The goal of registration is to provide opportunities for students to register for the classes they need. As a result, registration is conducted in order of seniority so that students who are closer to graduation will have a better chance of getting into the classes they need. If students are closed out of a course and are unable to find a suitable alternate, they should add themselves to the waitlist.

 

Waitlist Priority

Enrollment from a waitlist is not necessarily based on the order in which students were put on the waitlist. Priority is given to students whose need for the class is greatest. In fact, many classes have seats set aside to specifically ensure that those who need those classes can get into them. Such classes usually fall into the following categories:

Courses required for majors and minors. Students with declared majors and minors are given priority, usually by seniority. Any remaining seats will be released once majors and minors have registered. For the fall semester, seats in many required major or minor courses are held for new students and may not be released until early August.

Introductory general education/Constellation courses. Because of limited options, some seats are saved for incoming freshmen in these courses. For the fall semester, any remaining seats will be released once all incoming freshmen have registered.

Except in the cases noted above, most decisions regarding fall waitlists are made within about three weeks following the conclusion of the initial registration period. Some spring semester waitlists may be reviewed after the initial registration period occurring the year prior. However, waitlists for many spring courses will not be reviewed until December, after the full registration period. Students will be notified by the Registrar’s Office if they have been added to a course from a waitlist. In cases where another course needs to be dropped to make room for the waitlisted course, students will have 3 days to respond with their preferences following notification.

 

Enrollment in a Closed Course

Students who have not been added to a course from the waitlist following the process described above and who have a demonstrable need to enroll in a closed class must obtain approval in the form of a signature on a Change of Registration Form. Approval prior to the start of classes must be obtained from the department chair. Once classes begin, approval should be obtained from the instructor.

 

Administrative Changes

Wherever possible, the College will avoid altering students’ schedules after registration. However, when it is in the best interests of all students involved, the College reserves the right to move students to a different section. In most cases, such decisions are made to allow other students to register for the same course or to redistribute enrollments to provide a better learning environment.