UT Austin degree audit: reading your IDA

Start with the right program and a fresh result

Check which program the report describes and when it was run. One Stop explains that the audit reports progress for a specific program and must be rerun after record changes. An older saved result can remain a perfectly readable record of an earlier situation. IDA guidance

If a grade, transfer evaluation, approved change or course registration has recently changed, compare the new audit with the old one. Identify the changed requirement rather than assuming every difference is an error.

When exploring another major, treat its requirements as a separate planning question. A report describing progress toward a program does not itself establish admission to that program. Keep the application or internal-transfer process alongside the academic comparison.

Read the requirement behind the total

For every unresolved block, write down the actual requirement, the course you expected to satisfy it and the reason you think it should apply. That is more actionable than asking why the overall percentage is lower than expected.

The following examples are a reading method, not an interpretation of a real student’s audit. Each turns a broad result into a question that an adviser can answer.

Build the next schedule from the remaining requirements

Make a small planning sheet with three columns: remaining requirement, proposed course and backup. Add the term in which the course is offered and the prerequisite that must be completed first. This exposes a sequence problem before registration opens.

For an illustrative sequence, suppose a required upper-level course needs an introductory course first. Adding another elective may increase completed hours while leaving that sequence unchanged. The next useful question is when the prerequisite can be taken and when the later course is next available.

Then match the plan to the current Course Schedule and your RIS. The registration guide covers unique numbers, holds, access windows and waitlist swaps. An academic plan and a successfully enrolled schedule are separate records.

Bring the unresolved item, not just a screenshot

For a course-placement question, bring the course identifier, term, the audit block you expected it to satisfy and the relevant approved correspondence. For a sequencing question, bring both the desired course and its prerequisite.

Ask what action is required, who can approve it and when to rerun the audit after the record changes. Save the answer with the version of the plan you used. That prevents the same unresolved assumption from being carried into the next registration period.

One Stop encourages regular advising and says an IDA report does not replace required registration advising, an official degree audit or the graduation application in the final semester. A reassuring report is therefore a planning aid, not the last graduation action. University responsibilities

If the unresolved item is exam credit, check the score-to-course and petition sequence. If another organization needs your record, choose the appropriate transcript or academic summary before ordering.

Non-business majors planning business coursework can use the Business Foundations Minor catalog and prerequisite comparison to distinguish an accepted requirement from a completed prerequisite.

Degree progress and GPA answer different questions

A degree audit asks how work applies to a program. GPA arithmetic asks how included graded hours and grade points combine. The same course can raise a question in both systems without the two answers being interchangeable.

Use the UT GPA calculator and grading explanation for a stated grade scenario, then use IDA and advising to establish how that coursework applies. For the broader plan, the UT Austin guide collection connects academic planning with tuition, parking and housing.