Skip to main content
Documentation
Documentation
Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2026-04-17
Set Up Academic Requirement Configurations

Set Up Academic Requirement Configurations

  • (For academic requirement areas, total academic requirements, and academic progress limits) Set Up Academic Calendar Policies. Configure a calendar policy for the academic unit or institution associated with the academic unit. Ensure that the policy is effective-dated on or before the effective date of the academic requirement configuration.
  • Security:
    Set Up: Academic Requirements Configurations
     domain in the Academic Advising functional area.
You can configure academic requirements for students to complete their educational objectives based on the:
  • Academic unit and level.
  • Program of study, including program focus.
  • Program area.
Example: For a graduate student in Clinical Psychology, you can have separate academic requirement configurations for the:
  • Graduate level in the College of Arts and Sciences.
  • Clinical Psychology program with a program focus of Child Psychology.
  • Health Sciences program area.
You can also configure:
  • Academic requirement areas, to bundle sets of academic requirements and specify the units needed to satisfy them.
  • The total academic requirement, to define the total number of units students must earn across all their programs of study on the academic record.
  • Academic progress limits to define how many units or courses can apply towards a student’s academic progress and program completion. You can configure these limits for academic units and levels or programs of study.
For configurations for specific programs of study, you can:
  • Specify and track the total units that satisfy the academic requirements for the program of study.
  • Override the default processing order for evaluating requirements, to help students complete their educational objectives more efficiently.
  1. Access the
    Configure Academic Requirements
     task.
  2. In the
    Student Selection Criteria
     section, select the highest level of the academic structure where you want to apply the academic requirement.
    The lower levels of the academic structure inherit the academic requirements from higher levels. Example: Requirements configured for an academic unit and level also apply for subordinate academic units and programs of study.
  3. In the
    Choose a Definition
     section, select either:
    • Existing
      , to change an existing configuration, as defined by the effective date.
    • Effective Date
      , to create a new configuration that starts on a different date. Example: The General Education academic requirements for undergraduate students at the College of Engineering has changed for the 2025-2026 academic year. You can create a configuration with the effective date as the start date for the academic year.
  4. (Optional) In the
    Program of Study Unit Requirement
     section, enter the
    Program Units Required
    .
    Workday displays this field only when you configure academic requirements for a program of study.
    This requirement enables you and students to track the total units that satisfy the academic requirements for a program of study. This information improves your ability to advise students based on each program and helps inform student actions for successfully completing each program.
    You can also create custom reports for more insightful graduation reporting. Example: You can create a report to view all students who will graduate on time based on the program units they've completed.
  5. Complete the
    Academic Requirements
     tab:
    Option Description
    Order
    Configure the order for academic requirements to display on the
    Academic Progress
     report on the student profile.
    Academic Requirement
    Select from the academic requirements that are effective as of the
    Effective Date
     of the configuration.
    Academic Requirement Group
    (Optional) Select 1 or more academic requirement groups to track student academic progress in greater detail.
    Student Criteria
    Assign or Do Not Assign Student Criteria in Academic Requirement
    (Optional) Specify which student population is assigned the academic requirement.
    From the
    Student Criteria
     prompt, you can select from these types of student eligibility rules:
    • Athletic Team
    • Program of Study
    • Student Cohort
    • Test Achievement
    For students that meet the
    Student Criteria
    , specify whether to assign or not assign the academic requirement to those students. The default option is
    Do Not Assign
    .
    Workday evaluates the criteria across a student’s academic record. When a student has multiple programs of study, Workday considers all of their programs of study to determine which requirements to assign to the student.
    Example: You've configured a
    General Options in Math
     academic requirement for the Mathematics Major program. Students in the Mathematics Major program who also enroll in a Computer Science Minor program don’t need to satisfy the requirement. Specify these options for the requirement:
    • Student Criteria
      : Eligibility rule for Computer Science Minor.
    • Assign or Do Not Assign Student Criteria in Academic Requirement
      :
      Do Not Assign
      .
  6. (Optional) As you complete the
    Academic Requirement Areas
     tab, consider:
    Option Description
    Academic Requirement Area Name
    Enter a descriptive name for the academic requirements that you're bundling in the area.
    Examples:
    • General Education Requirements
    • Major Core Requirements
    • Business Electives
    Requirement Area Units
    Enter the total number of units students must complete across the academic requirement area.
    Academic Requirements Required
    Select 1 or more academic requirements that students must satisfy for the academic requirement area.
    For academic requirement areas, Workday only supports academic requirements that use these types of eligibility rules:
    • Course requirement.
    • Unit requirement.
    • Combination, with only course requirement or unit requirement eligibility rules.
    Additional Academic Requirements Included may be used for Area Units
    Select requirements for
    Academic Requirements Required
    . You can select academic requirements with or without student criteria.
    When the required academic requirements don't satisfy the area units, Workday uses these additional requirements.
    Maximum Units Permitted from Additional Academic Requirements
    Enter the maximum units from the additional requirements that can satisfy the requirement area.
