About Waitlists
If you attempt to register in a course that has no seats available to you, Workday will automatically add you to the waitlist (if one is set up) provided you meet the course eligibility.
Waitlists are set up for the primary activity only (typically the lecture). Secondary activities (labs and discussions) do not include waitlists. This means you only need to join the waitlist for the primary section. Once you are offered a seat and register, you will be prompted to select an associated secondary activity that fits in your timetable and has a seat available. For more information on registration in secondary activities, please see the Getting Into a Course section.
Being on a waitlist does not guarantee a seat in a course. Seats will only become available if the course capacity is increased or if another student drops the course.
Not all courses offer waitlists. If the course you wish to register for does not offer a waitlist, you will need to monitor availability and register when a seat opens.
For automated waitlists, you will be required to take action. You will receive an email notification when a seat becomes available, which you’ll have 24 hours to accept or decline. If you do not accept the seat, it will be offered to the next eligible student, and you will remain on the waitlist.
If you receive a seat offer but are unable to accept it, you may not meet the course eligibility. Please review the registration troubleshooting guide here and if you still require assistance, please contact EAS.
Why Do I Need to Waitlist if There Are Seats Available?
Seats in courses can be reserved or unreserved.
Reserved seats are held for students in specific programs and/or year levels who need to take a course. This is called the Reserve Capacity for the course, and can be found by viewing the course section on Workday. Unreserved seats are open to students in any program.
If the reserved seats are full for students in your program and no unreserved seats are available, you will be added to the waitlist even if seats are still available for students in other programs to register.
You will be moved off the waitlist if a student from your program drops the course or if an unreserved seat becomes available.
How Do I Know if I Am Eligible for the Course?
To find out if you are eligible for a course, view the course schedule, search for the course you would like to register in, and click the course title link to bring you to the View Course Section page.
- If you see a white “Register” button at the bottom of the page: you are eligible for the course
- If you see an orange “Troubleshoot” button at the bottom of the page: you are not eligible for the course
What Happens if I Am Ineligible to Take the Course?
If you are ineligible to take the course, you must resolve any registration issues before you can join the waitlist. This happens when there is an issue preventing self-registration:
- You are missing pre- or co-requisites
- You have a financial or registration hold
- You are taking the course for the third time (see Third+ Attempts)
You can use the Registration Troubleshooting guide to find out more about course eligibility.
Top Tips:
- You may add yourself to the waitlist for multiple sections of the same course or for multiple different courses
- You can check the course waitlist status and capacity and register on the shortest waitlist to increase your changes of registration
Registering on a Waitlist
Students should check the course waitlist status and capacity before attempting to register in a course:
| Course Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Open | Eligible students can self-register for the course |
| Waitlist | Eligible students will be placed on the waitlist until a seat becomes available |
| Closed | Students should self-monitor the course and register when a seat becomes available |
If a waitlist is available:
- Follow the steps to add yourself to the waitlist
- If applicable, check for and resolve any conflicts with your currently registered courses (see Course Conflicts)
- Check regularly for seat opening notifications, especially in the two weeks prior to the start of term and during the add/drop period—this is typically when most movement is seen in the waitlists
- If you are unable to accept a seat offer in the course:
- Email EAS if you are still intending to register, or
- Remove yourself from the waitlist if you no longer wish to register in the course
Why Can’t I Join a Waitlist?
You will be unable to join a waitlist if you are ineligible to take a course. Typically, this happens due to:
- Missing pre- or co-requisites—may need a registration token
- Financial holds—talk to your Enrollment Services (ES) advisor
- Registration holds—talk to your department/faculty advisor
- Credit Limit issues—talk to an Academic Advisor
Top Tips for Registering on a Waitlist
Being registered on a waitlist early gives you a better chance of being offered a seat. You may want to check the number of people on the waitlist before choosing a section.
You may be on multiple waitlists. When you are registered into a course, we recommend you check that the new course registration hasn’t caused a course conflict with another course you are waitlisted for.
Please drop yourself from a waitlist if:
- You are already registered in another section of the course and don’t want to change your section
- You change your mind
- The section you are waitlisted for no longer fits your schedule
How Waitlists Are Managed
Please see the table to help you understand who manages waitlists and who to contact with registration questions:
| Course | Waitlist Managed by | Who to Contact With Registration Questions |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM 154 MATH 152 PHYS 157, 158, 159, 170 All APSC, CIVL, IGEN, MANU, MTRL courses | EAS | EAS |
| All other courses | Department offering the course E.g., Math for MATH courses, Journalism for WRDS 150 | Department offering the course |
If a waitlist is available for a course, it may be automated or manually managed. Most waitlists managed by EAS are automated.
More Information on Automated Waitlists
- Automated waitlists are managed by Workday
- You’ll receive an automatic email and a Workday notification when a seat is available for you to register in
- Once you accept your seat, you will also select any associated lab or discussion sections that have a seat available at that time
- You will have 24 hours to accept the seat before it goes to the next student on the waitlist
- You will not be able to accept the offer if there is a course conflict
- You may receive a seat notification at any time, including weekends, until the add/drop deadline
Important: Automated waitlists will only send you a notification if you are eligible for the course. You will not receive a course notification and the seat offer will go to the next eligible student on the waitlist, if any of the following are true:
- You have a registration hold on your record
- You do not meet the eligibility for the course (including the reserved capacity rule)
- You have taken the course twice before (including receiving transfer credits)
- See Third+ Attempt Request for more information
More Information on Manual Waitlists
- Manual waitlists are managed by the department offering the course
- In most cases, you will receive an email to notify you that you have been registered but this is not a guarantee and it is your responsibility to check your Workday account (Current Classes, under Academics) to see the courses you are registered in and the courses you are waitlisted for
- You will not be able to choose your own lab or discussion section
- Changes to your registration may happen until the add/drop deadline
Each course has its own priority guidelines for who will be moved off the waitlist first, usually relating to specialization, year level, and registration date onto the waitlist. For this reason, it is not possible to tell a student what “place” they are on the waitlist or how likely they are to get a seat in the course.
