NON-COURSEWORK REQUIREMENT SECTION -The non-coursework requirements for graduation are first on the audit. Not every section that follows is a ‘requirement’ that must be met; some are merely informational sections regarding courses, but may explain why DARS is or is not doing something you would expect. Some sections only appear on the DARS audit when needed.
Application for Graduation
This section appears on every audit. One requirement for graduation is that the student actually apply for graduation. Once the student submits the application for graduation, this section will indicate the term for which the student applied.
GO-17 - Recommendation for the Degree
This section appears on doctoral audits and is just a text block indicating that this form (the GO-17) is required to be submitted by the department after the student has finished all requirements for the degree and all coursework is graded.
Term of Admission
This section also appears on every audit. The function of this section is to notify the reader what the student’s term of admission is (according to the student information system, BANNER), and if needed, a subsection will appear entitled “PRE-ADMISSION CREDITS” if the student has taken any graduate level courses before their term of admission. Pre-admission credits for master’s degree students do not automatically count on the audit; they must be approved by the department and a DARS exception request be submitted. (More information on pre-admission credits can be found in the Bulletin.)
Second Language Requirement
This section will appear on MA audits only, as the second language requirement is an MA specific requirement. This section tells the reader a second language verification is needed, and once the requirement is met either the course by which it was met will appear or the date met and language will appear on the audit.
Thesis/Dissertation Committee
If the student is in a program that requires a thesis/dissertation, this section will appear on the audit. It will say that a GO-16 form must be submitted and approved by GS before a thesis defense (or dissertation proposal) can take place. Once that form is approved, the names of the thesis/dissertation committee members will appear in this section. (If a thesis is optional, this section will appear once a student registers for a 503 Thesis credit.)
Limits on 501, 502, and 505 Courses
The university limits of these courses for master’s degrees only are identified in this section and all the courses the student has taken in this category will appear below. The DARS audit will only allow the limit for each program to count toward coursework requirements. However, all courses will appear in this section, even if they total more than the limit. If the student has not taken any of these courses, this section will not appear on the DARS audit.
Limits on 504, 508, and 509 Courses
The university limits of these courses for master’s degrees only are identified in this section and all the courses the student has taken in this category will appear below. The DARS audit will only allow the limit for each program to count toward coursework requirements. However, all courses will appear in this section, even if they total more than the limit. If the student has not taken any of these courses, this section will not appear on the DARS audit.
Joint Campus Courses
If the student has taken any Joint Campus (JC) courses, they will appear in this section. These courses are considered transfer and in order to count toward any course requirements, a GO-21 form will need to be submitted to GS. DARS will not automatically count these courses toward course requirements. If the student has not taken any of these courses, this section will not appear on the DARS audit.
M Grades
Any course with a grade of M (Missing) will fall into this category. These courses will not count toward the course requirements until graded. This section will only appear if M grades are on the student’s record. Important: Students cannot graduate with an M grade on their record in a course that can potentially be letter graded.
X Grades
Any course with a grade of X (No basis for grade) will fall into this category. These courses will not count toward the course requirements. (Once given a grade of X, the grade cannot be changed.) This section will only appear if X grades are on the student’s record.
I Grades
Any course with a grade of I (Incomplete) will fall into this category. These courses will not count toward the course requirements until graded. This section will only appear if I grades are on the student’s record.
Residency Requirement
This section appears on every doctoral audit and is manually completed by the Graduate School once it has been confirmed that the student has met the doctoral residency requirement. When confirmed, the terms used to meet doctoral residency will be listed in this section. The residency check is typically made at the time that comprehensive exams are processed. (Beth, feel free to lose this last sentence if you think it's not necessary.)
Comprehensive Exams
This section appears on every doctoral audit and is manually completed by the Graduate School after receipt and processing of a GO-22 form. When the exams have been verified, the date they were completed will be listed in this section.
Cumulative Graduate GPA
A cumulative graduate GPA (all graduate courses on the PSU transcript) of 3.0 is required for graduation. This section shows the reader how many credits are earned and in-progress, the GPA hours, points, and GPA. This section appears on all DARS audits.
Degree Program GPA
This section does two things: it calculates the number of credits being used in the coursework requirements that follow, and it calculates the GPA of those courses into what is called the Degree Program GPA. This GPA (which includes any transfer credits being used to meet coursework requirements) must be at least a 3.0 to graduate. This section appears on all DARS audits.
