The Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) is a statement of a student's progress toward completion of academic university undergraduate requirements. It is an automated system and is updated as academic progress is made. If a student switches major/degree requirements, DARS will automatically switch the degree requirements from the old to the new program.
The DARS report can be accessed through WebConnect.
At the present time, DARS is encoded with all currently valid catalogs for most undergraduate majors and minors.
The DARS report includes all requirements as stated in the catalog. Your catalog is determined by the year you began at NIU. It can be changed to any valid catalog year in which you were enrolled at a secondary institution. University requirements are listed first; general education requirements are listed second; major requirements are listed third; and minor, second degree, and electives information follows (if applicable).
The DARS report is a two-column report with header information. A legend with a key to symbols in the left margin of each column is printed at the end of each report as a convenient guide. A list of substitutions made by advisers is also located at the bottom of the report.
The heading includes the date and time the report was produced as well as student information. The heading is repeated at the top of each page of the report. The student information includes name, Z-ID number, graduation date (if declared), first major, degree, general education catalog, and the major/minor catalog used to produce the report. The catalog year is set to the student's first year of enrollment at NIU unless the Office of Registration and Records has received a written request from the student to change general education and/or major/minor catalog information. Catalog changes may be completed in Williston 220.
The body of the report is divided into two columns. At the bottom of each column, the report directs the user to the column and page where the report continues. The student address and the Buckley Amendment disclaimer is printed in the bottom right-hand corner of each odd-numbered page. Requirements are separated by a solid line. Requirements may be divided into sub-requirements. All of the sub-requirements within a requirement must be fulfilled before the entire requirement is considered complete.
The report automatically assumes successful completion of all in-progress (currently enrolled) courses. Any in-progress courses not completed satisfactorily will change the report. Requirements needing a grade of "C" or better will use in-progress or registered courses (courses registered for in future terms) and assume that a "C" or better will be earned. After grades are recorded, if a grade of "C" or better was not earned, the course will be removed from that requirement.
If a student is repeating a course in which a "D" is earned, DARS automatically assumes successful completion of the in-progress course. As a result, the credit hours for the course will only be listed in the in-progress totals and not in the earned hours total. If the student fails the in-progress course, DARS will return the credit to the enrollment in which the student earned a "D" (although the subsequent "F" will be counted in calculating the student's GPA).
The current course number and/or the current department designator will appear in all reports for all requirements in the "select from" area. However, if a student took the course in the past and the course designator or number has since changed, the original will still appear as the student took it and will be used in the requirement.
Requirement/Sub-requirement
Each requirement area begins with a text line which states general information regarding what the requirement includes or requires. Depending on the requirement/sub-requirement the following may be indicated:
Key to Symbols in Left Margin of Requirements
OK = Requirement (boxed area) is complete.
NO = Requirement (boxed area) is not satisfied or requires additional course work to be completed. If more than one sub-requirement exists within a requirement area, all sub-requirements must be complete before OK appears for the requirement.
IP = In-progress courses will be used to complete the requirement. (In progress = current-term or future-term course work.) DARS automatically assumes the coursework will be satisfactorily completed following the standards required. If a student is enrolled in a course that counts in the general education area, the area will still show in progress even if the student has already completed the area.
IN-P--> = In-progress totals for a sub-requirement.
+ = Sub-requirement completed.
- = Sub-requirement not completed.
* = Specific number of courses or hours not required in sub-requirement. This symbol is used when a sub-requirement is optional but there is a maximum number of courses allowed in that sub-requirement. (Example: The maximum numberof pass/fail courses allowed per degree.)
+ R or - R = Required sub-requirement which must be completed. The "R" is preceded by either a "+" or "-" symbol to indicate the status of that sub-requirement.
OR = Only one of the sets linked together must be met.
<> = Linked requirements that are now optional because one of the sets is complete.
Grading Key for Special Grades
T_ = Transfer course. The "T" precedes the grade earned at the transfer institution.
CR = Credit (no honor points). Used fortransfer courses and for CLEP, advanced placement, and proficiency exams at NIU.
EX = Exemption, competency examination or placement examination.
IP = In progress with regular grading option.
IPP = In progress with pass/fail grading option.
IPO = In progress with audit grading option.
RG = Registered for future term with regular grading option.
RGP = Registered for future term with pass/fail grading option.
RGO = Registered for future term with audit grading option.
WC = Waived course.
TX = In-progress courses from a transfer institution.
Key to Other Symbols on Report
>D = Credit not allowed; grade counted in GPA.
>R = Credit not allowed; grade not counted in GPA (used for repeat and forfeitures).
> - = Repeatable or restricted course -- maximum credit allowable was exceeded. Credit not allowed.
>S = Partial hours from course used to fulfill requirement.
>G = Credit for earlier attempt ("D" grade earned) kept; later attempt(s) ("F" grade earned) used in GPA.
Exception Key
If exceptions have been submitted by the adviser for the student, they will be listed below the copyright. They are preceded by the key.
RM = Course(s) added to requirement, example adviser list.
CS = Course(s) substituted for required courses.
WC = Waiver(s) given for required courses.
