Waitlist Frequently Asked Questions

FAQs

Which classes currently have a waitlist?

All undergraduate classes have a waitlist, with the exception of classes that have non-enrollment sections (i.e. labs, recitations).

How does the waitlist process work?

When seats become available in a closed class section, the class remains closed until a process runs that automatically enrolls students from the waitlist. The class remains closed until the waitlist empties or the enrollment capacity has been met, whichever comes first.

If a student does not meet the criteria to enroll in the class, the process will select the next student on the waitlist according to their position number.

Students that were on the waitlist and were not enrolled will maintain their position number. Students will have an opportunity to be auto-enrolled the next time a seat is made available, if they resolve the issue that prevented them from being auto-enrolled previously.

If the waitlist process runs and no students are enrolled, then the class will open and other students will be given the opportunity to enroll (even if there are still students on the waitlist that did not meet the criteria to be auto-enrolled).

If there are no students on the waitlist, the class will open as usual when seats are made available.

How often does the waitlist process run?

The process will run hourly from the first day of registration until 11:59 p.m. on the last day to add or drop classes.

How can I see my current waitlist position if I've waitlisted for a class?

In PeopleSoft/Highpoint CX, access Enrollment and select the View Waitlist menu item.  You will be able to see all of your waitlisted classes and your current waitlist position.

How many waitlist seats are available for each class?

The total number of available seats on a waitlist is determined by the enrollment capacity of the class.

Classes that have an enrollment capacity of less than 10, the number of seats on the waitlist is equal to the enrollment capacity of the class.
Classes with an enrollment capacity between 10 and 19, 10 waitlist seats are available.
Classes with 20 or more seats, 20 waitlist seats are available.

What is the first and last day to get on a waitlist for a class?

Students cannot get on a waitlist until their enrollment appointment or open enrollment has begun.

The last day to get on a waitlist for a class will be 11:59 p.m., the day before the add/drop deadline.

Will students be notified if they have been enrolled in a waitlisted class?

Students will be notified via their campus email address daily, after university business hours, if they have been successfully enrolled in a previously waitlisted course. If students are auto-enrolled in classes after the daily emails have been sent, they will be notified after university business hours the following day.

It is recommended that students monitor their class schedules frequently, if waiting to be enrolled in a class.

How do you know if a class has a waitlist?

The waitlist option is only available once all seats in a class have been filled and the section closes. When a Class Search is performed to include these closed or waitlist classes classes, users will notice orange (instead of green) enrollment statuses.  In PeopleSoft Classic a yellow triangle beside classes that have available waitlist seats will be displayed.

Once the waitlist capacity has been reached, the waitlist feature is unavailable, meaning all waitlist seats are taken, the course availability indicator will be gray.  In PeopleSoft Classic, this is indicated by the blue closed class square.

Can students waitlist for more than one section of the same class?

Students can waitlist for multiple sections of the same class, with the following stipulations:

Students cannot choose their preference for which section they will be auto-enrolled first. The waitlist process will enroll the student in the section that has the first available seat.
Once enrolled in one of those class sections, students will be automatically dropped for the other waitlisted sections for that course.
If students are already enrolled in another section of a class they want to waitlist, the Waitlist Swap/Drop if Enroll feature should be used to enroll and waitlist for the closed section (see next FAQ).

When should a Waitlist SWAP be used?

When there a course for which a student wants to waitlist that presents a time conflict, credit overload, or multiple enrollment for the same course situation, students should waitlist for the course while also selecting the "Drop if Enroll" option in PeopleSoft/HighPoint CX, when prompted.  This will allow a currently enrolled course to be dropped if a student is waitlisted for a course and later enrolled via the waitlist process.

If students do not select the "Drop if Enroll" option while first waitlisting later want to set up the swap, they will need to drop the waitlisted course, forfeiting their waitlist spot, and set it up again.

To set up a waitlist swap such that an enrolled course will be dropped upon successfully moving into a different course from off of the waitlist in PeopleSoft/HighPoint CX:

1.  Search for the course with the waitlist using the Class Search function.
2.  Select the Enroll button once you’ve found the correct section.
3.  A modal will present where you can select the Waitlist if class is full checkbox. Once you check that checkbox, a dropdown menu of your currently enrolled classes will appear. From this menu, you can select the section of the course in which you’re currently enrolled, and Save to set up a waitlist swap.

