Overview

Degree Works uses course, program, and academic data to produce degree audits and plans administered by the institution. Students and advisors can adjust plans after a major change or course withdrawal, and students can explore what-if scenarios to see how such decisions may affect their completion timeline. This turns an audit into a working path rather than a progress snapshot, though plans remain manually administered.

Institutions can build templated pathways for programs with a set sequence of courses and labs. Reporting covers course use toward requirements, students off plan, missing courses, and aggregate information to help inform future term offerings. That combination supports advising operations as well as broader curriculum planning.

Key features

Audits and plans: Audits can be converted into plans that students and advisors manage as requirements or circumstances change. This is useful for advising teams that need to translate a gap in progress into a course plan.
What-if scenarios and alerts: Students can consider how switching majors or withdrawing from a class could affect completion. Automatic alerts when students fall behind requirements depend on using Ellucian CRM Advise, so institutions should account for that component when evaluating the workflow.
Student workspace: Degree Progress and Academic Plan cards present progress in a personalized Ellucian Experience workspace. This gives students a place to see both status and plan, within Ellucian’s workspace environment.
Transfer articulation: The system maps credits from other institutions to show how previously earned coursework applies. Degree Works Transfer Equivalency is an optional component for evaluating outside coursework and helping prospective transfer students understand which credits may be accepted.
Integrations and reporting: Ellucian describes open-API ERP/SIS integrations and says Degree Works can integrate with virtually any student information system; Banner Workflow integration supports plan approvals. Reporting can surface course demand and missing courses, useful for institutions connecting advising patterns to term planning.

Pricing

Degree Works is paid software with custom pricing. Ellucian bases pricing on full-time equivalent students rather than application-user count, and its pricing methodology is commercially confidential. That basis may suit institutions comparing costs against enrollment scale, but it does not provide a predictable per-seat price for budgeting. No free plan or trial terms are established.

Plan: Degree Works — custom pricing. It includes degree audits, planning, early alerts, intervention workflows, a student planning portal, transfer-credit rules, and what-if scenarios. Institutions should note that automatic alerts require Ellucian CRM Advise and transfer-equivalency evaluation is optional; these capabilities may entail additional components or integration decisions. The available plan information does not establish separate cheaper tiers or seat limits.

Platforms

Degree Works is described as SaaS-enabled and mobile-friendly, with Android, iOS, Linux, web, and API platforms. The operational-environment document specifies an Intel x86 Linux server and warns that other hardware environments or substituted software may be unsupported. Because that document is dated March 16, 2020, institutions should validate the requirements against their intended deployment. Ellucian says its cloud services hold ISO 27001:2022 certification and that customers can request SOC 1, SOC 2 Type II, and SOC 3 reports. SaaS uses shared security responsibilities: Ellucian takes on more security tasks, but not all.

Who it's for

Degree Works is aimed at higher-education institutions and the students, advisors, academic planners, and transfer staff who navigate institutional curriculum requirements. It is a stronger fit for organizations that want audits, plans, pathway templates, and reporting in a coordinated advising workflow than for readers seeking an individual student app or a published, seat-based subscription. Ellucian’s Student Educational Planner service includes a one-week on-site configuration visit and training on templates and end-user use.

Pros and cons

Pro: Audits can become adaptable plans, while what-if scenarios help students consider the impact of course and major changes.
Pro: Transfer-credit mapping, pathway templates, and operational reporting span student advising and institutional course planning.
Con: Pricing is custom and tied to FTE rather than user count, making straightforward seat-based budgeting difficult.
Con: Alerts rely on Ellucian CRM Advise, and transfer-equivalency evaluation is an optional component rather than an assured part of every setup.
Con: The documented Linux hardware environment is specific, and alternatives may be unsupported; institutions should verify current deployment compatibility.

Alternatives

Consider Civitas Advising if a paid advising platform with quote-based pricing scaled to institution size is a better match. Choose Slate when admissions and enrollment are the priority and its annual license structure fits the institution’s application volume. Watermark Student Success & Engagement is another paid option to compare.

FlightPath is worth considering for institutions seeking a free, self-hosted web option, while ConexED Retain offers a paid web-based alternative. Compare Stellic as a paid API/web option. CoreCampus may suit schools looking for a cloud platform with monthly, FTE-based pricing, and Ellucian Advising is another paid Ellucian web product to evaluate.

For broader comparisons, browse Academic Advising Software and Degree Audit Software.

Verdict

Degree Works is a strong choice for institutions that need to connect degree audits, adaptable plans, transfer-credit mapping, and reporting across advising workflows. Its main reason to choose it is that progress information can guide concrete student plans and institutional course decisions. Look elsewhere if predictable per-user pricing or a simpler, less institution-specific environment is essential.