Yale Degree Audit (YDA)
Plan, Track, Graduate
Yale Degree Audit (YDA) is an advising tool that helps students (and advisors) track academic progress toward meeting requirements for graduation by comparing completed coursework and current enrollment against degree requirements.
It is important to note that Degree Audit is not an official document, but it is a very useful advising tool.
Key Components Tracked in YDA
- Major requirements
- Certificate requirements
- Special program and concentration requirements
- Distribution requirements
- Credits required for graduation
About the Blocks
Yale Degree Audit is comprised of a series of “blocks” that categorize student progress specific to their declared major(s), certificates, and distributional requirements. They provide both students and advisors an overall summary of the student’s progress. All of the blocks are visible on Degree Audit for both students and advisers.
When navigating the audit, blocks can be expanded and collapsed to make for easier viewing.
The student information block contains basic information, including student name, ID number, year, level of study, and major(s). Advisers have a drop-down menu that allows them to select and view all advisees.
The degree block offers a quick snapshot of a student’s overall progress, including total number of course credits (including in-progress), status on distributional requirements, and status of major requirements.
The distributional requirements block lists a student’s progress on general education requirements they must take regardless of their major/program of student. These requirements are broken down by language, quantitative reasoning, science, writing, humanities & art, and social sciences. There may be multiple Distributional Requirement blocks for the academic milestones in specific class years and these blocks can be collapsed or expanded.
The major/program of study block provides student progress on the specific major(s) they are pursing. This includes prerequisites, required courses, and electives.
Catalog Year: The curriculum required to complete the major is determined by the catalog year under which a student declared their major. If a student re-declares their major in YaleHub, they will automatically be placed on the newest curriculum requirements. However, if a student’s curriculum year is updated, any existing exceptions applied in Degree Audit will fall off and need to be re-applied. The catalog year appears just below the heading of the major block.
The fallthrough block contains any courses that a student has taken that do not count towards a student’s major(s)/program of study. This can include courses in the major, but taken in excess of the total number of required major courses and audited courses. Although these courses do not count toward anything specific, they still appear on the student’s academic record as they count towards the total required credits.
The ineligible block show courses that a student took that are not eligible toward their degree, such as withdrawals, failed courses, and ineligible repeats.
The in-progress and preregistered block display courses that a student is currently taking or is registered for but that have not been completes/graded. This block is also used as confirmation for which courses a student is officially registered for.
The not counted block contains items in the student’s academic record that do not count toward their degree requirements.
The exceptions block shows a summary of exceptions that have been applied to a student’s academic progress that requires the approval of their DUS/DGS or dean. These exceptions are specific adjustments to the pre-approved standard requirements.
The notes block displays any notes entered for the students. These can include reminders or summary from a student’s meeting with their advisors. Although only advisors and registrars can add notes, notes are available for all to see with the date created and creator shown.
- A green circle with a check mark indicates a requirement that has been completed.
- A half blue circle indicates a requirement that will be completed if the in-progress courses listed are completed successfully.
- A white circle with a red border indicates a requirement that is incomplete.
The What-If Feature
YDA has a tool known as the ‘What-If’ function that can help students and their advisors create speculative audits. The ‘What-If’ function tab is located next to the ‘Academic’ tab right below the student information block. Students and advisors should use this tool to see how changes in the student’s academic plans might affect their progress towards their degree or major(s) as well as visualize paths a student can take for their academic journey.
To use the ‘What-If’ function:
- Click on the ‘What-If’ tab
- Set parameters by first selecting the college field and then any parameters you want to test, such as areas of study
- Click process to generate a speculative audit that will show how the selected changes would impact the student’s progress.
Watch the demonstration Using the What-If forecasting feature in Yale Degree Audit