Location

Registrar's Office

Millersville University

P.O. Box 1002

Millersville, PA 17551

DARS Degree Audits Available on the Web

Welcome to DARS!

A degree audit is a report that organizes a student's courses according to degree requirements. It includes completed MU courses, transfer work and courses currently in progress. The degree audit provides detailed information about how your course work applies toward requirements in your major, minor and general education areas. For both undergraduate and graduate students, it also identifies whether requirements have been satisfied. When undergraduates apply for graduation, the degree audit will be used to verify that all graduation requirements have been met. It can serve as a guide for discussions with your adviser concerning your academic program. Degree audits are not available for prospective students.

In graduate studies, degree audits are currently available for students admitted as of Fall 2005 to the present for the following programs:

MA History
MED Sport Management
MA/MED French, German and Spanish
MED Mathematics
MED Elementary Education
MED Early Childhood
MED Special Education

Instructions For Graduate Students

Running and Viewing Your Degree Audit on the Web
1. Log on to Millersville University homepage
2. Click on
3. Enter your User ID (M-number) & PIN; click Login. (To end your web session, click the Exit button.)
  The PIN number is a 6-digit Personal Identification Number that must be entered with your M-number to access web information. It provides added security, similar to the PIN used with your banking or credit card.
  
  The first time you login to use the MAX web information system, your PIN number will be your birth date in the format MMDDYY (ex. July 1, 1957 is 070157). You will get a message that your PIN has expired and you will be required to change it, as follows:
  
  Reenter your old PIN (birth date).
  Type a new PIN (must consist of 6 numbers).
  Reenter your new PIN to confirm. Click Login.
  Create a security question and answer. Please keep question and answer simple (example: grandmother's middle name = Mary).
  
  If you forget your PIN, click on Forgot Pin. Your security question will be displayed. If you answer the question correctly, then you can reset your PIN.
  
  The next time you log in to the system, begin using the new PIN. You may change your PIN as often as you like � just follow the instructions on the web.
4. Choose Student Services & Financial Aid.
5. Choose Advisement, then DARS Degree Audit Report.
Some Helpful Notes
1. NavigationTips and Help
  1. Click on Return to Menu to return to the previous screen.
  2. Click Exit at any time to logout and leave MAX.
  3. Click on Help for more information about the screen that you are using.
  4. A Legend of Symbols and Codes is also available at the top of the degree audit report.
2. Time-out
  If your account is inactive for 5 minutes or more, you will be required to re-enter your User ID and PIN to continue.
3. DARS (Degree Audit Reporting System)
  1. Available on the web daily, Tuesday to Sunday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. , Monday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  2. DARS is a software program that matches a student's course work for the current, active program with the degree requirements for a particular major curriculum at Millersville and provides a detailed report, or degree audit, summarizing the completion status of each requirement. The degree audit lists not only the requirements that must be completed in the program, but also the status of degree candidacy and other degree requirements such as cumulative credits and GPA.
    The degree audit includes courses completed at Millersville, transfer courses that have been accepted toward a degree program, courses in progress, and courses registered in a future term at Millersville.
  3. The course information on the audit comes from the Banner Student information system. This is the same system students use to register for classes and to check their grades at the end of a term. Since DARS accesses the actual database where student information is stored, it is accurate as of the moment when you process an audit.
  4. The master's degree audits serve as an advisement tool to report progress toward completing program requirements. It indicates how the completed courses count toward each of the requirements in the curriculum. Students should submit an audit and review it with their graduate program coordinator because it can serve as a basis for discussion and assessment of the academic program and the continued development of the degree audit.
  5. Unfortunately we do not have all degree audits available for students declared in other graduate programs such as for teacher certification, post-masters certification, non-degree or supervisory certificates graduate programs. Please continue to consult regularly with your graduate program coordinator and the graduate office to be aware of policy and curriculum details.
  6. If you have questions about the master's degree audit, or if you think there might be errors or discrepancies, please contact dars@millersville.edu with "Graduate DARS" in the subject heading.

Further questions about the master's program requirements (curriculum), transfer courses or approved graduate courses taken in nondegree status applying towards the program requirements should also be emailed to to the graduate office and your program coordinator with a copy to dars@millersville.edu . Since the master's degree audits are drafts, the requirements are unofficial until the development and testing of DARS curricula on the graduate level is completed. Your communication will assist us with improving the master's degree audits. The graduate office and program coordinators will be actively involved with answering your questions.

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Accessing Degree Audits

If you are a student, you must use MAX to access your degree audit. You may use any computer with an Internet browser, including personal computers at home or in residence halls and MU computer labs. The MAX system is available on the Web daily, Tuesday to Sunday, 6AM to 11PM, Monday, 6AM to 6PM. DARS availability may be limited during early registration. Check the Registrar's Office homepage before early registration to verify when DARS will be available.

If you experience difficulty getting a degree audit using the Internet, you may request one at the Office of Academic Advisement in Lyle Hall. Academic Advisement requires a 24-hour advance notice for this service.

Running and Viewing Your Degree Audit on the Web

Log on to Millersville University homepage
Click on
Type your User ID and PIN number, click Login.
For enhanced security, you will be required to enter a security question and change your PIN the first time that you use MAX.
Choose Student Services & Financial Aid.
Choose Advisement, then DARS Degree Audit Report.

