{{{brandshortup}}} Doctoral Handbook

Last Revision: October 29, 2024

Program Review Process

The program review process begins when you submit the online Graduation Application. Once you submit your Graduation Application, the following processes are triggered:

  • Academic Audit – An Associate Registrar must review the student record and confirm that all program requirements for completion have been met.
  • Finance Audit – The APUS Finance Office must confirm that the Student Account has no outstanding balance or monies owed.
  • Library Audit – The APUS Librarian must confirm all books or materials reserved from the library have been returned to APUS and there are no outstanding fees.
  • Direct Loan Exit Counseling - If you have used Federal Student Aid to cover any portion of your college costs, you may be required to complete Direct Loan Exit Counseling. Our Financial Aid Office will contact you by email to provide the link for exit counseling. Exit counseling provides important information you will need as you prepare to repay your federal student loan(s).

If the Associate Registrar confirms that academic requirements have not been met by the intended conferral date, you will be notified by email that your conferral has been moved to the next available date.

If you are academically cleared for graduation but do not meet all requirements prior to your conferral date, you will remain assigned to the declared conferral.  However your final diploma will not be mailed until you complete all of the program audit requirements.

My Graduation Information Online

You may track your graduation process in your online campus under “My Graduation Info.” The information in this section is updated once you apply for graduation. The information below will explain each of the fields listed under the graduation audit section.

  • Auditor: An Associate Registrar will be with the student throughout the graduation process.
  • Projected Conferral Date: This is the date selected by the student during the application process, identifying when they anticipate graduation from the American Public University System.
  • Declared Conferral Date: This is the date that the Associate Registrar confirms as the conferral date the student is eligible for graduation once the academic audit has begun.
  • Graduation Application: Once the Graduation Application has been submitted electronically, the status will state, “Submitted“, and a date will post.
  • Academic Audit: This field will remain blank until the initial academic review has been completed. Once the initial academic review is completed, one of the following statuses below will be listed:

Status Definitions

  • Clear: You have successfully completed all academic requirements for your current degree.
  • Grades not posted: You have registered for all courses needed to complete the current degree; however, not all course grades have been posted.
  • Incomplete Grade: You are currently on a course extension or have additional courses to complete your program.
  • Ineligible: You failed the final course requirement, or do not meet the minimum GPA requirement for your degree.

Finance Audit and Library Audit: These will be completed once you have been cleared academically for graduation. A status of “Not Clear” will show if you have an outstanding issue with any of these reviews. You will not be able to receive any transcripts or have your diploma shipped if you have any outstanding balance or monies owed.

End of Program Survey: If you are required to complete the End-of-Program (EOP) survey, you will be emailed the survey on a weekly basis after submitting your Graduation Application until it has been successfully submitted. Questions about this EOP survey can be sent to [email protected]. Please be sure that your current email is listed in your Online Campus to ensure a timely delivery of this survey.

Once all graduation requirements have been successfully completed, you will be notified by email with your final clearance date.

Questions regarding your academic audit status should be directed to [email protected].