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How to read your Degree Evaluation in Degree Works

Overview and Access

Your degree evaluation is where the Registrar’s Office records which requirements you have completed for your degree and which you still need to fulfill. You should check your degree evaluation regularly to make sure you’re on track to graduate.

You can read a quick guide to Degree Works by visiting the Degree Works Help page on the Registrar’s office website. This page includes a list of FAQ’s and some instructional videos, including a great 3 minute introductory video called “How to Read a Degree Evaluation.”

To access your records in Degree Works:

  1. Go to the Student Records channel in MyBethel.
  2. Click “Degree Evaluation”.
  3. This should bring you into Degree Works. If it does not bring you directly to Degree Works, you will be brought into Banner, as your degree evaluation is not in Degree Works (some catalogs are not available in Degree Works). If you are redirected to Banner, refer to these instructions for how to read your degree evaluation.

Familiarizing Yourself with Degree Works

At the top of the Degree Works page, you will see a number of sections with various information in them:

  1. The first row contains your ID and your name, followed by your Degree, your Major, your Level, and your Student Class Level. 

    • Degree
      • If you are a PSEO student, you will need to select your degree from the ‘Degree’ section dropdown menu.
      • If you are pursuing multiple degrees or licenses that are not of the same type (for example B.A. and B.S.), you will need to change this selection to view each degree.
    • Major - This section displays your current major. It is very important to make sure your major(s) are listed correctly. If anything is incorrect, fill out the Declaration of Major/Minor/Advisor form so your degree evaluation will be accurate for your intended major.
    • Level - This section displays your current level (for example UG = undergraduate).
    • Student Class Level - Displays your current Student Class Level.

  2. Underneath this student information area, the Legend section gives a helpful reference for you to use as you look at your Degree Evaluation.  Three important notations to notice are:

    • - this shows that a requirement is complete and has been met (these lines are also unhighlighted).  Your goal is to see this notation in front of all of your requirements!
    •  - this notation highlights requirements that are not yet met.  These lines are also highlighted in yellow.
    • - this notes a requirement you are currently fulfilling with a course you are taking.  You must complete the course with a passing grade to complete the requirement.

Reading Your Degree Evaluation in Degree Works

Now that you are a bit more familiar with the layout of Degree Works, let’s jump into actually reading your degree evaluation.

  1. Student View Section - The first section you’ll see is your Student View Section. This section contains information about you, your advisor, and general information about your major, minor, and major concentration or emphasis.  You will also see your overall GPA in this section. Note that any transfer courses are not included in your GPA. If anything is incorrect, fill out the Declaration of Major/Minor/Advisor form so your degree evaluation will be accurate for your intended major.
  2. Degree Section - This section contains general information regarding Bethel’s requirements for graduation, irregardless of major. A few of the requirements are:

    • 122 Credits Required - Each student needs to have taken at least 122 credits in order to graduate. You can take more than 122 credits and graduate, but you cannot take fewer than 122 credits and graduate. Each major at Bethel is designed to meet this requirement through the major requirements, Bethel’s General Education requirements, and Elective courses.
    • 28 of Last 35 Credits Taken at Bethel - Before you can graduate, at least 28 of your last 35 credits must be taken at Bethel,
    • 37 Upper Level Electives Required - Each student must take a minimum of 37 upper level electives (300 level or above) in order to graduate.  Usually, this is easily met through your major and general education requirements.
    • One Biblical Foundations Course Taken at Bethel - Bethel has 3 Biblical Foundations courses: BIB 101 Introduction to the Bible, THE 201 - Christian Theology, and then an Interpreting Biblical Themes (J) course. Regardless of how many transfer credits you have, at least one of these courses must be taken at Bethel.
    • A minimum GPA of 2.0 is required - In order to graduate from Bethel, you must achieve a GPA of at least 2.0. Courses you took before coming to Bethel do NOT count towards your GPA.

The rest of the requirements listed here have their own separate section displayed on the degree evaluation, and we’ll get to them next.

  1. General Education Section- This section will outline your general education requirements. Since your requirements will depend on your Entry Level, this section’s title line gives your ‘General Education Entry Standing Level’ (see theTransfer Entry LevelCatalog page for more details).  If your level does not match what you think it should, email cas-registrar@bethel.edu. List your name, ID, number of transfer credits, and the level you think should be recorded.

    After a section giving either your CWILT or Humanities requirements (more on them in a moment), you will see other requirements given, generally in the order they will be taken during your time at Bethel. Here are a few additional details related to these General Education requirements:

    • General Education Tracks - Most students will see either CWILT or Humanities courses, based on the track you selected (see further information about these two options here: CWILT and Humanities). If you have not chosen a track yet, both options will be displayed in your evaluation until you choose one of the tracks.

    • Bible Requirements - All Bethel students are required to take at least one Bible class at Bethel. Your remaining Bible requirements will be based on your transfer level and will be displayed in the general education section.

    • Second Language (S) Requirement - You must complete the second semester or higher of a language (102S or higher). If you have no experience in a second language, you will need to take two classes, or 8 credits (101 & 102S). See the language placement information.

    • The Artistic Experience (A) requirement - Also called an “A tag,” this requirement can be met through a number of classes, such as creative writing, studio art, or music lessons or ensemble. Some of these options can be taken for 0 credits, while others may be a 1 or 3-credit class.

