complete. However, the official certification of degree requirements is done by your curriculum chairperson.

A Degree Works Audit is a review of past, current and planned coursework that provides information on complete, in progress (courses you are currently registered for) and missing requirements necessary to complete a degree/major/minor/concentration. The audit is divided into block requirements such as Degree, General Education, Writing Intensive and Liberal Arts, Dual Major, Minor and Concentration (for those programs that require students to complete a concentration). Each block works like a checklist that has boxes that are automatically checked when a requirement is met or is in progress (takes into account courses you are currently registered for).

Students who entered FSC with a catalog year of 2012-2013 and later will be able to view degree audits produced in Degree Works. If the catalog year is prior to catalog year 2012-2013 you may use the ‘What-If’ functionality in Degree Works but are required to see an academic advisor to verify degree requirements since the audit being used lists the requirements from catalog year 2012-2013. Students enrolled in previous catalog years must seek advisement from their advisor in order to verify degree requirements.

The What If function is a great tool to use if you are planning on changing or adding a major or minor. To perform a What If audit:

1. Click on the "What If" tab on the left hand side of the audit.
2. Select the major or minor you are considering.
3. Select the catalog year that matches the term that you wish to change your major.
4. Click “Process Audit.”

Carefully review the requirements for the new program to see how this will affect your future semesters. You can discuss the new program requirements with an advisor.

What If audits are not saved in Degree Works, so you will need to follow the steps above in order to revisit any What If audit you create. You can print your What If audit for future reference.

Please note: This is not the same as officially changing your program. You will need to contact the chairperson of your intended program to see if you meet the admission requirements for the new program and if requirements are met then you must complete a Curriculum Change Form.

Yes. Like other processes that you perform through OASIS, Degree Works is accessed through your secure log-in. However, your advisor, faculty and authorized staff will be able to view the information contained in your degree audit.

The information in Degree Works is refreshed each night. As changes are made to your record (e.g., grade changes, course substitutions/waivers or classes added/dropped, academic standing) you will be able to view in degreeworks the next day.

Yes. During the grading period when grades are posted to your record they are viewable in Degree Works.

No. Registration including pre-requisite checks will continue to be handled through OASIS.

Yes. Utilizing the ‘Save as PDF’ button, you can save or print a .pdf version of your audit. When doing so please be aware of FERPA regulations; they can be viewed on the FERPA tab to the left of this page.

Yes. Some commonly used tools have been relocated to the top right of the degree audit page. The 'Class History' link is used to view a list of courses taken at Farmingdale as well as any transfer credits you may have been granted. It is in available in printable format.

This can be for a number of reasons:

    1) If a student has changed majors, courses that once counted for the previous major no longer are required by the new major.

    2) Students may have taken more elective courses than required.

    3) There may have been more transfer credits posted than required.

    4) You may have registered for courses that are not counted toward your degree program. You MUST see your advisor. Courses in the Fall Through area may negatively impact your financial aid.

Please contact the Registrar's Office immediately! If it's an audit issue our office will make the appropriate correction(s); If it's a course requirement issue we will refer you to your department chairperson. The first step is to clarify what information you believe is wrong.  You can email us at degreeworks@farmingdale.edu with your concern or stop by our office located in Laffin Hall room 225. Below are the most common questions raised and the course of action:

My major is wrong and/or doesn't appear on my worksheet.
If you have not declared a curriculum or if you have already submitted the necessary forms to Change your Curriculum check with the Admissions Office to make sure that there were no problems processing your paperwork. Otherwise you can obtained a Change of Curriculum Form which you will need to take to your advisor to obtain the necessary approval. If you have changed your major for a future term, the change will not be reflected in Degree Works until that term begins.

The requirements for my major are wrong.
Look at the catalog term that appears on each of the bars that separate the blocks in your worksheet. This is the catalog year that Degree Works is using for your requirements. The catalog year is being pulled from your academic record. If you believe it should be different, you will need to contact your curriculum Chairperson for a degree evaluation.

My transfer courses don't appear in my Degree Audit.
If you’re concerned about a transfer course that should be used for requirements and does not appear in your degree audit contact the Transfer Credit Evaluator at Tsr@farmingdale.edu or stop by the office located in Laffin Hall.

My advisor or department chair gave me permission to substitute a course but it's not showing on my audit.
First, check with the Registrar’s Office to see if the paperwork was received from the academic department. If the Registrar’s Office does not have the paperwork they will refer you to the academic department so you can follow up with the advisor.

First, don't panic. If you have followed the requirements as shown in Degree Works and have followed up with your advisor periodically we should be able to figure out why a certain requirement(s) are not being picked by Degree Works. If there’s a need to update information on your degree audit your department advisor will follow up with our office to resolve the issue.

At least four times a semester. Please review your degree audit:
-Before you meet with your academic advisor to discuss registration for an upcoming semester.
-After you register to ensure that the courses you selected applied to your requirements like you thought they would.

-After your grades for each semester are posted.
-Any time you make a change to your schedule.

