Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first day a student can Wait List?
Departments decide whether to offer a waitlist and when to start. Most have waitlists that start with registration appointments.
What is the last day a student can Wait List?
Students can add themselves to wait lists through add/drop.
What prevents students from adding themselves to a Wait List
- Enrollment appointment date/time has not yet been reached
- Requisites for the class are not met (Message is returned to student that requisites are not met, does not tell them specifically what type of requisite is not met)
- Maximum units to wait list reached
- Instructor or Department Consent required to enroll in the class
- The academic department has chosen not to offer waitlist seats for the class.
- Negative service indicator that prevents adding a class
- The last day to wait list has passed
- Already on the wait list for the class
- Class is not yet closed
- Wait list is at its capacity
What do you mean by requisites for the class?
Classes that require students have a particular academic level, a particular major or minor plan, a particular sub-plan, including or excluding specific classes, or a certain number of units (credits) are examples of requisites.
What if a student doesn’t meet the prerequisite and has documentation they’d like considered for an exception?
If a student does not meet the written prerequisite and thinks they have special circumstances (a generic transfer course or transfer work that isn’t yet processed), they should discuss them with the department or instructor.
If an enrolled student drops a class and a seat opens up, do Wait Listed students get in first?
The class will remain closed and only those students issued permission numbers will be allowed to enroll.
Can students be on the Wait List for more than one section of the same class?
Under certain circumstances a student can be waitlisted for more than one section of the same class:
- Not already enrolled in another section of the same class.
- Class has a single component only, such as lecture.
- Maximum number of wait list units (10) has not been reached.
- Wait listed for another section of a multiple component class (such as lecture and discussion or lecture and lab) that does not auto enroll into the same lecture.
How will a student move from the Wait List to be enrolled in the class?
Students are contacted via email with a class permission number to add themselves to the class. Students will use the class permission number to enroll in the class via the student administration system. Permission numbers will have expiration dates that could be as long as 24 hours to a few weeks. Students need to be sure to make note of how long they have to register, otherwise the seat will be given to someone else.
Will students ever use class permission numbers or student specific permissions to add themselves to the Wait List?
No, class permission numbers are used only for official registration.
Can a student Wait List for a class that conflicts in meeting time with an enrolled class?
Yes, students are allowed to wait list for classes that may conflict with enrolled classes. The student would have to resolve the time issue when allowed to enroll in the class. Permission numbers do not override time conflicts.
Is there a limit to the number of classes that can be Wait Listed?
The limit is set by using credits/units rather than classes. Students have a limit of 10 credits/units.
Are the Wait Listed units counted into the student’s total units for the term?
Enrolled units and wait listed units are counted separately. Waitlisted courses are not counted towards full-time status or calculated in bills.
How does Wait List work for classes with a reserved capacity?
If the non-reserve capacity enrollment limit has been reached, the student can wait list for the class. The student will first receive the error message that only reserved seats remain and will be offered the option to wait list if a wait list capacity is set for the class.
Will Wait Listed classes appear on the Study List and Enrollment Summary?
Yes, wait listed classes will appear on both.
Can a student be both enrolled and Wait Listed for different sections of the same class?
- Only if the class has a single component such as a lecture
- Class with multiple components that does not auto enroll into the same lecture.
- Class with multiple components that does not share any class numbers.
Do students remain on the Wait List after they have enrolled in the class?
No, the student’s name is removed from the wait list.
When are Wait Listed classes removed from the Study List and Enrollment Summary?
Wait list class rosters will be deleted at the end of add/drop or the second week of classes. This allows time after the “last day to waitlist” for departments and faculty to issue permission numbers during add/drop.
Once wait listed classes have been removed from the Study List and Enrollment Summary, can a department still track who was on the Wait List?
Once it is removed from the Study List and Enrollment Summary, it is removed from all areas in the production database.
How do departments and instructors know who is on the Wait List?
Class Wait Lists are available through class rosters in Student Administration.
Can students see who else is on the Wait List for a class?
No, a student can only confirm that she/he is on the Wait List for a class.
Can students drop themselves from a Wait List?
Yes.
Can students see their position on the Wait List?
When students register for the wait list, they are notified of their position on it.
If a class has multiple components (i.e. lecture/lab) and multiple sections, do all sections of the class need to be closed before students can add themselves to the wait list?
No. Once the enrollment component of the class is closed, students can add themselves to the wait list. If a class offers 3 different discussion sections that all auto-enroll into the same lecture, once the discussion section is closed, students can add themselves to the wait list. The lecture and other discussion sections do NOT have to also be closed.