UT Austin degree audit: reading your IDA
Run a fresh audit, identify the requirement behind each result and turn the unresolved items into advising questions.
In this guide
To run a UT Austin degree audit, open One Stop’s official IDA entry, request a report for the intended program, then review its remaining requirements. Rerun IDA after your academic record changes; a saved report does not automatically incorporate a later registration, grade or credit update.
The most useful output is a list of remaining requirements and the courses that could satisfy them. A high completion percentage or a large credit total can hide one prerequisite that controls when you can take the next required class.
Public IDA workflow and current catalog examples checked October 27, 2026. No student audit, transcript or private record was accessed. Program-specific continuation rules and credit exclusions are not universal graduation or admission rules.
Start with the right program and a fresh result
- Request and view an audit for the intended degree program.
- Review the remaining blocks with the correct plan/catalog and note unresolved credit or prerequisite questions.
- Rerun after record changes and take the changed result to required advising.
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.
Choose the IDA problem to resolve
My report predates a record change
A readable saved audit can still reflect an earlier record.
- Check whether the grade, registration or credit evaluation has posted.
- Rerun the intended program and compare the affected block.
- Ask advising about an unresolved placement after the fresh result.
The program or plan year looks wrong
Requirements belong to a particular program and applicable catalog.
- Record the program and plan year shown on the report.
- Compare the appropriate official plan and ask advising which version applies.
- Keep admission to another program separate from its planning comparison.
A course is not applied where I expected
A title or total-hours match does not establish an approved use.
- Record course ID, term and the exact requirement block.
- Check credit exclusions and any approved equivalency or substitution.
- Ask the responsible adviser what review or record change is needed.
A later required course is blocked
A remaining prerequisite can control the next available term.
- Read current prerequisites and term offerings.
- List a feasible prerequisite and backup section.
- Use your RIS and required advising before registration.
I am planning my final semester
A reassuring IDA does not complete the graduation actions.
- Read your actual remaining requirements with advising.
- Check official degree-audit filing and graduation-application requirements.
- Use the relevant school and term deadline, then retain the university result.
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.
Scroll the table to compare every column.
| Illustrative result | What it may leave unresolved | Question to take to advising |
|---|---|---|
| Enough total credit hours | A specific required course | Which requirement is still open? |
| A course is not applied where expected | Its approved use in this program | Does an equivalency or exception need review? |
| A later course fits the plan | A prerequisite or sequence | What must be completed before I can take it? |
| Recent grade or credit update is missing | Saved report predates the change | Has the record posted, and have I rerun the intended program? |
| Correct course, unexpected audit placement | Catalog-year, program or substitution mismatch | Which rule or approved exception controls this block? |
Authored examples. The actual degree plan, catalog requirements and adviser-approved decisions govern a student’s case.
Two catalog comparisons show why total hours are not enough
The current catalog’s Canfield Business Honors continuation rule requires at least 12 letter-graded hours in residence in each first-year fall and spring semester. That is an original minimum-period calculation of 24 such hours over the two semesters, or 20% of its 120-hour degree total. Twenty-four hours in another credit category, or unevenly split between semesters, does not establish that the per-semester rule is met.
A separate course crosswalk shows why adding listings can overstate usable credit. BAX 304, BAX 305 and MIS 304 each carry three catalog hours, but the current catalog says only one may count. Their nominal sum is nine, while the allowed single-course contribution is three: a six-hour difference before considering how any credit actually applies to your degree.
These comparisons use public rules, not a student record. Canfield continuation/graduation requirements are not BBA or honors admission cutoffs. Course equivalency, substitutions and the use of transferred or examined credit still need the applicable plan and authorized review.
Scroll the table to compare every column.
| Source comparison | Original calculation | Question for IDA/advising |
|---|---|---|
| Canfield first-year letter-graded in-residence minimum | 12 hours each fall/spring → 24 over both; 24/120 = 20% | Does each semester meet the specific category and minimum? |
| BAX 304 / BAX 305 / MIS 304 exclusion | 3 + 3 + 3 = 9 listed; only one 3-hour course may count | Which credit is applied, and is overlapping credit excluded? |
Original arithmetic from the current Canfield program and BAX course catalog, checked October 27, 2026. The 20% is a comparison of published hour requirements, not a measured completion percentage. No individual degree decision is made.
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
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.
A degree audit is different from auditing a class
IDA reports progress toward a degree program. The catalog’s separate permission to audit a course concerns attending a class without university credit; that audited course does not appear on the transcript. It is not the system for checking graduation progress.
Keep registration advising, official degree-audit filing and the graduation application on your plan as distinct actions. One Stop explicitly says IDA does not replace them. A satisfied planning report does not establish that you applied to graduate or that an exception has been approved.
Questions answered
Where do I run IDA?
Use One Stop’s official Interactive Degree Audit entry to request and view a report for the intended program. It requires the university’s authenticated student workflow.
Texas One Stop — IDA and student responsibilities · Checked 2026-10-27
Why does a recent class or credit change not appear?
Check that the underlying record has posted and rerun the audit. One Stop says changes after a saved audit are not included until a new audit is run. Compare the affected requirement rather than relying on an old completion total.
Texas One Stop — IDA and student responsibilities · Checked 2026-10-27
Can I compare another program?
IDA describes progress toward a specific program. Keep the selected program and applicable catalog year visible. A planning comparison does not itself admit you to another major or approve its credit rules.
Texas One Stop — IDA and student responsibilities · Checked 2026-10-27
Does a satisfied IDA mean I applied to graduate?
No. One Stop says IDA does not replace required advising, filing for an official degree audit or submitting the graduation application at the beginning of the final semester.
Texas One Stop — IDA and student responsibilities · Checked 2026-10-27
Who can approve a substitution?
Take the exact requirement, course identifier, term and relevant prior approval to your academic adviser or the program’s responsible office. An independent guide or a course-title match cannot authorize the exception.
Texas One Stop — IDA and student responsibilities · Checked 2026-10-27
Is this the same as auditing a class?
No. IDA checks degree progress; permission to audit a class concerns attendance without university credit and does not put that audited course on the transcript. The two processes have different purposes.
UT catalog — auditing a class without credit · Checked 2026-10-27
Sources & dates
- Texas One Stop — Interactive Degree Audit and student responsibilitiesVerified 2026-10-27
- Texas One Stop — registration planningVerified 2026-10-26
- UT Catalog — GPA computationVerified 2026-10-26
- UT current catalog — Canfield first-year continuation and 120-hour degree requirementsVerified 2026-10-27
- UT current BAX catalog — three-hour listings and only-one-counted ruleVerified 2026-10-27
- UT catalog — auditing a course without credit; different from IDAVerified 2026-10-27
- MyMcCombs — degree plans by major and catalog yearVerified 2026-10-27