  7. (Optional) As you complete the
    Total Academic Requirement
     tab, consider:
    Option Description
    Total Units Required
    Enter the total units students must earn across all their programs of study on the academic record.
    Eligibility Rule
    You can only use
    Unit Requirement
     eligibility rules that don't have courses defined.
    Examples:
    • 120 units
      .
    • 30 Undergraduate Semester Units in Residence
      .
    Only Use Registrations that Contribute to Academic Requirements
    Select to include only registrations that satisfy academic requirements configured for the program of study, including inherited requirements, instead of all the student's registrations.
  8. (Optional) As you complete the
    Academic Progress Limits
     tab, consider:
    You can't configure limits for a program focus or a program area.
    Option Description
    Limit Name
    Enter a unique name. Examples:
    • 60 Units - External
    • Course Count 2 - External and Internal
    Requirement Criteria
    Select 1 option:
    • All Requirements and Total Academic Requirement
      : Workday evaluates limits for all the academic requirements on a student's academic record.
    • Program Requirements and Inherited Requirements
      : Workday evaluates limits for the program of study and its inherited requirements.
    • Program Requirements
      : Workday evaluates limits for the program of study requirements only.
    • Specific Requirements
      : Workday evaluates limits for all the academic requirements selected in the prompt. You can select more than 1 academic requirement.
    Limit Type
    Select either option:
    • Unit
      : In the
      Maximum Units
       field, enter a number for the unit limit. Example: Your academic policy limits the number of externally articulated units for each student at 60. Enter
      60
      .
    • Course
      : In the
      Maximum Course Registrations
       field, enter a number for the maximum number of courses. Example:
      4
      .
    The
    Maximum Units
     and
    Maximum Course Registrations
     fields display
    0
     when you select either
    Unit
     or
    Course
    . Workday doesn’t evaluate academic progress limits criteria if the value is 0.
    Registration Criteria
    Select a course registration option with a grade option, or select only a course or grade limit.
    From
    Course Registrations
    , select 1 or both options:
    • External Articulations
      : Set a limit on the number of units or course registrations from external articulations that Workday can apply towards a student's academic progress.
    • Course Sets
      : Set a limit on the number of units or courses for internal registrations. Select from courses or courses defined in smart lists.
    Example:
    • If you select
      External Articulations
       and select all English courses, then Workday applies the limit only for transferred English courses.
    • If you don’t select
      External Articulations
       and select all English courses, then Workday applies the limit to all the selected courses, for both internal and external registrations.
    From
    Grades
    , select 1 grade criteria:
    • Grading Basis
      : Select the option and then a value from the
      Grading Basis
       prompt. Example: A Pass/Fail option for an external articulated course.
    • Grade Earned
      : Select an
      Operator
       and
      Grade
      . This configuration is the same as the fields under the
      With Grades
       section for course requirement eligibility rules. Example: Greater than or equal to a grade of C from a grading scheme of A through F.
    • None of the above
      : Select if you don’t want to configure grade limits.
  9. (Optional) On the
    Processing Order
     tab, override the processing order specified on the institutional policy when you restrict registrations to a single academic requirement.
    Workday displays this field only when you configure academic requirements for a program of study.
    Example: The academic progress processing policy for the institution specifies this order for evaluating requirements:
    1. Academic unit requirements, such as General Education.
    2. Program of study requirements, such as 18 units of Electives.
    3. Program area requirements, such as STEM.
    You can configure the Electrical Engineering program of study to use this processing order instead:
    1. All STEM requirements.
    2. All Electrical Engineering requirements, such as 18 units of Electives.
    3. General Education requirements.
On the
Academic Progress
 report in the Academics profile group of the student profile, you and students can:
  • Drill down on the
    Requirements Not Assigned
     option to view each conditional requirement not assigned to them.
  • View the
    Academic Requirement Areas
     grid to monitor student progress toward satisfying requirement areas.
  • View the
    Overall Academic Progress
     grid to monitor student progress toward satisfying the total academic requirement.
  • View the
    Program Required Units
     grid to monitor student progress by each of their programs of study.
This example illustrates the configuration of an academic requirement area for Computer Science undergraduate students.
Field
Value
Academic Requirement
Mathematics Quantitative Reasoning
Student Criteria
Program of Study is Computer Science
Assign or Do Not Assign Student Criteria in Academic Requirement
Assign
Academic Requirement Area Name
Computer Science Major Requirements
Requirement Area Units
70
Academic Requirements Required
  • Computer Science Major Core Courses
  • Upper-Division Computer Science
  • Upper-Division Mathematics
Additional Academic Requirements Included may be used for Area Units
Visual Computing
Maximum Units Permitted from Additional Academic Requirements
10
  • To apply updates to an academic requirements configuration, access the
    Launch Academic Progress Evaluation
     task to manually evaluate academic progress for students. See Evaluate Academic Progress.
  • To view all requirements by an academic unit and level, program of study, or program area, access the
    View Academic Requirements
     report.
  • To review and verify your configurations, access the
    View Academic Requirement Configurations
     report.