Can students remove themselves from a waitlist?

Students can remove themselves from a waitlist by dropping themselves from the waitlisted section in self-service enrollment within the add/drop period.

What will prevent students from getting on a waitlist?

Requisites for the class are not met.
Instructor or Department Consent is required.
Negative service indicator (hold) exists on the student’s record.
Enrollment appointment has not arrived.
Last day to waitlist for classes has passed.
Maximum number of waitlisted units has been reached (8 units).
Already enrolled in that class section.
Already on the waitlist for that class section.
Waitlist capacity has been met.
Class is not closed.

What will prevent students from being enrolled in a class while on the waitlist?

Students will not be enrolled from the waitlist if any of the following occur:

Adding the waitlisted class will exceed the maximum number of units for which students can be enrolled.
The waitlisted class presents a time scheduling conflict with another class in which they are already enrolled.
Student is still enrolled in another section of that class.

Students should initially SWAP the section they are currently enrolled in with the section they would like to waitlist, if the preference is to be enrolled in the waitlisted section.
If students ADD themselves to the waitlist for a different section of the same class (instead of using the SWAP feature), they must DROP the section in which they are enrolled before they will be moved from the waitlist.

If students are not enrolled from the waitlist due to any of these issues, they will be passed over and the next eligible student on the waitlist will be auto-enrolled.

What is the maximum number of units for which students can waitlist?

Students can waitlist for up to 8 units at a time within a term. This means that students can be on waitlists for multiple classes, so the total number of units for these classes does not exceed 8. This limit cannot be overridden with any enrollment override or permission number.

Waitlisted units do not count toward the student’s maximum number of allowable units for a term, as determined by their academic program.

How can you tell whether there are students on a waitlist for a class?

The Class Roster page will list all of the students that are waiting to be enrolled in a class.

To see whether an individual student is on a waitlist, any of the following pages can be used: Enrollment Summary, Study List, Student Services Center, Advisee Class Schedule.

Students are not able to see who is on a waitlist for a class. Students are able to view waitlisted classes on their class schedule.

Can a student’s waitlist position number be viewed by faculty or administrators?

To see a student's waitlist position number, any of the following pages can be used: Study List, Student Services Center, Advisee Class Schedule.

Also, if a student is enrolled via Quick Enroll, the student’s waitlist position number will be listed in the enrollment message that is displayed after the successful enrollment in the waitlisted class.

Students are also given their waitlist position number when they are placed on the waitlist via self-service.

Can students get on a waitlist for a class that has a reserve capacity?

If classes have a reserve capacity and the only open seats are restricted, students who do not meet the reserve capacity can get on a waitlist for the class. Students will be auto-enrolled into the class if an un-restricted seat becomes available.

Can students get on a waitlist if there is a time conflict with a class section in which they are already enrolled?

The self-service enrollment process does not check for a time conflict when a student is placed on a waitlist. At the time the auto-enrollment process runs, students will not be enrolled in the class if the time conflict still exists. Students will need to drop the class that prevents the time conflict if they want to be moved from the waitlist.

Ideally, students should use the SWAP feature when getting on a waitlist for a section that presents a time conflict with an already enrolled class. That way, if a seat opens in the close section the student will be automatically dropped from the previously enrolled section.

How do permission numbers affect waitlisting?

Students will need to meet the same criteria for getting on a waitlist as they do for being enrolled into a class, with the exception of time conflicts. However, the only class permission that would impact a student’s ability to get on a waitlist would be a requisite override. The department consent permission will not be required, since those classes will not have a waitlist. Similarly, the permission number to override career will not be required since graduate classes do not have a waitlist, at this time.

The closed class permission number should never be used as a way to get a student onto a waitlist for a class. If a closed class permission number is used to register for a class, the student will be enrolled automatically.

If the waitlist capacity for a class has been met, students cannot get on the waitlist until a space is made available.

Do students have to pay tuition for waitlisted classes?

Students do not have to pay to get on a waitlist for a class.

Can the waitlist capacity for a class be overridden?

The waitlist capacity for a class cannot be overridden.​​