Instructors with full classes will likely have students on the waitlist inquiring about the potential for them to add the class. In addition, instructors receive enrollment requests after the first Friday, when instructor permission to add a class becomes mandatory. Our department policy concerning student enrollment requests of this nature is to defer to instructors and let you decide whether or not you wish to allow students to enroll over the listed course capacity or after the first Friday.
Instructor permission may be given in the form of a physical signature on the permission to enroll form or in an email approval to the student. They can take this email and attach to the form as your permission.
Please read the information for students on waitlist procedures. Here are some suggested steps to manage student enrollment requests:
1. Encourage students to enroll in an open section over a waitlisted full class.
2. Encourage students to attend lectures and keep up with assignments while on the waitlist during the first week of the semester. These students will be ready to jump in if they receive your permission to enroll.
3. Have students wait until after the first Friday of the semester to get special permission to enroll in your course. There is often roster movement during the first week of the semester and students may get into the course without special permission. If they have not been enrolled in the course by the first Friday, encourage them to speak with you then for permission to enroll. SIS waitlists are only active until the first Friday of the semester. During the second week of the term, students must have instructor permission to enroll.
4. Know that enrollment after the first Friday is up to you. Generally, the department encourages you to consider permitting students into your course up through the second Friday if you are not at course capacity. However, you do not have to grant permission for students to enroll in your course after the First Friday for any reason. Consider the burden to yourself before allowing additional students to enroll, particularly if you will be taking students above the course capacity. Additional enrollments are not recommended for first time instructors.
5. Determine how you want to prioritize student enrollment after the first Friday. Some instructors choose to prioritize students in the order they were on the waitlist. Others prioritize graduating seniors.
6. Have students forward your email permission to add the class to their primary academic advisor. You won’t have the technical permission to enroll any students, so please email the student permission to enroll and instruct them to forward the permission to their primary academic advisor. Permission from the instructor can be granted to students up through the end of the day on the second Friday of the term. To give advisors enough time to process these requests, it is recommended you grant students permission to enroll by noon on the second Friday.
· NOTE: Some students will be unable to add the class even if you wish to let them off of the waitlist or enroll after the first Friday. These students may have financial holds on their accounts or may have overloaded their courses and will need to petition the University to allow for an increased number of credits that semester. Students can sort these issues out with their primary academic advisor to properly enroll.
7. It is not recommended that you permit students to enroll past the second Friday. After the second Friday, students must petition the University for permission to enroll, in addition to having instructor and departmental permission. However, you may consider this in exceptional circumstances. Should this arise, contact the Program Coordinator for further assistance.
Sample enrollment emails to students:
“Thanks for contacting me about my WGSST 2367.01 course and the waitlist. I do not increase the course capacity of 25 students as it is an online, writing-heavy course and too many students decreases the quality of the course for everyone enrolled. As to how the waitlist is prioritized – if there are graduating seniors ahead of you on the waitlist, those are always the top priority. Thanks for your interest in the course.”
“Thank you for your interest in WGSST 2230. I will consider taking on additional students above the course capacity after the first Friday of the semester. For now, I encourage you to attend the classes and do the assignments listed on the syllabus (attached). Graduating seniors and those who keep up with the class will be given enrollment priority. Please contact me after the first Friday if you are still interested in enrolling.”