Instructions

AIM (“Advising in Minutes”) is a self-contained degree-audit tool that runs entirely in your web browser. It cross-references a program’s course 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.

1. Program Requirements. Upload (or paste) the official curriculum sheet for the program you’re auditing — a PDF, Word doc, spreadsheet, or plain text works. AIM’s AI model reads it and structures it into required courses, credit totals, and categories. Review the parsed result before moving on; you can edit it directly if anything was misread.
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.
3. Audit Report. AIM compares the transcript against the requirements and generates the audit: completed requirements, outstanding requirements, 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 needs an AI provider’s API key to do the parsing and analysis — think of it as the “engine” that reads your documents. 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.

1. Go to aistudio.google.com/apikey and sign in with your Google account.
2. Click “Create API key” (accept the terms if prompted).
3. Copy the key that appears — it’s a long string of letters and numbers.
4. Back in AIM, go to Step 1, set the provider dropdown to Google (Gemini), and paste the key into the API Key field.
5. Optionally check “remember this key on this device” so you don’t have to paste it again next time — it’s stored only in your browser’s local storage, never sent anywhere except to Google when you run an audit.

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.

If your institution prefers Anthropic’s Claude models instead, set the provider dropdown to Anthropic and get a key at platform.claude.com/settings/keys. This requires creating an Anthropic account and typically involves a small paid usage balance rather than a free tier, which is why Gemini is the recommended default for most users.

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. Always verify the audit against your institution’s official 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 your 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 your institution’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.

Reach out any time — see the Contact page.