Note: you have to submit an audit before you can view it. Click on Submit an Audit to request a degree audit for your current major. Minors, if any, will be included. On the next screen, click View Audits to see the list of audits you ran.

Audits are listed in the order in which you requested them, with the most recent one on top. If you don�t see the one you just processed, Refresh the List. It can take a few minutes for an audit to process. Press View Audit next to the one you want to see.

If you have more than one major, a separate audit will be processed for each major. General education requirements and minors are included under your primary major only.

To print the audit you are viewing, use the print command and printer designation for your Web browser. The audit number, rather than your name and student ID, will print in the header to protect your privacy. When finished, be sure to exit and close your browser to protect your privacy. You may even want to clear your cache, if you are using a public computer and are concerned that subsequent users will retrieve your cached information.

Note: Degree audits processed during the day will be deleted nightly.

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Navigation Tips and Help

To run a degree audit, you must know your User ID and PIN. Your User ID is located on your student ID card. You must enter an upper case "M" followed by 8 numbers, if you use your generated student ID. Your Social Security number may be used as an alternate user ID. Your initial PIN is your birth date expressed in the MMDDYY format. For example, if your birth date is July 1, 1979, your initial PIN is 070179. You are strongly urged to change your PIN, if you have not already done so. If you forget your PIN, contact the Registrar's Office in Lyle for assistance.

If your account is inactive for 5 minutes or more, you will be required to re-enter your User ID and PIN in order to continue.

Navigation Tips:

To return to a previous screen, use the Menu button.
To exit MAX entirely, use the Exit button.
For more information concerning the screen you are viewing, select the Help button.
A Legend of Symbols and Codes is also available at the top of the degree audit.

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Advisement Before Registration

Advisement is required for all undergraduate students. Well in advance of your registration time, meet with your adviser to discuss your degree program and course selection options, as well as any other concerns you may have. Take a recent degree audit with you when you meet with your adviser. After you register for classes, submit another degree audit to see how your courses will meet the requirements of your program.

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Changing Your Major

If you plan to change your major, you must submit an approved Change of Major form to the Office of Academic Advisement in Lyle Hall by that office's deadline. Change of Major forms are available at the Academic Advisement Office, Lyle (second floor) and, for your convenience, on the web at the Student Forms Center. They require the signatures of your adviser and department chairperson. If you delay in filing this form, your major change may not be processed in time for your registration, and you may not be able to register for courses restricted to your new major.

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Questions About an Audit

If you have questions about a degree audit, or you think there might be errors or discrepancies, contact one of the offices listed below for further assistance:

For curricular questions about the major, minor, or general education requirements, contact the chairperson of your major department.
Contact the Registrar's Office for questions concerning transfer courses, Millersville courses and grades, and in-progress courses.
For questions regarding exceptions to graduation requirements, a change of major or minor, or for assistance with any other type of question, contact the Office of Academic Advisement.

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What-If Degree Audits

A what-if audit allows you and your adviser to see the effects of changing a major or option, declaring a major, adding a second major, or switching your primary and secondary majors, before officially changing your record. If you are undecided about a major, the what-if audit is a useful tool to try out different majors and see how your courses will meet the requirements for those programs.

To access a what-if audit, log on to MAX. Enter your User ID and PIN. Select Student Services & Financial Aid; select Advisement; select DARS, then What-if.

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Exceptions to Graduation Requirements

Students are responsible for initiating a request for exceptions to graduation requirements. Whether the exception is in the major, minor or general education areas or to University academic policy, you should file an exception request well in advance of your expected graduation date. Approved changes will be noted on your degree audit.

To request an exception, type an explanation. Prepare a clear and compelling justification for the request and attach any supporting documentation (e.g., letters from faculty, catalog descriptions, etc.). Along with the typed explanation, include a degree audit modified by hand to show precisely how the requested exception would change your audit. Submit the request and all attachments to the appropriate signatory for approval, as follows:

The academic adviser reviews all requests with the student before the request is sent forward for approval.
The department chairperson approves any exception requests in the major.
The department chairperson of the minor approves any exception requests in the minor.
For approval of exceptions to general education requirements and/or academic policy, the major department chairperson and school dean must sign.

The major department should forward the original Request for Exception to Graduation Requirements, degree audit and any other pertinent information to the school dean of your major. The school dean will notify you of the disposition of the request and distribute proof of the exception approval to the appropriate offices.

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DARS Information for Faculty

Faculty can view degree audits for their undergraduate students by using Banner Web.

Degree audits may be run in "batch" mode. This is the preferred method for running degree audits for a large number of students. Some examples of instances when it would be appropriate to process degree audits via batch mode include:

Preparing for registration
Screening degree candidates
Reviewing students' progress in a particular major or school
Assisting departments with "admission to the major" requirements, advisement, and retention in the major, etc.

The department chair or school dean may request batch runs by sending an email to dars@millersville.edu. To get degree audits for the correct population, please be specific in your email request. For example, if you want degree audits for all of your majors who are currently enrolled, who have earned fewer than 40 credits and have not taken a particular course yet, indicate all of these parameters in your request.