-To view the posting of your degree, after you complete the last courses for the program.   

Students and their advisor's may use Degree Works to view a student's progress toward meeting graduation requirements, but it is not an official certification of your degree.

Your degree audit is a tool to provide you with academic information related to your degree progress. It displays courses required, completed and in progress in your degree program. Your transcript is your official college record and provides a chronological list of courses completed and other academic information. Click here to request your official transcript .

If you declared a Minor, Degree Works is programmed to recognize that some courses can fulfill requirements for the Major and the Minor. If you have any questions regarding your specific program, contact your advisor or the Registrar's Office at Degreeworks@farmingdale.edu.

Please contact the Registrar's Office at Degreeworks@farmingdale.edu or call the office at 934-420-2776. As long as the course is approved by your advisor for use in another area, we will be glad to adjust your degree audit to reflect this approved change.

In most cases, your General Education classes are coded during the Admissions process by the Transfer Credit Evaluator so they would be applied in the appropriate area on your worksheet. The Transfer Credit Evaluator reviews each student with an AA or AS degree to make sure this works as planned, and to make adjustments as necessary. If your worksheet does not look like you expected it to or you believe courses are missing, please contact the Transfer Credit Evaluator at TSR@farmingdale.edu and they will follow up with the Registrar's office.

While Degree Works has been designed to check almost everything that you must complete to qualify for graduation, there may be additional non-course requirements for your curriculum that must be completed as well. Therefore, you should use Degree Works in conjunction with the College Catalog and with any information that your major department provides to ensure that you remain on track for graduation. If you have questions about any additional requirements for your curriculum, you should contact your advisor.

The degree progress bar will show 100% completion when all final grades are posted. If you have still have questions regarding the status bar, contact the Registrar's Office at 934-420-2776 or at Degreeworks@farmingdale.edu.

Once you have submitted an Intent to Graduate Form to the Registrar's Office you can visit the commencement site for further details at https://www.farmingdale.edu/commencement/

 

Official final degree audits are approved and certified by the department chairperson at the end of the semester in which the student completes all minimum requirements for the degree. The audit is used to automatically award the degree.

Your petition will be added to your Worksheet Audit after it is approved by your advisor or department chair, and, if necessary, dean.  Substitutions of 100 or 200 level courses for 300 or 400 level course requirements are generally not permitted. 

Once the paperwork is received at the Registrar’s Office the course you completed will be applied to fulfill the requirement in question, and, in most cases, an additional line will appear under it that explains why the exception was entered. If your waiver/substitution is related to a transfer course, we will make an adjustment to the course equivalency to ensure that it appears in the correct spot in your audit. In those cases, there may not be an explanation related to the change on your worksheet, however, the course will be moved to the requirement that it should fulfill. 

You can use the “what-if” tab to run an audit using criteria for the intended program. However, please note, that what-if audits are unofficial and do not guarantee that you will meet the admissions requirements for acceptance into that program. If you decide you'd like to change your curriculum, you should visit the curriculum department for your intended major for information on curriculum change procedures.

At this time, you can create a what-if analysis for one major. An option for a primary and a dual major is not available.

Use the “what-if” tab, select the minor in the selection area. Enter the Minor you're interested in and run an audit. Be aware that some majors will list a restrictive list of minors. If you're interested in declaring a Minor you must officially apply and be approved for a minor. To obtain permission to add a Minor you must go to the department that offers the Minor. The list of Minors, requirements and departments that offer them are in the catalog at https://www.farmingdale.edu/registrar/catalog.shtml.

Either you haven't declared your concentration yet, or you ran a "what-if" without adding a concentration. If you need to declare your concentration, stop by your curriculum department office to complete the necessary paperwork and they will forward that information to the Registrar's Office for processing. Once processed you will be able to see the concentration in the Student View part of the audit.

If you repeat a course, your last attempt counts toward degree requirements. This will be the attempt that appears on your worksheet. After you receive a grade for your second attempt, the first attempt will be placed in the "Courses not Used" category at the bottom of your worksheet. The courses in this area do not count toward your total hours and they cannot be used to fulfill requirements. Repeated courses must be taken prior to awarding the degree.

Most courses should be hyperlinked. In a few cases, the course requirements are written in a text format. In these cases, you won't be able to use a hyperlink to see the course description; you will need to go to the catalog located at https://www.farmingdale.edu/registrar/catalog.shtml.

The Legend at the bottom of the audit provides a description of the symbols you see across the audit. For example: The @ symbol acts like a wild card. The @ sign allows the auditor to use a course with any course designator. For example, the auditor will use SOC 122 or SOC 122W (writing intensive) if the course is displayed at SOC 122@.  If it appears after a subject prefix (i.e., PSY @), it means that you can take any Psychology course at any level.

If you have any other questions regarding the use of Degree Works that is not covered here, please email the Registrar's Office at DegreeWorks@farmingdale.edu or stop by our office in Laffin Hall room 225.