Managing Degree Works petitions (advisors)

Searching for students

When logging into Degree Works, students you are assigned to as an advisor should populate in the select student drop down: 

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Additionally, from the advisor tab, you can select “View Audit” which will open the student’s audit directly in a new tab. 

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If working within the audit, you can quickly go to a student’s audit by entering the ID directly and pressing “Enter” (or “Return”)

If searching for a student (or a group of students) the advanced search option allows you to search based on various pieces of information. 

The “@” symbol can be used as a wildcard in the first/middle and last name field: 

It is strongly recommended that you use as much information as possible to filter students – the maximum number of students that can be returned using the advanced search is 750. Degree Works will only return the first 750 students. 

Accessing petitions

Petitions allow departments and schools to apply coursework on an exception basis. While the degree audit lists requirements for students, often exceptions, substitutions, or waivers can apply on a case-by-case scenario. To accommodate these, Degree Works includes a petitions feature. Currently, access to petitions is reserved for Academic Advisors and graduate coordinators. If you feel you should have access to the petitions feature, please contact the Registrar’s Office. 

To access petitions, click on the three dots above the header: 

Click on “Petitions” 

Viewing existing petitions

This will bring up a dialog box of all current petitions for a student: 

Adding a new petition

Click “Add a New Petition.” This will create a free form text box that allows you to describe what needs to happen within the audit. 

When entering a petition, please use the following syntax. DO NOT COPY AND PASTE EMAILS OR EMAIL THREADS DIRECTLY INTO THE PETITION. 

1. Note if a student is planning to graduate this semester by starting the petition with “GRADUATING” 

2. Note the exception type

   1. Waiver/Waive –This waives a requirement. This does not change the number of credits required for a major or minor. 

   2. Apply Course – Please enter the subject, course number, section, and semester (if needed) of the course to applied to a requirement. 

   3. Allow Course – This will allow a course to appear as an option to satisfy a requirement in a future term. This should only be used for coursework a student has not registered for or received credit for.

   4. Change Course Limit – Some majors or minors require a minimum or maximum number of courses/credits with a certain quality (i.e. a minimum of two courses with the NSCI prefix). This overrides that minimum or maximum

   5. Substitution – This is typically used for study abroad equivalencies. This is an exception to say that course taken (Course A) is equivalent to course B and will be considered by the audit in any requirement that course B would. For these, please include a section and term of the course taken.

   6. Other – When in doubt, use other and describe what must be done. For very complex exceptions, please consider opening a Registrar Service Ticket instead. 

3. Note the block and requirement that is being modified. All that needs to be entered is the requirement number/name listed. 

4. Note who has approved the exception and when it was approved. 

5. Click the Save Petition button when finished.

Example

In this example, we submit three petitions for the Dance Major below: 

1. We will waive Req. 1 – Performance I 

2. We will apply a course to Req. 3 – Dance Pedagogy 

3. We will modify the number of credits needed in Req. 11. 

Modifying existing petitions

Submitted petitions that haven’t been approved, rejected, or applied can be editing from the Petitions menu.

1. Select the petition you’d like to modify and access the three-dot menu on the right. Select Edit petition.

2. Change the description as needed, and when finished, click Save Petition.

Viewing a petition’s status

Once a petition is submitted it will exist in one of four states: Waiting, Approved, Rejected, or Applied as Exception. 

The status of the petitions will appear when clicking on “Petitions”.

Waiting

This state indicates that the petition has been successfully submitted. It is part of the Registrar’s Office queue. 

Approved

This state indicates that the Registrar’s Office has acknowledged the petition and deemed it is an exception the Registrar’s Office can process. It does not mean that an exception has been applied. Typically, these will be processed as exceptions in 2-3 business days, unless noted as “graduating” which are expedited. 

Rejected

This state indicates that the Registrar’s Office cannot proceed with the exception. If a petition is submitted that is rejected, the Registrar’s Office will contact you directly. Copying and passing an email thread into a petition is a reason for a petition to be rejected. 

Applied as exception

The Registrar’s Office has applied the petition as an exception. 

Additional Notes

Petitions and exceptions are intended to be used sparingly for students.

• If batch exceptions applicable to all students in a major or minor are required, please contact the Registrar’s Office for alternative methods to update the audit. For example, if a special topics course in one specific semester will count for all majors, it is easier and more equitable for the Registrar’s Office to update the audit than apply exceptions. 

Exceptions cannot override Banner data.

• If a course is flagged as insufficient, no exception can apply that course to a requirement. If a course that is insufficient needs to apply to a requirement, contact the Registrar’s Office, do not submit a petition. 

If a course does not appear on an audit and is expected, confirm that the course is pointing to the correct level of study

• For example, if a course taken as an undergraduate as part of a 4+1 program is not appearing on the undergraduate level but should, contact the Registrar’s Office to review and correct the pointer if necessary. Do not submit a petition. 

If a course is applying in multiple requirements, but should only apply to one -

• please contact the Registrar’s Office directly about a possible sharing issue. Do not submit a petition.

When the Registrar’s Office manages exceptions, each petition exists in isolation of any other previously submitted.

Please do not reference previously submitted petitions – instead, follow up with the Registrar’s Office directly. 

If a petition needs to be deleted, please contact the Registrar’s Office directly.

• Do not submit an additional petition. 

Connect with us

Use our Registrar Support Form to reach the Degree Audit team in the Registrar’s Office.

On this page

NTC Salesforce petition submission form