Digital degree audits boost completion rates, foster collaboration with faculty and students

Abstract

ANAHEIM, CALIF. — Implementing new technology is never without challenges, but implementing a digital degree audit system has meant big rewards for the University of California, Santa Barbara Registrar's Office. In a session at the Pacific Association for Registrars and Admissions Officers annual conference, a team of registrars from UCSB discussed the migration of their degree auditing system from a homegrown system to the Degree Audit Reporting System. The new system implementation has, according to the presenters, led to a higher completion rate, including a 50 percent decrease in nongraduated students (those students either eligible to graduate and for whatever reason don't or those students on track to graduate, with either fulfilled or close to fulfilled credit requirements, who don't complete their degree) within eight years while increasing collaboration between the Registrar's Office and academic departments on campus. Sara Cook, assistant registrar; Anthony Schmid, associate registrar; and Leesa Beck, university registrar, shared how the adoption of DARS has improved student self‐service for degree evaluation, strengthened interdepartmental ties with faculty, and boosted completion rates on campus.