Waitlist Courses Q&A
Q. Do all courses have a waitlist?
A. No, not all courses currently have a waitlist feature.
Q. What is the maximum number of waitlist seats for a section?
A. If a course has a waitlist, the maximum number of waitlist seats is 5.
Q. How do you know if a course has a waitlist and how many waitlist seats are available?
A. If a waitlist is available, the number of waitlist seats will appear under the number of actual seats. In this example, 5 out of 5 waitlist seats remain and there are 2 actual seats available before this course will allow a seat to be waitlisted.
Here is an example of a course with 0 open seats and 5 waitlist seats available:
Q. What is the advantage to enrolling to a waitlist?
A. The waitlist enables a student to be notified when a seat becomes available in a closed section. The waitlist does not automatically register the student for the open seat.
Q: What should I know before using a waitlist?
A.
- Students placed on a waitlist are not guaranteed a seat in the class.
- The waitlist priority is based on first come, first served and should be used only if needed for the student's major or a prerequisite to other required courses.
- It should not be used for personal preference of one instructor or class type over another.
- Students are advised to schedule a full credit load (12-15 credits) from available, open classes and to consider the benefits of taking a less populated section that has open seats.
- Students should drop any courses, via web self-service, for which they do not want to remain on the waitlist and check their schedule prior to the start of the term to see if changes have been made to their schedule.
Q. Can I waitlist in more than one section of the same class?
A. Yes, for different schedule types (i.e. traditional vs. asynchronous; synchronous vs traditional). It is not advised to waitlist for more than one section of the same class. If students are enrolled in one section of a class, students cannot register from the waitlist until they drop the section for which they are currently registered.
Q. How will I know if I have been added to a waitlist?
A. Students can check their schedule under delaGATE > My Class Schedule, and then monitor their email for a notification when a seat becomes available. Email Subject Line will be “Waitlist Notification for (CRN number)”
Q. I did not successfully get placed on the waitlist, what went wrong?
A. When making registration updates, even though the message will show Save Successful in Green, students should review the status of the schedule change for Errors Preventing Registration as their registration change may have not been saved. Only statuses shown in green in the summary are the active registration status. The Conditional Add and Drop checkbox is not always successful in making changes to the schedule as in the case when the system determines the course is a duplicate based on the schedule type, so students should always verify the active status:
Q. Where can I see the position number on the waitlist?
A. Neither students nor advisors can see the position on the waitlist. The waitlist priority is automatically set based on the timing of when you joined the waitlist and updated based on students’ expiration of their waitlist window after notification of an open seat.
Q. Will having a hold on my account impact the ability to use the waitlist function?
A. Yes. Any type of hold that impacts registration will prohibit a student’s ability to use the waitlist function. If a student hold is applied, even after the student is waitlisted, and they are notified that a seat is open, they will not be able to register for the course through self-service.
Q. Once on the waitlist how do I get into a waitlisted class?
A. The student receives notification to their DCCC student email address that a seat is available, and they will need to register within the 24 hour window. If they do not act by registering within that timeframe they will be dropped from the waitlist and the next person in line will be notified of an open seat. Students are never automatically registered for a course from the waitlist, once they receive notification, they need to log into delaGATE and update the status from Waitlisted to Registered. Once the waitlist has processed all students on the waitlist, the class will move to open status if there are any remaining open seats.
Q. What if I get dropped from the waitlist?
A. If the student is dropped from the waitlist, they can waitlist again if a space on the waitlist is available. The student will be placed at the bottom of the waitlist.
Q. What will prevent me from being scheduled into the class from the waitlist?
A.
- Students will not be enrolled from the waitlist if already enrolled in another section of the same class.
- Students will not be enrolled if the course conflicts in meeting times with another class in which the student is registered.
- Students will need to meet the prerequisites.
- Students will not be enrolled if they are enrolled in more credits than permitted in that term.
- Any registration holds on an account will prevent the student from registering from a course or an open sear that is offered from the waitlist (i.e. Dual Enrollment Holds, Advisor Holds, Student Account Holds, Developmental/Remedial Holds). It will be important for students who want to be waitlisted to clear any holds immediately. Waitlist seat notification windows cannot be extended.
Q. When can I place myself on a waitlist?
A. The waitlist function will be available at the beginning of registration. It does not become an option until the class is full. Students may place themselves on the waitlist for courses until the end of the add/drop period. If a class has 0 seats open but has open waitlist seats, if the student adds the course to their schedule and selects Web Registration they will get a red error:
In order to waitlist, the student can select Join the Waitlist from the Action dropdown and click the Submit button:
Q. Can I remove myself from the waitlist?
A. Yes. Students may remove themselves from the waitlist by following the same process as dropping a course.
Q. Is there a point in which the waitlist option is no longer available?
A. Yes, the last date to waitlist is the end of the 100% refund drop period and the waitlists are dissolved on the last date of add/drop.
Q. Are the waitlisted units counted into my total credits for the term?
A. No, waitlisted courses are not counted toward full time status.
Q. What if I receive the notification over the weekend or holiday break and have difficulty registering for the course, will the registration be honored or my space on the waitlist restored?
A. Unfortunately, the answer is no. Because the notification is automated and the timeframe to register is set to 24 hours if you run into difficulties registering and 24 hours has elapsed before the staff can assist you the notification system will automatically go to the next person on the waiting list. Waitlists are not perfect and might not be a good option for all students or courses.