    • Cross Cultural Experience (Z) Requirement - The “Z tag” course is a requirement that can be met in several ways, including some study abroad options or taking a class on-campus that allows you to interact with another culture. It’s good to think now about how you might meet this requirement.

    • For more information on General Education courses and requirements, refer to these General Education links: General Education OverviewCategories of Courses, and the bottom of this page in Bethel’s Catalog. Also, make sure you pay attention to which general education courses may already be covered within your major.  

  2. Interim Term Requirements - This section displays your requirements for the number of interims you must take at Bethel. This number will be dependent on how many credits you transferred in to Bethel (see Transfer Standing Level charts).
  3. Major Requirements - The Major Requirements section contains all of the requirements for your major. Remember to refer to the legend at the top of your Degree Evaluation for help knowing what the different symbols mean. A few things to keep in mind a you look at this part of your Degree Evaluation:

    • If you are a PSEO Student or are pursuing multiple degrees (B.S., B.A.), you will need to select your degree from the ‘Degree’ section dropdown menu at the top of your Degree Evaluation page.

    • If you have a minor, its requirements will be displayed underneath your major.

    • If the courses you thought should transfer in to fulfill a major requirement are not appearing in your major section of  your degree evaluation,fill out a petition formto request another review.

    • Make sure you see all your majors and minors. If you have not declared one of your majors or minors, you may fill out the Declaration of Major, Minor, or Advisor form.

    • In both the Major Section and the General Education Section, note that much more information about the courses that are used to meet the requirements can often be found by clicking on the requirement.  Hover over a requirement and often, an underline will appear, noting that more information is available. For example, clicking on:  will bring up the course description for GES140 and also the planned sections for course offerings (along with any prerequisites needed).   

    • In both the Major Section and the General Education Section, you can click on the courses (1 class in GES 125 in the example below) to the right of the course name to see when those courses are offered next. 

      You will also see prerequisite courses you will need to have completed before taking a particular course. Pay close attention to any prerequisite courses and make sure that you have it before adding a course requiring a prerequisite to your plans.

    • Notice that your major GPA is given on the blue bar heading for your major.  Some majors will also have a particular GPA requirement that you must meet in each course that corresponds to your major (this does not include General Education courses unless those courses are a part of your major).  This will be given as a note in the major section if this applies to your major.

  4. General Electives (or Courses Toward Additional Degree) - The next section details the General Elective courses you have already taken or are currently taking. These courses do not fulfill general education or requirements for the major you selected, but they will be added toward the total 122 credits you need to graduate. If you took more than one course that fulfills a general education category, the first course will appear under the General Education section, and additional courses will appear as electives. If you are pursuing multiple degrees, these credits may also count towards that degree. If the multiple degrees are not of the same type (for example and B.A. and a B.S.), you will need to change the Degree selection at the top of the degree evaluation to view each degree’s evaluation. 

  5. Courses Not Used - You may have an additional section in your degree evaluation that contains courses that have not been applied to any of the previous sections. This will include any course that was incomplete, withdrawn, or had a failing grade. Also, if your degree has grade requirements for courses, if you did not meet the grade requirement, and then repeated the course and met the requirement, the original course will appear in this section.

  6. In Progress - this section lists your current courses.

  7. Notes - if your advisor has written any advising notes, these will appear in this section at the bottom of your degree evaluation.  It’s a good idea to review these notes and follow up with any actions that your advisor may have suggested.

Congratulations! You’ve explored your degree evaluation in Degree Works!

But what if you are thinking of switching majors and want to see what a plan would look like with that major? Degree Works can help with that too.

What-If Analysis

  1. Go into Degree Works

  2. From the ‘Degree Evaluation’ tab near the top left hand side of the page, select ‘What If’

    • What-If Section- First, under the dark blue ‘What If’ bar, select the following:

      • Level - This denotes what type of level you are, such as Undergraduate, Graduate, etc. For CAS students, this will almost always be set to Undergraduate.

      • Degree - Select the degree associated with the major you are interested in reviewing. If you aren’t sure of the degree associated with your major, see the major listings on this page (examples are:  A.A., B.A., B.S., B. Mus., etc.)

      • Academic Year - Select the year you entered Bethel. If a major you are interested in pursuing was not offered during the year you started at Bethel, you will need to select the first year that major was offered.

    • “Choose Your Different Areas of Study” Section

      • Major - Select the Major(s) you are interested in exploring. These will appear in the section to the right of the Major drop-down menu.

      • Minor - Select any Minor(s) you are interested in exploring. These will also appear in the section to the right of the Minor drop-down menu.

      • College - Select the correct College from the College drop-down menu. For most students, this will be CAS (the College of Arts and Sciences).

      • Concentration - Some majors have a concentration or emphasis. Select the concentration you are interested in exploring. This too, will appear in the section to the right of the Concentration drop-down menu. For help knowing which concentrations might be in your major, please refer to the “Academic Programs” section of  Bethel’s Catalog (make sure you choose the catalog associated with your entry year).

    • Finally, go back up towards the top of the page. You’ll see a blue button with the words ‘Process What-if.’ Click that button to process your What-If scenario.

From here, you can follow the same instructions used to help you read your normal degree evaluation.