---
title: Controller – settings vs. UCX flags/tables
description: "What's the difference between settings and UCX flags/tables located in the Controller application? ### Shepherd Settings Shepherd Settings define various configurations for the Degree Works software. Generally speaking, any NEW configurations in Degree Works are created as Shepherd settings rather…"
url: "https://tlc.wvnet.edu/docs/degree-works-support/degree-works/degree-works-controller/"
updated: "2023-11-08"
category: Degree Works
tags:
  - Degree Works
---

# Controller – settings vs. UCX flags/tables

What's the difference between settings and UCX flags/tables located in the Controller application?

### Shepherd Settings

Shepherd Settings define various configurations for the Degree Works software. Generally speaking, any NEW configurations in Degree Works are created as Shepherd settings rather than flags in UCX tables. In the database, the Shepherd Settings are contained in the shp_settings_mst table, but it is expect that clients with manage them using the Controller application. These settings follow a naming structure that is in the format of module.submodule.name (e.g., core.security.authenticationType). Settings with similar functions are organized by prefix -- for instance, the core.security* settings control security configurations. In the online doc, under "[**Technical Configuration Reference**](https://resources.elluciancloud.com/csh?topicname=c_technical_configuration_reference.html&Product=product-degreewrks&Localization=local-baseline&Category=category-reference)" > "Module settings", there is a separate page of documentation for each group of settings.

### UCX tables

UCX tables are database tables (named like ucx_*) that hold Degree Works validation codes as well as configurations. There are several groupings of tables:
**AUD** (e.g., AUD012) - these tables hold miscellaneous audit-related configurations, and are similar to the CFG tables
**BAN** (e.g., BAN080) - these tables hold miscellaneous configurations related to the Banner extracts (also see CFG020 BANNER)
**CFG** (e.g., CFG020) - these tables hold configuration flags; CFG020 is a major configuration table with many records (e.g., CFG020 BANNER), each of which contains many flags
**CST** (e.g., CST001) - these tables hold custom codes create by clients; as of 5.1.2, they are only use for custom search data
**RPT** (e.g., RPT036) - these tables hold configurations that control the appearance of reports; RPT036 is the most commonly used one
**SEP** (e.g., SEP001) - these tables hold configurations related to the Student Educational Planner (SEP)
**STU** (e.g., STU023) - these tables hold lists of validation codes extracted from your SIS; STU023, for instance, holds the list of major codes
**SYS** (e.g., SYS001) - these tables hold system-level configurations that should never be modified by clients unless directed by the Action Line
**TRQ** (e.g., TRQ061) - these tables hold miscellaneous configurations related to Degree Works Transfer Equivalency