Degree Evaluation

Beginning with the first semester, you should familiarize yourself with the online degree evaluation process. Run your online degree evaluation prior to course registration to review any outstanding degree requirements and monitor academic progress.

As a graduate student, you are governed by the degree program requirements published in the graduate catalog in effect at the time you are admitted to the graduate program.

The degree evaluation is valuable advising tool that makes your path to graduation an easier one to follow, but it is not designed to replace meeting with your faculty adviser.

An official degree evaluation will be conducted by our office once you have applied for graduation. Final approval for graduation is required by your department and the Graduate School. Any changes to your original, approved Plan of Study must be submitted to the Graduate School in order to be incorporated into the online degree evaluation system. Additionally, you should make sure that an updated, adviser-approved Plan of Study is on file in the Graduate School prior to applying for graduation.

Each student is assigned a faculty adviser upon admission to a graduate program. Faculty advisers provide assistance in developing a Plan of Study and selecting appropriate graduate courses that adhere to program curriculum, as well as discussing career options and alternatives after graduation.

As a graduate student, you are governed by the degree program requirements published in the graduate catalog in effect at the time you are admitted to the graduate program. You may choose to meet program requirements published in a later edition of the graduate catalog; however, you must satisfy all the curriculum requirements as specified in that catalog. To change the catalog edition, you must submit the Degree Evaluation Adjustment form to update your online degree evaluation. If you are readmitted to a graduate program, you must follow all the program requirements and policies published in the graduate catalog in effect at the time of readmission.

Completed in consultation with your faculty program adviser, the Plan of Study details specific courses, exit option and other requirements you must complete in order to earn your graduate degree.

You should consult with your faculty adviser during the first semester, and no later than the end of the first year in your graduate program, to develop a written Plan of Study. The Plan of Study, approved by your graduate program adviser, must be submitted to the Graduate School in order to update your Online Degree Evaluation (WebCAPP).

An approved plan of study may be amended at any time. Until formal approval of an updated Plan of Study is made, your original or current modification of the plan will remain in effect. You are responsible for meeting with your faculty adviser on an ongoing basis and keeping your Plan of Study updated, as needed.

Online degree evaluations are considered unofficial and do not replace the official graduation audit conducted by the Graduate School.

To generate a degree evaluation for your current graduate program

1. Click the SAIL link from inside the student portal
2. Click Student Services
3. Click Student Records
4. Click Degree Evaluation
5. Select the current Term and click Submit
6. Your current curriculum information will appear; if the information is not correct, please submit the Degree Evaluation Adjustment form
7. Click on Generate New Evaluation
8. Select your Program (click the radio button to the left of the program description)
9. Select your expected graduation Term and click Generate Request
10. You are now at the Degree Evaluation Report screen

To generate a What-If Analysis for a different graduate program

1. Click the SAIL link from inside the student portal
2. Click Student Services
3. Click Student Records
4. Click Degree Evaluation
5. Select the current Term and click Submit
6. Click What-If Analysis
7. Select the Term in which you were/will be admitted to the program; students looking to transfer programs should use the current catalog
8. Select the Program you wish to review and click Continue
9. Select your Major (ignore the campus option)
10. Click Add More to add a concentration (selected programs only), or click Submit
11. Select your expected graduation Term and click Generate Request
12. You are now at the Degree Evaluation Report screen

If you have questions regarding a degree evaluation, check the FAQ page in SAIL.

1. Go to SAIL
2. Click Login to Secure Area
3. Enter your user ID and password, then click Login
4. Click Faculty Services
5. Click Adviser Menu
6. Click Degree Evaluation
7. Select the current Term and click Submit
8. Enter the advisee’s Grizzly ID, or search by name, then click Submit
9. Verify you have the correct student, then click Submit
10. Click on Generate New Evaluation
11. Select the advisee’s Program (click the radio button to the left of the program description)
12. Select the advisee’s expected graduation Term and click Generate Request
13. You are now at the Degree Evaluation Report screen

If you have questions regarding a degree evaluation, check the FAQ page in SAIL.

• Area
  • Areas are the building blocks for programs in the degree evaluation system. They represent each major component of a degree program. 
• CAPP
  • Acronym for the Curriculum, Advising and Program Planning software used to generate your degree evaluation.
• Catalog term
  • Determines which catalog requirements are used in generating the degree evaluation.
• Curriculum
  • The programs offered at Oakland University are what constitute the curriculum.
• Entry term
  • The degree requirements will be evaluated against the "Entry Term.” The entry term is the term you were admitted to your graduate program.
• Evaluation process
  • The process by which you check your progress toward a degree. When you run the evaluation process in SAIL, the degree evaluation checks course work against requirements from the graduate catalog and generates a report. The report details whether or not you have completed the degree requirements of the program.
• Evaluation term
  • Term in which the degree evaluation is generated.
• Exception
  • An exception reflects any changes, such as waivers or substitutions, that are approved by the faculty adviser to be applied to your graduate program.
• Expected graduation date
  • This date is automatically generated and may not always reflect the actual expected date of graduation. If you run a “What-if” degree evaluation, the expected date of graduation will be blank.
• In-Progress 
  • Courses you have enrolled in that have not yet been graded and entered into academic history. The degree evaluation report assumes you will satisfactorily complete the courses for which you are currently enrolled and that none of these are duplicates or exceed the maximum allowed toward degree requirements.
• Met
  • Indicates requirements for a program, group or area have been satisfied.
• Not met
  • Indicates requirements for a program, group or area have not been satisfied.
• Overall GPA
  • Current grade point average for all courses taken at the graduate level at Oakland University; transfer courses are not included in the overall GPA.
• Source
  • Indicates whether a requirement was satisfied by an OU course, transfer course, or waiver/substitution.
• Used
  • Indicates the number of credits/courses used for the degree evaluation. This includes in progress courses.
• Unused
  • Indicates the number of credits/courses not used for the degree evaluation. Generally contains courses with the grades of P or I.
• WebCAPP
  • The online version of CAPP that allows you and advisers to view past compliance, run a new compliance on current data, or run a "what if" scenario.
• What-If analysis
  • Degree evaluation option used to explore how completed courses might fulfill the requirements of another graduate program(s).