CD = Course(s) not required because of substitution or catalog.
Status indicator prints three possible statements:
The DARS report is an internal university document for advisement purposes. Final confirmation of graduation requirements is subject to the Office of Registration and Records graduation review according to current procedure. It should not be used as a transcript.
If a student has an expired catalog (one which is more than five years old), the following messages will appear before university graduation requirement:
"Your general education (and/or major) catalog has expired. No student may graduate under a catalog more than five years old, unless specific permission is obtained from the major college. You can change your catalog in the Office of Registration and Records. Requests must be submitted in writing."
If a student has an invalid catalog, the DARS report indicates the student is not eligible to use the general education and/or major/minor catalog requested. The report also tells the student to change catalog choice in writing at the Office of Registration and Records.
No message will print if student's catalog is valid.
University Graduation Requirement
The university graduation requirement includes four sub-requirements: total university semester hours, university upper division hours, university cumulative grade point average, and academic status. An additional statement, "Contact your major college office for advisement," appears when a student is not in good academic standing.
NOTE: Grade point averages throughout the DARS report will be reported with the hours attempted and the honor points as well as the calculated GPA. Grade point averages are calculated by dividing the number of honor points by the number of hours attempted. Please see the Undergraduate Catalog for a more detailed explanation of grade point averages. GPAs include NIU work only, with the exception of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Bachelor of Science requirement.
This requirement will remain OK unless a student earns more than 12 semester hours of pass/fail credits toward the 120 semester hour graduation requirement. The requirement will then change to NO. An additional statement, "Contact your major college office for advisement," appears when the limit has been exceeded.
Eight-Hour Physical Education Activity Course Limit
This requirement will remain OK or IP unless a student exceeds the 8-hour limit. The requirement will change from OK or IP to NO if the limit is exceeded. If a student exceeds physical education activity limit, university hours required to graduate will increase by the number of hours exceeded. For example, if a student has 9 hours of physical education activity courses, he or she will then be required to complete 121 total hours instead of 120.
The residency requirement checks that 30 semester hours are earned at NIU after 80 total semester hours have been earned. This requirement is a text-only requirement until 80 semester hours have been earned. After that, the requirement begins counting the 30 semester hours at NIU required to fulfill the residency requirement.
General Education consists of eight requirements: English Core, Oral Communication Core, Mathematics Core, Humanities and Arts, Science and Mathematics, Social Science, Interdisciplinary Studies, and Distributive Studies. English Core, Oral Communication Core, and Mathematics Core are stand-alone requirements. The remaining general education areas are grouped together. Each requirement will have OK, IP or NO, depending if that requirement is complete or a course in that area is in progress. If a student was awarded compact benefits as a graduate of an Illinois public two-year college, there will be a statement in each separate requirement. If the student completed their general education requirements at Illinois school(s) participating in the Illinois Articulation Initiative, the audit will state "General education requirements met per GECC package."
Not all majors will appear the same on the DARS report. Depending on the number of requirements and/or type of requirements in a major, the report is sometimes arranged differently than the catalog text. However, the requirements in your report should match the catalog.
Pre-major requirements (even when complete) will not indicate OK because students cannot graduate with a pre-major status. If the report indicates that you cannot graduate in this major, discuss this with your adviser.
Second major and minor(s) requirements will be listed on the report, with the exception of major or minors in excess of two. Teacher certification requirements for optional majors will be indicated on the DARS report if the Office of Registration and Records has been informed a student is admitted to, or is a candidate for, teacher certification or if a student has indicated on their application that they are interested in teacher certification.
Courses used in the report will be listed in this area. Courses that do not count toward degree hours are listed first. Transfer courses with upper-level credit are listed second. The final list includes courses used in the report. This is not a requirement.
The legend is a summary of various symbols on the report. If a student attended any other college/university, the name of the school and its code is listed near the end of the report. Key of exceptions lists all substitutions or required list submissions made by the adviser for this report. Substitutions that were made for a previous major may still appear in the list. The report ends with copyright information and the words "End of Analysis."
If an adviser has access to the online degree audit screens, they will be able to view progress in a student's current program on a terminal. The online degree audit screens used by the adviser have optional override values (e.g. change major, change minor, change general education catalog choice and/or change major catalog choice, teacher certification requirements for a specific entitlement program) which result in an instant "what if" scenario for a student considering catalog, major, or minor changes. If the terminal is connected to a CICS printer, online audits may be printed. Substitutions made for other majors/minors may appear at the bottom of the report but will not be reflected in the requirements.
At this time online degree audits may only be viewed for undergraduate students whose catalog year and major is valid. Students who are declared in a major that was not available in their declared catalog year will receive an error message. Visiting and non-degree students cannot receive reports.
“What if" audits will not reflect substitutions, waivers or other exceptions. The Office of Registration and Records must code these exceptions for each major in order for them to be reflected in a major. (Example: If a College of Liberal Arts and Sciences student has a substitution to utilize a transfer course for STAT 301, it will only be reflected in the major the student has declared. When a "what if" audit is run for another College of Liberal Arts and Sciences major, this substitution would not be reflected.)