Before DAP, LSUA relied on one-page degree audit sheets to track student progress. The sheets didn't update automatically and could become difficult to maintain as students changed majors or advisors. They also displayed course numbers rather than course names, making it harder for new students and advisors to understand exactly what was required.
Behind those sheets was significant manual work. Advisors had to verify degree requirements, manage multiple majors and program pathways, maintain side spreadsheets, and keep information updated across systems.
Degree audit sheets were emailed to the Registrar's Office for review. If errors or corrections were found, students could then need to change their schedules—sometimes creating delays on their path to graduation. LSUA needed a more reliable way for advisors, registrar staff, and students to understand academic progress without relying on a time-consuming manual process.
Kuali DAP gave the university a current view of each student's progress and a clearer way to understand what comes next.
For LSUA, the problem wasn't simply that degree audits took too much time. Manual processes made it difficult to maintain a single, trustworthy view of each student's academic progress. Even small errors could affect a degree plan, requiring advisors and registrar staff to spend additional time checking requirements and correcting information.
That meant advisors were spending time verifying degree requirements that could have been spent connecting with students. Students faced challenges of their own. Static audit sheets could make it difficult to understand which requirements had been completed, what remained, and how their current courses applied toward their degrees.
The challenge was particularly important for LSUA's diverse student population, including transfer students and working adults balancing their education with jobs, families, and other responsibilities.
For those students, having accurate, current information wasn't simply a convenience. It could help them understand their options and plan their education around the realities of their lives.
LSUA selected DAP to create a more accurate, transparent, and intuitive approach to tracking academic progress.
The degree audit engine gives advisors an immediate view of a student's standing, showing completed and remaining requirements and helping advisors identify courses that may not be contributing toward the student's degree.
Instead of manually reconciling information across audit sheets and spreadsheets, advisors can quickly see what's missing and help students determine how to meet their remaining requirements. Kuali worked closely with LSUA during implementation to configure rules, degree requirements, and workflows around the university's academic structure. Students gained greater visibility as well. They can explore different program options and immediately see how completed courses would apply. That includes evaluating different academic paths, considering minors, or understanding how changing majors could affect their progress toward graduation.
For LSUA's transfer students and working adults, having current information also makes it easier to plan coursework around jobs, families, and other commitments.
"It’s instant clarity. We can open a student’s record and immediately know what’s missing and how to meet that parameter. We can also see if the student is enrolled in any courses that are not helping them meet degree requirements "
– Teresa Seymour, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Distance Learning, Louisiana State University of Alexandria
With Kuali DAP in place, LSUA has created a faster, clearer, and more student-centered approach to degree auditing and planning.
The university has:
The impact is more than a faster degree audit. With a current view of academic progress, advisors can spend less time reconciling information and more time helping students make decisions. Students can see how their coursework applies, explore different academic paths, and better understand what they need to finish.
That clarity is particularly valuable for transfer students and working adults, who may need to fit their academic plans around responsibilities outside the classroom. And as LSUA has modernized its approach to advising, student completion has continued to grow.
While enrollment has increased 192% since the 2014–15 academic year, degree conferrals have increased 318%.
Students shouldn't have to rely on a static audit sheet to understand their path to graduation. And advisors shouldn't have to spend hours reconciling information before they can answer a student's most important questions.
LSUA's experience demonstrates what becomes possible when students, advisors, and registrar staff have clearer, more current information about academic progress. With Kuali Degree Audit & Degree Planning, advisors can quickly understand where students stand, students can explore their options, and registrar staff can move through degree certification more efficiently.
The result is an advising experience built around clarity—giving students greater confidence in their academic decisions and giving advisors more time to help them keep moving forward.
Discover how Kuali connects the work behind administration, research, compliance, IT, and more.
Explore Kuali solutions ->
At BMCC, degree audits once meant manually reviewing transcripts, checking requirements, and calculating what each student still needed to graduate. As enrollment grew and more students pursued online programs, that process became increasingly difficult to sustain. As Kuali’s first customer for DAP partnered with Kuali to help shape a better approach. Today, DAP automatically evaluates student…
Helping students stay on track begins with giving registrars, advisors, and students clear, accurate information about academic progress. Watch how CSU Global modernized degree planning to create a better experience for everyone involved.
