# What Is Degree Works and How Does It Connect to Banner?

Source: https://www.itcadence.com/blog/what-is-degree-works
Category: Banner Student | Published: 2026-10-03 | Updated: 2026-10-03 | Publisher: ITCadence

Degree Works is Ellucian's degree audit and academic planning tool. How it uses Banner data, what Scribe is, and how institutions keep audits accurate.

**Short answer:** Degree Works is Ellucian's degree audit and academic planning product. It takes student data from Banner (courses, grades, programmes, majors and transfer credit) and evaluates it against degree requirements written in Degree Works' Scribe language, showing students and advisors which requirements are complete, in progress or still needed.

## Overview

Banner knows **what a student has taken**. Degree Works knows **what a student needs**. Together they produce a degree audit.

## How the data flows

1. **Extract from Banner**: student curriculum, course history, in-progress registrations, transfer work and test scores are brought into Degree Works.
2. **Requirements in Scribe**: degree, major, minor and concentration rules are written as Scribe blocks.
3. **Audit**: Degree Works matches courses to requirements and produces a worksheet.
4. **Planning**: students and advisors build semester plans that can be checked against requirements.

## Keeping audits accurate

- **Curriculum data in Banner must be right**: wrong programme or catalogue term means wrong audit.
- **Scribe blocks must follow catalogue changes**: version requirements by catalogue year.
- **Course equivalencies and exceptions**: maintain them consistently.

| Audit problem | Usual source |
|---|---|
| Course not counting | Scribe rule or course attribute |
| Wrong requirements shown | Student's catalogue term or programme in Banner |
| Transfer course ignored | Transfer articulation or equivalency missing |

ITCadence helps institutions align Banner curriculum data with Degree Works. [Get in touch](https://www.itcadence.com/#contact).

## Frequently asked questions

### Does Degree Works replace Banner?

No. Banner remains the system of record. Degree Works reads Banner data and presents audits and plans.

### What is Scribe?

Scribe is the language used inside Degree Works to encode degree, major and minor requirements as blocks of rules.

### What is a What-If audit?

A What-If audit shows how a student's completed courses would apply if they changed major or programme.