DegreeWorks

Introduction

DegreeWorks is a web-based degree audit and academic advising tool. It matches your academic record against the curriculum requirements and helps you learn easily what courses you still need to take to fulfill the requirements of College/School, Gateway Education (GE), major, minor, etc. It also provides features that help you plan your studies and communicate with your advisors.

Getting Started

To access DegreeWorks, please:

Log onto AIMS from CityU homepage.
Click "Study Plan" tab.
Click "DegreeWorks" and you will then see your DegreeWorks Advising Worksheet.

Reading the Advising Worksheet

Advising Worksheet is the default view when you log onto DegreeWorks from AIMS.

Your basic information is at the top of the worksheet.
Courses that are used or still needed to study will be listed against the requirements in the middle of the worksheet.
Advising notes from your advisor can be found at the bottom of the worksheet.

(Note: You can hover the image to zoom-in & move the mouse around to pan it.)

An abridged version "Registration Checklist" which only displays courses and requirements you still need to complete is also available for your reference.

(Note: You can hover the image to zoom-in & move the mouse around to pan it.)
Registration Checklist

Planning for Studies

DegreeWorks provides various features that help you plan your studies:

What If" allows you to hypothetically add/change the major, minor or stream. The audit report will show the new degree requirements, the courses taken that are applied to the new degree requirements and the courses that are still needed. It is a useful reference tool if you wish to declare or change your major, minor or stream.

[Run What If Audit]
"Look Ahead" allows you to check how the courses you plan to take can be applied to the current degree requirements.

[Run Look Ahead Audit]
"Plans" allows you to create a study plan for mapping out your academic journey against the degree requirement. It helps you to stay on track for graduation. The planned courses will also be validated against the tentative course offerings, and can help academic units to better estimate the demand of courses in future.

[Create Study Plan]
"Term Calculators" and "Advice Calculators" help you to access what grades you need to attain to reach the targeted GPA and to set a realistic academic goal.

[User Manual of GPA Calculators]

Frequently Asked Questions

Student Advising Worksheet

When should I check my advising worksheet?
You should review your advising worksheet at least a few times in each semester, particularly:
1. Before course registration to check the courses you need
2. Before you meet with your advisor or upon receiving email notification that your advisor had written notes for you
3. After your grades are available
I have just added/dropped a course today. Why is the change not reflected in DegreeWorks? When will the information be updated?
Your course registration record will be transferred to the DegreeWorks system daily at midnight. Any changes to your course add/drop will normally be seen on your advising worksheet tomorrow.
What is meant by "catalogue term"? I can see these wordings appear in the header of all the blocks of requirement in my advising worksheet.
As the requirements for any major, minor, college requirements, etc may change over time, "catalogue term" is used to differentiate the set of requirements that you are following. Normally, for your degree and gateway education requirements, the catalogue term will be the same as your admission term to the Bachelor's degree programme. If you find that what you have studied do not follow exactly the requirements of the catalogue term that you are following, please discuss with your advisor immediately.
What are the GPAs that appear in the header of the blocks of requirements in my worksheet? Why can't I find those GPAs in my transcript?
You must not mix up your DegreeWorks advising worksheet with your transcript. Your transcript is the official academic record at the University. Only the GPA as shown in your transcript is the official GPA recorded by the University. DegreeWorks, on the other hand, is a tool that helps you monitor your progress towards degree completion. The GPAs that appear in the header of the blocks of requirements are for your reference only. It gives you and your advisor an overview of your progress in different areas in your degree. The area GPAs will also be helpful to monitor the progress in some minors that require a minimum GPA for award.
I find that a course that I have studied is not put in the right area in my DegreeWorks advising worksheet. What should I do? How does DegreeWorks decide where to put the courses that I have studied?
DegreeWorks matches your academic record against your degree requirements using a "best fit” scenario. It will try to match as much completion of requirements as possible with some programmed priorities. This process will not always be perfect, particularly when multiple possibilities exist and you have just started pursuing an area of study. Normally, when you have taken more courses, DegreeWorks should better match your plan. You can also use the "Look Ahead" function and add the courses you plan to take in future to test the degree audit.

If you are about to complete your degree and you still find that the courses do not fit in your requirements as expected. Please contact the Academic Regulations and Records Office or your home academic unit for assistance.
I think my audit is incorrect. What should I do?
You should first check with the Academic Regulations and Records Office (ARRO) or your home academic unit if you find that the courses you have taken are not counted in your degree audit. If you have questions about your degree requirement or study plan, please discuss with your major leader or academic advisor. You can also send an e-mail to your advisor by clicking their name in your advising worksheet.
Can I print my advising worksheet?
Yes, you can print your worksheet by clicking the "Print" button at the top of the manual bar.
Where can I find my advisor's contact information?
You can click the name of your advisor in your advising worksheet to send him/her an email. Besides, your advisor's contact information can be found from the "Student Record" tab in AIMS and choose "My advisor/Mentor and my Mentees".
I cannot find the name of my advisor in the advising worksheet. What should I do?
Please contact your home academic unit to check if any advising services are available to you. Also, they can explain and help with the assignment of an advisor if necessary.

What-if and Look Ahead

What are the What-if and Look Ahead features?
Both What-if and Look Ahead help you plan your studies and show you how the courses you have taken and how the courses you plan to take will apply to your graduation requirements. In Look Ahead, you can quickly enter a list of courses you plan to study in future and run a degree audit to check how the courses meet your current degree requirements. In What-if, you can hypothetically change your major, minor or stream. If you are planning to declare or change their major, minor or stream, the What-if feature will help you see how the courses you have taken will apply to the new degree requirements.
Can my advisor see my What-if scenario?
Since What-if scenarios are not stored in DegreeWorks, you need to print them out if you wish to show your advisor the What-if scenarios. Alternatively, you can work through What-if together with your advisor in DegreeWorks.
Can I save my What-if scenario?
No, the What-if scenario cannot be saved in DegreeWorks. You need to run the What-if scenario again when you wish to see it. You can also print the What-if scenario by clicking the "Print" button at the top of the manual bar.

Planner

Is it guaranteed that I will be able to register on the courses that I put in my Planner?
No. The offering of course section is subject to availability of teaching staff and other resources. Listing a course in your Planner does not guarantee that the course will have available places for your registration and have no time conflict with the other courses in the Planner. However, your planner information will help academic units to better gauge course demand when preparing for class schedule in the upcoming semesters. This will help the University to provide sufficient class sections to help students complete their study plan as much as possible.
If a course has a pre-requisite, will the Planner notify me if I have missed the pre-requisite in my plan?
No. You will have to review the course catalogue and make sure you fulfil the pre-requisite requirement. In your advising worksheet, courses with pre-requisite are highlighted with an asterisk *. Click on the course code and check the course catalogue before you work out your study plan.
I'm planning to go on an exchange programme next year. Should I put the courses I plan to take at the other University in my plan?
The courses that you put in the Planner will be validated against the University course catalogue. If you put in course codes belonging to another University in your Planner, errors will be prompted when you save your plan. If you would like your advisor to review the courses you plan to take during exchange, please place a dash (-) before the course code (e.g. –AC 1234). You can also put a note in the notes section explaining your study plan during exchange programme.
Can my advisor see my study plan(s)?
Yes. Your advisor can see your plan(s). You can inform your advisor for academic advising after you have finished building your plan.