Factors Which Will Influence Your Registration On a Waitlist
- Exceeding credit limits
- The number of people on the waitlist and the date/time that you registered on the waitlist. Waitlist priority will vary from course to course. Being on the waitlist early increases your chances of being registered, but does not guarantee registration
- Seat availability. Seats in a course become available for students on the waitlist when another student has dropped their registration in the course. Typically, we see more seats released during add/drop periods.
- Conflicts in your schedule may mean you are unable to accept an available seat (automated waitlist) or unable to be registered (manual waitlist)
- Registration holds
What Happens After the Add/Drop Deadline?
Students will be removed from waitlists by Enrollment Services a few weeks after the add/drop date for that term.
Getting Into a Course
We see the most change in seat availability during the add/drop period of each Term:
- Mid-August to September add/drop for Term 1
- Mid-December to January add/drop for Term 2
Course registration depends on whether a waitlist is manual or automatic:
| Automated Waitlists | Manual Waitlists | |
|---|---|---|
| How do I accept a seat in the course? | You’ll receive an automatic email and a Workday notification when a seat is available for you to register in. See Automated Waitlists for more information. Top Tip: You may need to scroll down and across to find the accept button, depending on the device you are using. | You will not receive a seat notification from Workday. Typically you will get an email from the department managing the course to tell you that you have been registered but this is not a guarantee. See Manual Waitlists for more information. |
| How do I get registered for secondary (e.g., lab, discussion) sections? | You will select any associated lab or discussion sections that have a seat available when you log in to accept your seat. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. You must register in each type of activity (e.g., lecture, lab, discussion) offered for the course to complete your registration. If the available sections do not work with your schedule, you should decline your seat offer and remain on the waitlist until you can register in all required activities for the course. | You will be registered in any lab or discussion sections by the department managing the course. You will not be given a choice of section. |
| What happens if I missed my seat opening notification? | Remain on the waitlist and monitor your email frequently. You will receive another seat opening notification when another seat becomes available. | Remain on the waitlist and reach out to the department offering the course for further assistance. |
Top Tips:
- Ensure your Workday primary email address is correct
- Monitor your email and Workday account frequently if you are on a waitlist—course changes, or being moved from a waitlist to a main section, are not always communicated by email, particularly during the add/drop period
- Ensure you do not have a registration hold on your account—this will stop you from being able to register for any course
- Ensure the waitlisted section is not in conflict with other courses—you won’t be able to accept a seat if you have a course conflict
Sometimes when a course is very popular, you may receive an email during the add/drop period to advise you that you are unlikely to get a seat and to look for alternative options.
Do I Need to Speak With Anyone?
If you are eligible for the course, you can add yourself to the waitlist.
If you are not eligible for the course (missing a pre-requisite or co-requisite, have a registration or financial hold, or taking the course for the third time), you will need to contact EAS to inquire further about joining the waitlist.
Live Waitlist Status for Year 1 Engineering Courses
Table Last Updated: Friday, January 16 at 1.30pm PST
| Course | Waitlist Type (Functionality) | Registration Advice | Section Switch Advice | Is Swap functionality available if already registered? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| APSC 101 | Manual | If you are not registered in the course, join the waitlist of your preferred section. Section switches are via the Section Switch form. | Submit a Section Switch Form | No |
| APSC 160 | Automated | Seats available | Join the waitlist for your preferred lecture section. To swap labs, you can use the swap functionality. | Yes |
| CHEM 123 | ||||
| MATH 100 | ||||
| MATH 101 | ||||
| MATH 152 | Manual | Seats available in some sections. Check all lecture sections as there are 2 sections at the same day/time as each other. Register on the waitlist to be registered in the lecture section. (Manually managed) | Join the waitlist for your preferred lecture section. To swap labs, you can use the swap functionality. | Not for lectures, but you can swap labs. |
| PHYS 157 | Manual | Seats available. Register on the waitlist to be registered in the course. | Only 1 section available. | n/a |
| PHYS 158 | Automated | Seats available in some sections. Register on the waitlist to be registered in a lecture section that is full. | Join the waitlist for your preferred lecture section if no seats available. To swap labs, you can use the swap functionality. | Yes |
| PHYS 159 | Automated | Seats available in some sections. Register on the waitlist if your preferred section is full. | Register on the waitlist if your preferred section is full. | Yes |
| PHYS 170 | Automated | Seats available in some sections. Register on the waitlist to be registered in the course. Check all lab sections as there may be 2 sections at the same day/time as each other. | Join the waitlist for your preferred lecture section. To swap labs, you can use the swap functionality. | Yes |
| WRDS 150 | Not Available | Check sections regularly to see if seats become available. If you are not registered in the course, please email wrds.advisor@ubc.ca | Swap functionality will be available if there are sections with seats available. | |