Wait List Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the first day a student can wait list?

This is determined by the student’s enrollment appointment. Students cannot add
themselves to wait lists prior to their enrollment appointment.

2. What is the last day a student can wait list?

Students can add themselves to wait lists through midnight of day five of the session.

3. 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)
• Instructor or Dept Consent required to enroll in the class
• No wait list capacity setup for the class
• Negative service indicator that prevents adding a class
• The last day to wait list has passed
• Over the maximum units (credits) for wait listed classes as set by college (Students will see a message indicating the maximum has been reached for wait listed units)
• Already on the wait list for the class
• Already enrolled in a different section of the class
• Class is not yet closed
• Wait list is at its capacity

4. 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, or a specific number of units (credits) are examples of requisites.

5. If an enrolled student drops a class and a seat opens up, do Wait Listed students get in first?

Provided the class is setup correctly, with the Give Wait List Priority box checked for the section, the class will remain closed even when an enrolled student drops, additional seats are added, or unused reserve seats are expired.

6. Can students be on the wait list for more than one section of the same class?

Under certain circumstances a student can be wait listed 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 (15 for most colleges) 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.

7. How will a student move from the wait list to be enrolled in the class?

Most students are contacted via email with a class permission number (or
notification of student specific permission created) to add themselves to the class.
Students will use the class permission number to enroll in the class via the web
enrollment system.

8. Will students ever use class permission numbers or student specific permissions to add themselves to the wait list?

No, class permission numbers (and student specific permissions) simultaneously
overrides:

• class limits
• instructor consent
• class requisites

If a class permission number were used to add yourself to the wait list, you will
automatically be enrolled in the class since it overrides class limits.

9. 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. If the student is given permission to enroll in the wait listed class, the time conflict error will be returned and the student would have to resolve the time conflict as with any other attempt to enroll in classes with time conflicts.

10. 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 (in most cases) have a limit of 20 credits.

11. Are the wait listed units counted into the student’s total units for the term?

Enrolled units and wait listed units are counted separately. Currently, most
undergraduate students may have a total of 20 enrolled units and 20 wait listed units.

12. 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.

13. Will wait listed classes appear on the Study List, Enrollment Summary or email
version of the Study List?

Yes, wait listed classes and the total units of Wait Listed classes will appear on all of
them. Wait Listed classes will appear in a separate section clearly labeled as Wait
Listed.

14. 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.

15. 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 for all sections of the class.

16. When are Wait Listed classes removed from the Study List and Enrollment
Summary?

Just prior to instructor permission being needed to add a class for the term (2nd week of class).

17. 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?

The Wait List information will remain in the UM Reports. Once it is removed from
the Study List and Enrollment Summary, it is removed from all areas in the
production database.

18. How do departments and instructors know who is on the Wait List?

Class Wait Lists are available through UM Reports (Management Reporting) and PeopleSoft listing the students on the wait list. Instructors using reports available through My Classes will only see a link for Wait List if students are on the wait list for their class.

19. 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.

20. Can a student change the grading option or number of units for a wait listed class?

Yes.

21. Can students drop themselves from a Wait List using web enrollment?

Yes.

22. Can students see their position on the wait list?

No. Only staff with access to class wait lists and instructors will be able to see the student’s position on the wait list.

23. 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.