Paste course codes, names, credit hours, and grades. Omit student identifying information.

Debug: view last AI exchange

AIM ("Advising in Minutes") is a self-contained degree-audit tool that runs entirely in your web browser. This Bowie State build comes preloaded with DFPA (Fine Arts, Music, Theatre Arts, and VCDMA) program requirements, so you can jump straight to Step 2 for most Bowie majors without uploading a curriculum sheet.

It cross-references those requirements against a student's transcript using an AI model, then produces a plain-language audit report — what's completed, what's outstanding, and a suggested schedule for the next term.

Nothing is uploaded to a school server or database: your files stay on your device and are sent only to the AI provider you choose (below), purely to generate the analysis in your browser session. Close the tab and the session data is gone.

Before you start an audit, AIM needs an AI provider's API key to do the parsing and analysis — think of it as the "engine" that reads your documents. This is the one setup step to do first; everything else in Quick Start below assumes you already have a key entered. Google Gemini is the easiest option for most faculty and students because it's free to start and most people already have a Google account, so there's no new account to create.

Gemini's free tier is generous enough for typical advising use (a handful of audits per day). If you ever see a "high demand" or overloaded error, switch to the other Gemini model listed in the dropdown and re-run — no new key is needed.

Prefer Anthropic (Claude) instead? Set the provider dropdown to Anthropic and get a key at platform.claude.com/settings/keys — note this usually requires a small paid balance rather than a free tier.

Step 1 — Program Requirements. Pick the student's Bowie State program from the preloaded dropdown — requirements populate automatically. If you're auditing a program that isn't in the preloaded list, upload (or paste) the official curriculum sheet instead — a PDF, Word doc, spreadsheet, or plain text works, and AIM's AI model will read it and structure it into required courses, credit totals, and categories. Either way, review the requirements before moving on; you can edit them directly if anything looks off.

Step 2 — Transcript Upload. Paste or upload an anonymized transcript — course codes, titles, credits, and grades only. Do not include the student's name or ID; this keeps the tool FERPA-safe, since no personally identifying information ever needs to leave the browser.

Step 3 — Audit Report. AIM compares the transcript against the requirements and generates the audit: completed requirements, outstanding requirements, any Bowie-specific notes (like manual-check items or a separate major-GPA minimum for that program), and (optionally) a suggested schedule for an upcoming term with a target credit count. You can print the report, export it as PDF, or download a CSV.

AIM is well suited to informal advising sessions, curriculum-update planning, and quick "what's left" checks, but it is a planning aid — not a system of record.

The preloaded DFPA program data was compiled from published curriculum sheets and sample plans and includes department-confirmed notes (e.g. C-or-better major grade policies, portfolio review milestones, internship requirements) surfaced automatically in the audit's "Bowie-Specific Notes" section — but always verify the audit against the official Bowie State degree-audit system before making registration, graduation, or academic-standing decisions.

Course-offering terms, prerequisite chains, and transfer-credit rules can be complex; AIM has no live connection to the registrar's data and does not automatically know which courses run which term (you can note that manually in Step 3's "not offered this semester" field).

Because no student-identifying information is required at any step, this tool can generally be used in a shared or public setting without additional privacy safeguards — but please follow the university's own guidance on AI tool use with student data.

You can run your own audit before an advising appointment to come prepared with questions, or to sanity-check your remaining requirements while planning next term. Bring the results to your academic advisor to confirm details — AIM is meant to save time in the conversation, not replace it.

"Enter your API key" error: the key field on Step 1 is empty or wasn't saved — re-enter it.
Parsing looks wrong: try re-uploading a cleaner version of the file (e.g. exporting a PDF instead of a scanned image), or paste the text directly into the box instead of uploading a file.
"Overloaded" / "high demand" error: switch models in the dropdown on Step 1 and try again.
Nothing happens when I click Parse/Run: check your internet connection — AIM needs to reach the AI provider's servers to do the analysis.